April 17, 2008
The Texas A&M baseball team renews the second-longest rivalry in school history this weekend when the 8th-ranked Aggies (30-7, 12-3 Big 12) face Baylor (23-14, 8-7) in a split-site series. Friday's opener will take place at Olsen Field in College Station, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. The series then shifts north to Waco with games scheduled for Saturday (6:30 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.).
A&M is in first place in the Big 12 at 12-3 and has swept three consecutive league opponents. The Bears are in a three-way tie for fourth place after winning five of their last six Big 12 contests.
The teams will be meeting for the first time since last May's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship game in Oklahoma City, where the Aggies downed the Bears 14-6 for the school's first Big 12 tourney title.
Fans can listen to every pitch of the Friday and Sunday games locally on the flagship home of Texas A&M Athletics, News/Talk 1620 WTAW. Saturday's game from Waco will air on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone due to the Maroon and White spring football game. Dave South, Scott Clendenin and Chuck Glenewinkel call the action all season long. All broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
Baylor BEARS (23-14, 8-7 Big 12) vs #8 Texas A&M AGGIES (30-7, 12-3 Big 12)
Friday, April 18 ?* 6:30 p.m. CDT
C.E. "Pat" Olsen Field (7,053) ?* College Station, Texas
Saturday, April 19 ?* 6:30 p.m. CDT
Sunday, April 20 ?* 2 p.m. CDT
Baylor Ballpark (5,000) ?* Waco, Texas
RADIO WTAW-AM 1620 (Fri & Sun), KZNE-AM 1150 (Sat)
FREE LIVE VIDEO Aggies All-Access (Fri)
GAMETRACKER aggieathletics.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY
A&M - #30 Brooks Raley (Fr., LHP, 5-0, 3.42 ERA)
BU - #15 Kendal Volz (So., RHP, 3-3, 4.78 ERA)
SATURDAY
BU - #33 Shawn Tolleson (Fr., RHP, 4-1, 3.44 ERA)
A&M - #50 Barret Loux (Fr., RHP, 2-1, 5.00 ERA)
SUNDAY
BU - #26 Willie Kempf (So., RHP, 5-1, 3.71 ERA)
A&M - #13 Clayton Ehlert (So., RHP, 5-2, 3.00 ERA)
TICKET INFORMATION - FRI
RESERVED $15
ADULT GEN. ADMISSION $7
YOUTH GEN. ADMISSION $5
STUDENT GEN. ADMISSION $4
TICKET OFFICE (888) 99-AGGIE or (979) 845-2311
TICKET WEBSITE www.aggieathletics.com
PARKING INFORMATION - FRI
RESERVED PARKING 100i, 100j, 100k (Olsen)
GENERAL PARKING 100e, 100g (Reed)
MEDIA PARKING (PASS REQUIRED) 100i (Olsen)
for more information visit transport.tamu.edu.
For media parking info contact A&M Media Relations.
TICKET INFORMATION - SAT & SUN
RESERVED $12
ADULT GEN. ADMISSION $7
YOUTH GEN. ADMISSION $5
TICKET OFFICE (254) 710-1000
TICKET WEBSITE www.baylorbears.com
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 is 1-1 against ranked opponents this season, with both meetings coming in the last 10 days (13-6 win at No. 19 Houston, 11-2 loss to No. 7 Rice).
?* Tuesday's loss to rice snapped Texas A&M's season-best 13-game win streak.
?* The Aggie offense hit .362 over the streak with 14 home runs and 119 RBI, and averaged 9.8 runs per game.
?* Texas A&M has tallied double-figure hits in 10 of its last 14 games and 23 of 37 overall.
?* A&M pitching has fanned eight or more batters in 26 of 37 games.
?* The Aggie bullpen is 12-2 on the year with eight saves and a 2.60 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.
?* Tuesday's loss to Rice snapped a string of 23 consecutive mid-week victories dating back to April, 2006.
?* Of A&M's seven losses on the season, five have been by two or fewer runs.
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 30-7 overall and leads the Big 12 with a 12-3 record. The Aggies have won 13 of their last 14, including three straight sweeps in league play?-most recently over Oklahoma this past weekend at Olsen Field.
A&M is hitting .323 and averages 7.9 runs per game. The offense has pounded out 127 extra-base hits (66 doubles, 23 triples and 38 home runs) while stealing 59 bases.
Senior third baseman Dane Carter (.432, 5 HR, 43 RBI) leads the country in triples (8) 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 37 games in 2008. Senior Darby Brown (.333, 8 HR, 43 RBI) is tied for the squad lead in homers and RBI. Junior shortstop Jos?© Duran (.382, 2 HR, 37 RBI) is the team's second-leading hitter, while junior first baseman Luke Anders (.354, 8 HR, 32 RBI) has raised his average 37 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 3.60 ERA, second-best in the Big 12. A&M pitching is averaging 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings and is holding opposing hitters to a .246 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 (17 appearances, 5-0, 1.54 ERA) has a team-best seven saves. Junior Kyle Thebeau (2-2) features a Big 12-best 1.19 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .202 average. The Aggie bullpen has been strong on the season, posting a 12-2 record, eight saves, 2.60 ERA and .231 opponent average.
