April 07, 2008
The 8th-ranked Texas A&M baseball team puts a season-high nine-game win streak on the line Tuesday when the Aggies (26-6) head to the Bayou City to face 19th-ranked Houston (19-10). First pitch at Cougar Field is set for 6:30 p.m.
A&M enters the game with its highest ranking of the season. Included in the Aggies' unbeaten run are a pair of Big 12 series sweeps-at Kansas and, most recently, at home over Kansas State. Texas A&M sits in second place in the league at 9-3.
The Cougars have won five straight games against ranked foes and sit at 5-1 in Conference USA play after a home sweep of No. 25 Central Florida.
The game will mark the 157th meeting between the two long-time Southwest Conference foes on the baseball diamond. The Cougars are the last team to beat A&M in mid-week game, as the Aggies have won 22 straight dating back to a 9-6 loss to UH in April 2006.
Fans can listen to every pitch locally on the flagship home of Texas A&M Athletics, News/Talk 1620 WTAW. Dave South, Scott Clendenin and Chuck Glenewinkel call the action all season long. All broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
#8 Texas A&M AGGIES (26-6) at #19 Houston COUGARS (19-10)
Tuesday, April 8 * 6:30 p.m. CDT
Cougar Field (3,500) * Houston, Texas
RADIO: WTAW-AM 1620*
GAMETRACKER: aggieathletics.com
* broadcast available inside Cougar Field on low end of FM dial
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
A&M - #34 Scott Migl (So., RHP, 1-1, 5.47 ERA)
HOU - #31 Jared Ray (Fr., RHP, 0-0, 6.47 ERA)
LEADING OFF...
* Tuesday's game at Houston is one of just four road games for A&M in the month of April, all of which take place in the state of Texas...the Aggies, who play 14 of 18 games in the month at Olsen Field, will not leave the state of Texas until departing for Nebraska on May 8.
* A&M has won 22 consecutive mid-week games dating back to April, 2006.
* At 9-3, A&M has matched its best-ever start in Big 12 play...the 1999 team also went 9-3 en route to its second-straight league title.
* A&M has swept back-to-back Big 12 series (Kansas and Kansas State) for the first time since 1999...the Aggies swept Nebraska and K-State in that stretch.
* The Aggies' No. 8 national ranking (NCBWA) is the highest since a No. 7 showing in the same poll on June 4, 2007.
* Texas A&M's nine-game win streak is a season best...the previous high was eight (Feb. 24-March 5).
* The Aggie offense is hitting .361 over the streak with 12 home runs and 79 RBI, and is averaging 9.3 runs per game.
* Texas A&M has tallied double-figure hits in eight of its last nine games and 21 of 32 overall.
* A&M, which leads the Big 12 in fielding, has played error-free ball in nine of its last 14 contests.
* A&M pitching has fanned eight or more batters in 24 of 32 games.
* The Aggie bullpen is 11-2 on the year with eight saves and a 2.16 ERA, and is holding opponents to a .225 average.
* Of A&M's six losses on the season, five have been by two or fewer runs.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M is 26-6 overall and in second place in the Big 12 with a 9-3 record. The Aggies enter the week on a nine-game win streak, including a perfect 5-0 homestand that wrapped up Sunday with a run-rule victory over Kansas State.
A&M is hitting a league-best .321 and averages 7.8 runs per game. The offense has pounded out 109 extra-base hits (57 doubles, 18 triples and 34 home runs) while stealing 52 bases.
Senior third baseman Dane Carter (.452, 5 HR, 37 RBI) leads the team and the Big 12 in numerous offensive categories and has hit safely in 30 of the team's 32 games in 2008. Senior Darby Brown (.339, 8 HR, 39 RBI) sports a 16-game hit streak and leads the squad in homers and RBI. Junior shortstop Jos? Duran (.379, 2 HR, 28 RBI) is the team's second-leading hitter, while three other starters (Luke Anders, Kyle Colligan and Brian Ruggiano) are hitting over .300 for the year.
On the mound, the Aggies boast a 3.42 ERA, second-best in the Big 12. A&M pitching is averaging 8.7 strikeouts per game and is holding opposing hitters to a .243 average. Freshman Brooks Raley (5-0, 3.07 ERA) leads the team in victories, while sophomore Travis Starling (15 appearances, 4-0, 0.89 ERA) has a team-best seven saves. The Aggie bullpen has been strong on the season, posting an 11-2 record, eight saves, 2.16 ERA and .225 opponent average.
