April 14, 2008
The 8th-ranked Texas A&M baseball team puts a season-high 13-game win streak on the line Tuesday night when the Aggies (30-6) host the Rice Owls (27-10) at Olsen Field in a rematch of last season's NCAA Houston Super Regional. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
A&M is in first place in the Big 12 at 12-3 after a three-game sweep of Oklahoma this past weekend at Olsen Field.
Rice also sits atop their league, as the Owls lead Conference USA with a 10-2 mark. They enter Tuesday night's contest on a seven-game win streak which includes league sweeps at Memphis and at home over UAB.
Rice will be the second ranked opponent the Aggies have faced in 2008, as A&M defeated 19th-ranked Houston, 13-6, on the road last Tuesday.
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.
#7 Rice OWLS (27-10) at #8 Texas A&M AGGIES (30-6)
Tuesday, April 15 * 6:30 p.m. CDT
C.E. "Pat" Olsen Field (7,053) * College Station, Texas
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PITCHING PROBABLES:
A&M - #34 Scott Migl (So., RHP, 2-1, 4.73 ERA)
RICE - #17 Mike Ojala (So., RHP, 2-0, 6.15 ERA)
LEADING OFF...
* At 12-3, A&M has matched its best-ever start in Big 12 play...the 1999 team also went 12-3 en route to its second-straight league title.
* A&M has swept three consecutive Big 12 series (Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma) for the first time in school history...it was the first time since 1991 that the Aggies swept three straight league opponents (Rice, Texas, TCU in SWC action).
* The Aggies' No. 8 national ranking (NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball, USA Today) is the highest since a No. 7 showing in the same poll on June 4, 2007.
* A&M played its first game against a ranked opponent on Tuesday at 19th-ranked Houston...the Aggies defeated the Cougars, 13-6, and tallied a season-high 11 2-out RBI.
* Texas A&M's 13-game win streak is a season best...the previous high was eight (Feb. 24-March 5).
* The Aggie offense is hitting .362 over the streak with 14 home runs and 119 RBI, and is averaging 9.8 runs per game.
* Texas A&M has tallied double-figure hits in 10 of its last 13 games and 23 of 36 overall.
* A&M pitching has fanned eight or more batters in 25 of 36 games.
* The Aggie bullpen is 12-2 on the year with eight saves and a 2.42 ERA, and is holding opponents to a .231 average.
* The Aggies are in the midst of a month of April that will see them play play 14 of 18 games at Olsen Field...A&M will not leave the state of Texas until departing for Nebraska on May 8.
* A&M has won 23 consecutive mid-week games dating back to April, 2006.
* Of A&M's six losses on the season, five have been by two or fewer runs.
MID-WEEK MAGIC
The Aggie baseball team has won 23 straight mid-week non-conference contests, including the first 11 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.
30 WINS AND COUNTING
Teams use "benchmark" wins (10, 20, 30, 40, etc.) as one way to measure success throughout the course of a season. This season's Aggie squad is off to one of the best "starts" in school history, if you can use that term 36 games into the year.
The 2008 A&M baseball team reached 30 wins with Sunday's 12-2 win over Oklahoma, tying the 1971 and 1984 teams as the fourth fastest to reach the 30-win plateau.
fastest to 30 wins, school history
YEAR GAMES RECORD
1. 1989 31 30-1
2. 1993 33 30-3
3. 1988 34 30-4
4. 2008 36 30-6
1984 36 30-6
1971 36 30-6
7. 1990 37 30-7
1980 37 30-7
1975 37 30-6-1
10. 2007 38 30-8
1999 38 30-8
1976 38 30-8
ROLLIN' IN BIG 12 PLAY
With Sunday's win over Oklahoma, Texas A&M tied a school record for longest win streak in Big 12 play. The 1997 Aggies also won nine league games in a row, from March 29-April 18.
