September 17, 2007
The defending Big 12 Champion Texas A&M baseball team will play 39 home games in 2008, including 20 straight to start the year, head coach Rob Childress announced Monday.
Half of the Aggies' games in 2008 will be played against teams who made the NCAA Tournament in 2007, including Ohio State, Arkansas, Rutgers, Oklahoma State, Rice, Baylor, Missouri, TCU, Sam Houston State, Nebraska and Texas. All but seven of A&M's opponents return to the diamond off winning seasons.
"We feel that we've put together another very challenging schedule, and we're excited about that," head coach Rob Childress said. "Playing five games a week for the first month of the season will give us a great look at our team and will prepare us for Big 12 play and beyond. We will have to come ready to play every single night, and we plan on doing that."
Opening Day is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 22 when the Aggies begin a four-game series with Northern Colorado, which kicks off the 20-game, season-opening homestand that continues through March 18.
This year's Domino's Pizza Aggie Baseball Classic takes place Feb. 29-March 2 and will feature a strong field that includes Ohio State making a return trip to College Station after last year's NCAA Regional, along with Louisiana Tech and '07 national top-8 seed Arkansas.
Other teams making early trips to Olsen are McNeese State, Nicholls State, Centenary and Big East Tournament Champion Rutgers, who will face the Aggies in a weekend set March 7-9. Big 12 play opens on Friday, March 14 when Texas Tech comes to Olsen Field.
In league action A&M will host Kansas State, Oklahoma and Missouri; travel to Oklahoma State, Kansas and Nebraska; and play split-series with Baylor and Texas.
"The Big 12 always offers up a very strong and rugged schedule," Childress said. "It's not only nice to have five home series this year, but to also be able to start the road to a championship at Olsen will be an advantage. The bottom line, though, is you have to get it done on the field--whether or not it's in your own backyard."
Fans around the state will have an opportunity to see Texas A&M in action as the Aggies will play games in San Antonio (vs Texas-San Antonio, March 25); Houston (at Houston, April 8); and Dallas/Fort Worth (at TCU, April 29 and at Texas-Arlington, May 13), in addition to the annual trip to Austin.
The final two games of the series with the Longhorns will close the regular season on May 17-18, after which the Aggies will look to defend their Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship May 21-25 at Oklahoma City's AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. The NCAA Tournament opens on May 30 with the 62nd annual College World Series set for June 13-23 in Omaha.
The Aggies return 17 letterwinners, six position starters and two starting pitchers from a 2007 squad that went 48-19 and claimed the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City and the NCAA College Station Regional crown.
A&M is currently in the midst of fall workouts, which will conclude with the annual Fall World Series Oct. 12-15.