A QUICK GLANCE: HOUSTON
Houston (19-10, 5-1 C-USA) enters the weekend after a weekend sweep of 25th-ranked Central Florida that vaulted the Cougars into the national rankings at No. 19.
U of H sits atop the Conference USA standings at 5-1 and has beaten the last five ranked opponents it has faced.
The Cougars hit .306 as a team, with 19 home runs and 200 RBI, and average 7.48 runs per game.
Houston is led offensively by senior infielder Bryan Pounds (.431, 6 HR, 38 RBI), senior outfielder Jake Stewart (.343, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 11 SB) and senior infielder Ryan Lormand (.336, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 13 SB). Sophomore lefty Wes Musick (6-1, 2.72 ERA) and freshman reliever Chase Dempsay (3-1, 1.85, 4 saves) pace the pitching staff, which sports a 5.00 ERA.
U of H returns six starters and 16 letterwinners from a 2007 squad that went 28-28 and finished fourth in C-USA at 12-12. The Cougars are coached by 14th-year head coach Rayner Noble, who has amassed 476 career wins at the University of Houston.
SERIES HISTORY
Texas A&M leads the overall series with Houston, 103-52-1. The Aggies have won two straight and seven of the last nine.
* The schools were both members of the Southwest Conference from 1971 until the dissolving of the league in 1996.
* The teams have met every season since 1965.
* A&M took both meetings with Houston in '07, a 3-2 decision in the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park on Feb. 10, and an 8-3 victory at Olsen Field on April 17.
* Houston is the last team to beat Texas A&M in a mid-week contest, defeating the Aggies 9-6 on April 18, 2006.
* A&M is 12-2 all-time against Houston at Cougar Field, which opened in February 1995...the Aggies are 16-6 all-time at the stadium including trips to the SWC First Pitch Tourney in '95 and '96.
* U of H is the fifth-most common opponent for the Aggies.
most common opponents, all-time
SCHOOL GAMES
Texas 346
Baylor 301
Rice 265
TCU 246
Houston 156
SMU 154
Texas Tech 138
Sam Houston State 119
Southwestern 74
Texas-Pan American 71
MID-WEEK MAGIC
The Aggie baseball team has won 22 straight mid-week non-conference contests, including the first 10 on the slate in 2008.
A&M won all 10 mid-week games last season and the final two of the 2006 campaign. The Aggies' last loss in mid-week action was on April 18, 2006, a 9-6 setback to No. 19 Houston at Olsen Field.
K-STATE REVIEW
Texas A&M recorded back-to-back Big 12 sweeps for the first time since 1999 with three victories over Kansas State this past weekend at Olsen Field.
On Friday, A&M got a first-inning grand slam from Darby Brown en route to a 7-2 win over the Wildcats. Freshman Brooks Raley picked up his fifth win of the season after allowing one run in 6 1/3 innings of work.
On Taturday, Texas A&M erased a 7-1 deficit with 12 runs in its final three at-bats as the Aggies rallied for a 13-8 win. After chipping two runs off the Wildcat lead in the bottom of the sixth, A&M exploded for seven runs in the seventh to take the lead and added three more in the eighth to seal the victory. Dane Carter tied a career high with four RBI on the night, including a three-run triple in the decisive seventh.
Sunday saw Luke Anders homer twice en route to a 14-4, eight-inning victory over KSU. Kyle Colligan added a grand slam in the seventh and Brown drove in three on the afternoon.
CARTER's BIG YEAR
Senior third baseman Dane Carter is having a career season for Texas A&M.
While his career-best 16-game hit streak was snapped on March 16 against Texas Tech, Carter responded with a currently active 13-game streak and has hit safely in 30 of the Aggies' 32 contests overall.
He has now reached base safely (hit or walk) in all 32 games of the year.
In addition, he leads the team in seven offensive categories and the Big 12 in four (average, hits, triples, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage).
CARTER, CONTINUED
After struggling with injury during 2007, Dane Carter has had a tremendous '08 campaign...
dane carter: 2007 vs 2008
CATEGORY 2007 TOTALS 2008 NUMBERS
games played 37 32
games started 19 32
batting average .203 .452
hits 15 57
runs scored 14 37
doubles 2 7
triples 0 7
home runs 1 5
RBI 11 37
slugging pct. .270 .738
TURNING THE CORNER
Senior DH/1B Darby Brown had a tough start to the 2008 campaign, beginning the year 2-for-23 at the plate (.087 average).
