February 21, 2008
The third-ranked Texas A&M softball team will play host to the 2008 Texas A&M Invitational this weekend at the Aggie Softball Complex.
The Aggies are set to play five games over the course of the three-day tournament. Friday has the Aggies pitted against Temple at 3 p.m. and Sam Houston State at 5:15 p.m. A&M returns Saturday for games against North Texas at 3 p.m. and Temple again at 5:15 p.m. The Aggies close out tournament play against North Texas Sunday at 12:15 p.m.
Live stats of all of the weekend?â„¢s games will be available on aggieathletics.com. Fans can listen to all the tournament action live and free of charge on aggieathletics.com through the new Aggies All-Access.
?We look forward to hosting our first tournament this weekend,? A&M head coach Jo Evans said. ?Our team continues to improve and make adjustments and our younger players are working hard to contribute to our success. We got a great performance out of Rhiannon Kliesing on the mound last night and it shows what an impact our young players are making. It should be a competitive field and it's nice to compete at home.?
Temple opened its 2008 season at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend in Tempe, Ariz. posting a 2-3 record. The Owls collected wins over then No. 25 Oregon State, 4-2, and Idaho State, 8-5, while suffering 11-0, 11-2, and 5-0 losses to California, Western Michigan, and Oklahoma State, respectively.
Friday?â„¢s game marks just the third meeting between two schools and the first in the last 18 years. The Aggies and the Owls faced off twice in 1990, with A&M winning the first game, 2-1, in eight innings. Temple took the second game, 7-0, at the Houston Classic in Houston, Texas.
Sam Houston State improved to 4-1 on the season after sweeping its doubleheader against North Texas, 2-0 and 3-2, on Feb. 17. Sam Houston pounded out 21 hits on the day and junior Brandi Crnkovic (2-1) and sophomore Morgan Mikulin (2-0) collected wins in the circle for the Bearkats.
The Aggies hold a commanding 76-13 all-time series lead over SHSU heading into the 90th meeting between the two teams. Senior All-American Amanda Scarborough tossed her third-career no-hitter as A&M defeated Sam Houston, 6-0, earlier this season at the Aggie Softball Complex.
North Texas enters this weekend?â„¢s tournament with an overall record of 4-5. The Mean Green defeated Oklahoma State, 5-2, on Wednesday at Lovelace Stadium in Denton, Texas. Freshman Jennifer Smith allowed just two runs on three hits in seven complete innings of work in the circle for UNT.
The Aggies are 2-0 all-time against the Mean Green. The two teams last met on Feb. 4, 2005 with A&M winning, 8-0, in College Station.
A&M improved to 11-2 after sweeping Stephen F. Austin in a twinbill at the Aggie Softball Complex on Wednesday. Scarborough and freshman Rhiannon Kliesing teamed up in the circle to pace the Aggies to 7-1 and 3-0 wins. A&M received contribution at the plate from senior All-American Megan Gibson, who was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a homerun in the first game. Sophomore Alex Reynolds and junior transfer Erin Glasco added solo blasts of their own in game two.
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.
Parking for Friday and Sunday will be available in Reed Arena Lots 100e and 100g and
Reed Arena Lot 100e and Tennis Center Lot 100d on Saturday.