February 15, 2007
The No. 3 Texas A&M softball team (5-0) will open the home portion of its schedule this weekend when it hosts Arkansas, Rutgers and Texas-San Antonio in the Aggie Classic at the Aggie Softball Complex.
The Aggies open tournament play at 2:30 p.m. on Friday against Arkansas with a game to follow against Rutgers at 4:45 p.m. Free softball schedule posters will be passed out at Friday?â„¢s games.
Fans can listen to all games this weekend live and free of charge on aggieathletics.com through the new Aggies All-Access. Those attending the tournament can listen to the action inside the Aggie Softball Complex on or around 89.9 FM. Free live video of Friday?â„¢s games against Arkansas and Rutgers will also be available through Aggies All-Access.
A&M is coming off a stellar weekend performance that saw their record improve to a perfect 5-0 after defeating Utah, No. 21 Fresno State, No. 4 Northwestern, No. 3 UCLA, and top-ranked Arizona at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
?Right now our focus is on keeping our feet on the ground and trying to maintain the same approach that we had going into last weekend,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?We?â„¢ve had good practices this week. Our kids seem really focused. I know Arkansas has a solid program and have faced tough competition in the SEC. We have a lot of respect for UTSA, they?â„¢ve proven the past few years they know how to swing the bat, being among the top in the nation for home runs. We don?â„¢t know very much about Rutgers. We?â„¢re really excited to get back on the field and finally play in front of our home crowd.?
Arkansas enters the tournament with a 1-4 record after opening the season at the South Florida Tournament last weekend in Tampa, Fl. The Aggies hold the all-time series, 4-0, over the Lady?â„¢Backs. The last meeting between the two teams was in the 2002 NCAA Tournament; A&M won 6-2.
Rutgers opens its 2007 season this weekend. Texas A&M leads the all-time series 3-0. The last meeting was in 1997 when the Aggies defeated the Scarlet Knights, 2-1, at the Houston College Classic.
Texas-San Antonio carries a 1-4 record into the tournament after competing in the CenturyTel Classic last weekend. A&M leads the all-time series, 23-6. The teams last met in 2006 in a doubleheader in College Station, A&M won both games 7-6 and 4-2.
Texas A&M junior pitcher Amanda Scarborough was named USA Softball National Player of the Week and Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week after her performance in at Kajikawa Classic. In 21 innings of work, Scarborough allowed only three earned runs off 14 hits and collected 15 strikeouts. She also helped her cause at the plate going 5-for-17 with five runs scored and four RBI.
Texas A&M junior pitcher/first baseman Megan Gibson was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week and Big 12 Conference Player of the Week for her efforts last weekend. Gibson hit .727 with a pair of home runs, four RBI and six runs scored.
Fans wanting to purchase season and individual game tickets can do so by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE or logging on to www.AggieAthletics.com.
AGGIE CLASSIC SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16
10:00 AM Rutgers vs. Texas-San Antonio
12:15 PM Texas-San Antonio vs. Arkansas
2:30 PM Arkansas vs. Texas A&M
4:45 PM Texas A&M vs. Rutgers
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17
10:00 AM Arkansas vs. Texas-San Antonio
12:15 PM Texas-San Antonio vs. Rutgers
2:30 PM Rutgers vs. Texas A&M
4:45 PM Texas A&M vs. Arkansas
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18
10:00 AM Arkansas vs. Rutgers
12:15 PM Texas A&M vs. Texas-San Antonio