With a mammoth home run off the top of the batter's eye in center field against Nicholls State on March 5, Brown has turned the corner in a big way, hitting .386 over the last 20 contests...
brown's turnaround
CATEGORY FIRST 10 GAMES LAST 20 GAMES
batting average .087 .386
hits-at bats 2-for-23 32-for-83
home runs 0 7
RBI 3 34
slugging pct. .174 .711
runs scored 5 16
DURAN STEPS UP
The Aggies knew entering 2008 that they would have to replace all-conference selection and third-round draft pick Brandon Hicks (.338, 10 HR, 59 RBI) at shortstop.
After a strong battle in the offseason, junior transfer Jos? Duran won the opening-day nod, and has not disappointed. The Fort Worth native is near the top of the A&M offensive charts in nearly every category.
Duran went hitless in the first three games of last week for the first time this year, but responded with back-to-back two-hit games against K-State to close out the series. In fact, not only has he hit safely in 24 of A&M's 32 games this year, Duran has posted multiple hits in 16 of those 24 (67 percent).
LEGGING IT OUT
Texas A&M has hit 18 triples over the first 32 games of the season. A closer look at this accomplishment:
* The Aggies set a school record in late February with three triples in each of three consecutive games (McNeese State, Ohio State, Arkansas). What makes this feat even more impressive is that the last time a Texas A&M team had three triples in ANY game before last week was on April 11, 1999, when the Aggies defeated Kansas State 7-2 in St. Joseph, Mo.-a stretch of 519 games.
* Senior third baseman Dane Carter had two triples in the Feb. 26 win over McNeese State, the first time an Aggie had two triples in one game since Chad Hudson on May 21, 1999 in a 10-3 win over Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City.
* Carter has seven triples on the season, just two shy of the single-season school record (9, Brian Thomas, 1993).
TURN, TURN, TURN...TURN
Texas A&M tied a school record with four double plays in the Feb. 27 win over Nicholls State.
While the feat has been accomplished often, the last time the Aggies did turn four double plays in one game was against Clemson in the NCAA Super Regional championship on June 6, 1999 (499 games ago).
A STRONG PEN
The Texas A&M bullpen has been very impressive in the first part of the season.
A total of 14 Aggies have seen action in relief, posting a combined 2.16 ERA and picking up 11 wins and eight saves. In 121 innings of work, opposing teams have managed 98 hits (.225 average) and 29 earned runs while striking out 127 times.
Rutgers put five earned runs up against the Aggie pen in the 7th inning on March 8. Removing that inning from the numbers, A&M's relief corps would sport a 1.80 ERA.
Of the players that have made more than one appearance out of the pen this year, five are holding opponents to an average of .200 or less in those outings.
POUNDING THE ZONE
Texas A&M pitchers have struck out 278 batters while walking 109 in their 287 innings of work thus far, or a 2.6 K/BB ratio. In 2007, A&M's pitching corps posted a 2.1 K/BB mark for the full season.
The Aggie staff, which has fanned eight or more batters in 24 of the 32 games in 2008, is averaging 8.72 strikeouts per nine innings-second-best in the Big 12.
It's not just one or two arms that are carrying the strikeout load, however. Seven players have posted 22 or more Ks this spring, led by freshmen Barret Loux (40) and Brooks Raley (37) and junior Kyle Thebeau (37).
AGGIES ON THE TUBE
No stranger to national exposure, the Texas A&M baseball team will appear on television at least seven times in 2008.
The Aggies have won their first three televised games of the year, all on COX Sports Television.
FOX College Sports, available on digital cable outlets across the country, will broadcast the April 13 series finale with Oklahoma and the May 16 series opener at Texas.
In addition, FOX Sports Net will broadcast the April 27 series finale against Missouri live from Olsen Field and CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV) will air the May 10 game between A&M and Nebraska in Lincoln.
As always, fans can get complete and up-to-date television broadcast information on aggieathletics.com.
2008 texas a&m television schedule
DATE OPPONENT NETWORK
March 1 Arkansas (W, 15-7) COX Sports TV
March 2 Louisiana Tech (W, 7-3) COX Sports TV
March 4 Nicholls State (W, 5-1) COX Sports TV
April 13 Oklahoma FOX College Sports
April 27 Missouri FOX Sports Net
May 10 at Nebraska CBS College Sports
May 16 at Texas FOX College Sports