This season's string began with a 13-6 win over Kansas on March 28.
longest big 12 win streaks, A&M history
YEAR GAMES SPAN
1. 2008 9 Mar 28-
1997 9 Mar 29-Apr 18
3. 1999 7 Mar 28-Apr 11
1998 7 Apr 18-May 2
5. 2003 6 Apr 5-18
1999 6 Feb 26-Mar 7
CHILDRESS GETS 100TH WIN
Texas A&M coach Rob Childress recorded his 100th career win, and 100th at A&M, in a 13-6 win at No. 19 Houston on April 8.
In the midst of his third season in Aggieland, Childress became the second-fastest coach in school history to reach the century mark. He ranks third behind only Mark Johnson and Tom Chandler on the Aggie charts in victories.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M is 30-6 overall and leads the Big 12 with a 12-3 record. The Aggies enter the week on a 13-game win streak that includes three straight sweeps in league play-most recently over Oklahoma this past weekend at Olsen Field.
A&M is hitting a league-best .327 and averages 8.1 runs per game. The offense has pounded out 124 extra-base hits (65 doubles, 23 triples and 36 home runs) while stealing 54 bases.
Senior third baseman Dane Carter (.441, 5 HR, 43 RBI) leads the country in hits and ranks at the top of both the team and Big 12 charts in numerous offensive categories. He has hit safely in 33 of the team's 36 games in 2008. Senior Darby Brown (.336, 8 HR, 43 RBI) is tied for the squad lead in homers and RBI. Junior shortstop Jos? Duran (.386, 2 HR, 37 RBI) is the team's second-leading hitter, while junior first baseman Luke Anders (.358, 8 HR, 32 RBI) has raised his average 41 points over the last two weeks. Two other starters (Kyle Colligan and Brian Ruggiano) are hitting over .300 for the year.
On the mound, the Aggies boast a 3.45 ERA, second-best in the Big 12. A&M pitching is averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings and is holding opposing hitters to a .245 average. Freshman Brooks Raley (5-0, 3.42 ERA) and sophomore Clayton Ehlert (5-2, 3.00 ERA) lead the team in victories, while sophomore Travis Starling (16 appearances, 5-0, 1.61 ERA) has a team-best seven saves. Junior Kyle Thebeau (2-2) features a Big 12-best 1.23 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .208 average. The Aggie bullpen has been strong on the season, posting a 12-2 record, eight saves, 2.42 ERA and .231 opponent average.
A QUICK GLANCE: RICE
No. 7 Rice (27-10, 10-2 C-USA) enters Tuesday night's contest on a seven-game win streak and sits in first place in Conference USA following a three-game sweep of UAB this past weekend in Houston.
The Owls, who are looking to return to the College World Series for the third straight season, hit .310 as a team with 32 home runs and 265 RBI. Rice averages 7.86 runs per game.
Rice is led offensively by sophomore INF Diego Seastrunk (.368, 3 HR, 39 RBI), freshman INF Rick Hague (.368, 6 HR, 35 RBI), junior INF Aaron Luna (.351, 5 HR, 29 RBI) and junior OF Jared Gayhart (.338, 3 HR, 36 RBI). Chris Kelley (5-1, 2.68 ERA), Ryan Berry (4-2, 2.84) and Matt Langwell (3-0, 4.88) leads a pitching staff which sports a 3.98 ERA.
The Owls return 18 letterwinners and five starters from last year's CWS team that finished 56-14 overall.
Wayne Graham is in his 17th season at Rice with a record of 767-294. He has amassed 1,342 career wins in 28 years as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
Texas A&M leads Rice, 175-88-2, in a series that dates back to 1914. The Owls are the third most common opponent in Aggie baseball history.
* The two teams met in last season's NCAA Houston Super Regional, with Rice taking both games to earn a trip to the College World Series.
* A&M and Rice met twice prior in 2007, with the Aggies winning both times-the first in the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park, and the second coming in 10 innings at Reckling Park...boxscores of the '07 games can be found on page 7.
* The Owls have won seven of the last 10.
* The Aggies have dropped the last four meetings between the schools in College Station...A&M's last win over Rice at Olsen Field was nearly 10 years ago to the day, as on April 14, 1998 the Aggies trailed 9-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning but rallied to defeat the Owls, 10-9.
