March 01, 2007
The 4th-ranked Texas A&M softball team will play host in the 2007 Texas A&M Invitational starting this Friday at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Over the course of the three-day tournament, the Aggies will play five games. Friday has A&M pitted against Illinois at 2:30 p.m. and Syracuse at 4:45 p.m. The Aggies turn around on Saturday to face McNeese State at 2:30 p.m. and have their second game against Illinois at 4:45 p.m. A&M will close out the tournament on Sunday with another game against McNeese State at 12:15 p.m.
Fans can listen to all the weekend?â„¢s games live and free of charge on aggieathletics.com through the new Aggies All-Access. Those attending the tournament can listen to the action inside Aggie Softball Complex on or around 89.9 FM. Free live video of Friday?â„¢s game against Illinois and Sunday?â„¢s game against McNeese State will be available through Aggies All-Access, as well.
?I'm looking forward to hosting our tournament this weekend,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?It seems like a long time since we've played at home and it will be nice to play in front of our home crowd again. Our team is coming off a dominating win last night against Sam Houston and I am pleased with the way we are approaching our practices and games. Our players are focused and doing a nice job in all facets of the game.?
A&M holds the all-time series advantage against McNeese State (20-4) and Syracuse (3-0). Illinois has the edge against the Aggies (1-2).
The McNeese Cowgirls are 8-14 on the season and 2-1 in Southland Conference play. The last time A&M and McNeese met was in 2005 where the Aggies earned a 6-3 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament held at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Syracuse enters the tournament with a 1-9 record. Their only win came against Marist in the adidas-Golden Panther Invitational in Miami, Fla. The Aggies and Orange met last season at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. A&M came away with a 2-1 victory.
Illinois boasts a 16-7 record with two wins over then No. 20 Louisville in the Diamond Sun & Sun Classic held in Miami, Fla. In 2004, A&M dropped a pair of losses (0-5, 3-4) to Illinois in the St. Joseph?â„¢s Aggie Invitational I in College Station.
A&M currently boasts a 14-2 record. Both losses came last weekend in Tucson, Ariz. where the Aggies faced the No. 2 Arizona Wildcats in a three-game series. A&M is currently 5-2 against Top 25 opponents.
Fans wanting to tickets to the Texas A&M Invitational can do so by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE or logging on to www.AggieAthletics.com. A full tournament schedule can be found on AggieAthletics.com.