* Of the last 15 meetings between the schools, 12 have been in the city of Houston...either at Rice's Reckling Park or at the home of the Houston Astros, Minute Maid Park, as part of the Houston College Classic.
* With the exception of 1973, the teams have met every year since 1936.
most common opponents, all-time
SCHOOL GAMES
Texas 346
Baylor 301
Rice 265
TCU 246
Houston 157
SMU 154
Texas Tech 138
Sam Houston State 119
Southwestern 74
Texas-Pan American 71
OKLAHOMA REVIEW
Texas A&M recorded its first-ever sweep of the Oklahoma Sooners this weekend at Olsen Field.
The Aggies took game one on Friday by a score of 8-7 on a one-out, bases-loaded single to shortstop off the bat of Jos? Duran. A&M, which trailed 2-0 entering the second, put six on the board in that frame but saw the Sooners chip slowly away. OU finally tied the game in the eighth with three runs off the Aggie bullpen, but a few big defensive plays kept the game tied to set up Duran's ninth-inning heroics.
On Saturday, freshman Barret Loux allowed two runs over 7 innings and struck out nine to lead A&M to a 10-3 victory over Oklahoma at a sold-out Olsen Field. The win moved the Aggies into first place in the league standings.
Sunday's finale saw Clayton Ehlert toss A&M's first complete game of the year in a 12-2, seven-inning victory. The Aggies blew open a tight game with a four-run fifth, and used a three-run double by Duran in the seventh to invoke the Big 12 run rule. A&M pounded out 16 hits on the day.
STOUFFER'S RISE
Senior All-American Blake Stouffer had a tough start to the 2008 campaign at the plate, but has played a big role in the Aggies' 13-game win streak.
Stouffer is on a 12-game hit streak entering Tuesday night's game against Rice, which ties a career high set last season. The San Antonio native is hitting .348 over the 12 games with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and 19 runs scored.
Over that span, Stouffer raised his season average 49 points to .262.
BEARCLAW
One of the Olsen faithful's favorite walk-up songs belongs to junior 1B Luke Anders (Tim McGraw's "Indian Outlaw"), who may be taking the song's "Bearclaw" line to heart of late.
Over A&M's 13-game win streak, Anders has hit .413, mashed four doubles, a triple and five home runs while driving in 17. His slugging percentage over the span is a whopping .870.
CARTER's BIG YEAR
Senior third baseman Dane Carter is having a career season for Texas A&M.
The Graham, Texas native has a pair of 16-game hit streaks in 2008 and has hit safely in 33 of the Aggies' 36 contests overall. Sunday's game against Oklahoma marked the first time all season that Carter did not reach base by either a hit or a walk.
In addition, he leads the team in seven offensive categories (average, hits, triples, runs, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage) and the Big 12 in six of those.
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 36
games started 19 36
batting average .203 .441
hits 15 64
runs scored 14 41
doubles 2 9
triples 0 8
home runs 1 5
RBI 11 43
slugging pct. .270 .717
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 26 contests...
brown's turnaround
CATEGORY FIRST 10 GAMES LAST 20 GAMES
batting average .087 .390
hits-at bats 2-for-23 41-for-105
home runs 0 8
RBI 3 40
slugging pct. .174 .695
runs scored 5 20
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 28 of A&M's 36 games this year, Duran has posted multiple hits in 19 of those 28 (68 percent).
LEGGING IT OUT
Texas A&M has hit 23 triples over the first 36 games of the season. A closer look at this accomplishment:
* The Aggies have already eclipsed last season's triples total (20), with 20 regular-season games remaining...with seven triples in Big 12 play, A&M has already bested the 2007 total of three.
* 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 eight triples on the season, just one shy of the single-season school record (9, Brian Thomas, 1993).
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 2.42 ERA and picking up 12 wins and eight saves. In 126 innings of work, opposing teams have managed 106 hits (.231 average) and 34 earned runs while striking out 133 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 2.08 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 305 batters while walking 116 in their 321 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 25 of the 36 games in 2008, is averaging 8.55 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. Six players have posted 27 or more Ks this spring, led by freshmen Barret Loux (49) and Brooks Raley (40).