A QUICK GLANCE: BAYLOR
Baylor (23-14, 8-7 Big 12) has won four of its last six and enters the weekend off a mid-week split against Dallas Baptist, winning Tuesday's meeting in Waco and falling to the Patriots on Wednesday in Dallas.
The Bears, who are in a three-way tie for fourth in the Big 12 standings with Texas and Oklahoma State at 8-7, hit .277 as a team with 35 home runs and 208 RBI. Baylor averages 6.22 runs per game.
The team's offensive leaders are Dustin Dickerson (.323, 4 HR, 27 RBI), ?? Shaver Hansen (.307, 4 HR, 28 RBI), ?? Adam Hornung (.321, 3 HR, 23 RBI) and ?? Aaron Miller (.285, 9 HR, 27 RBI). Shawn Tolleson (4-1, 3.44 ERA), Willie Kempf (5-1, 3.71) and Tim Matthews (3-1, 2.27, 2 saves) lead a pitching staff which sports a 4.77 ERA.
The Bears return 19 letterwinners and six starters from last year's team that went 35-27 and advanced to NCAA regional play for the 14th season.
Steve Smith is in his 14th season at Baylor with a record of 513-325-1.
SERIES HISTORY
The Texas A&M-Baylor series is the second longest in school history--Friday's game will mark the 302nd meeting between the schools on the diamond. The teams first met in 1904, whth the Aggies winning all four games played.
?* The two teams met in last May's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship game in Oklahoma City, with the Aggies claiming their first tourney title by beating Baylor 14-6.
?* Texas A&M won three of the four meetings in 2007.
?* The teams have played a split-site series since the formation of the Big 12 in 1997.
?* Baylor has won seven of the 11 Big 12 series between the schools, including the last four that featured two games in Waco.
?* There have been two sweeps in the Big 12 series history between the schools, both by Baylor ('00 & '05).
?* The teams have met every season since 1946.
?* Only Texas has played more baseball games against the Aggies than Baylor.
most common opponents, all-time
SCHOOL GAMES
Texas 346
Baylor 301
Rice 266
TCU 246
Houston 157
SMU 154
Texas Tech 138
Sam Houston State 119
Southwestern 74
Texas-Pan American 71
RICE REVIEW
No. 7 Rice snapped Texas A&M's 13-game win streak with an 11-2 win over the 8th-ranked Aggies on Tuesday at Olsen Field.
Both teams hit solo home runs in the first inning, but it would be Aaron Luna's three-run shot in the third that proved all Owl pitcher Mike Ojala would need.
Rice added six in the fifth to open up the game, taking advantage of free passes issued by Aggie pitching?-of the three walks and one hit batsmen in the frame, all would score.
The 5,570 in attendance marked the largest non-conference regular-season crowd at Olsen since 2005.
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 part in the Aggies' roll in recent weeks.
Entering the weekend, Stouffer is on a career-high 13-game hit streak. The San Antonio native is hitting .340 over the 13 games with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and 20 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 the last 14 games, which included a season-best 13-game win streak, Anders has hit .400, mashed four doubles, a triple and five home runs while driving in 17. His slugging percentage over the span is a whopping .820.
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' 37 contests overall. Last Sunday's game against Oklahoma marked the only 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. A comparison of his offensive numbers after playing in the same number of games he did last season...
dane carter: 2007 vs 2008
CATEGORY 2007 TOTALS 2008 NUMBERS
games played 37 37
games started 19 37
batting average .203 .432
hits 15 64
runs scored 14 41
doubles 2 9
triples 0 8
home runs 1 5
RBI 11 43
slugging pct. .270 .703
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 27 GAMES
batting average .087 .385
hits-at bats 2-for-23 42-for-109
home runs 0 8
RBI 3 40
slugging pct. .174 .679
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 29 of A&M's 37 games this year, Duran has posted multiple hits in 19 of those 29 (66 percent).
LEGGING IT OUT
Texas A&M has hit 23 triples over the first 37 games of the season. A closer look at this accomplishment:
?* The Aggies have already eclipsed last season's triples total (20), with 19 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).
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 2.60 ERA and picking up 12 wins and eight saves. In 131 innings of work, opposing teams have managed 111 hits (.231 average) and 38 earned runs while striking out 140 times.
Of the players that have made more than one appearance out of the pen this year, six are holding opponents to an average of .200 or less in those outings.
POUNDING THE ZONE
Texas A&M pitchers have struck out 317 batters while walking 120 in their 330 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 26 of the 37 games in 2008, is averaging 8.65 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 junior Kyle Thebeau (42).
STARLING NAMED TO STOPPER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Texas A&M sophomore Travis Starling was one of 45 relief pitchers named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association ?Stopper of the Year Award? watch list by the organization on April 17. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in Division I college baseball.
Starling (Yoakum, Texas) ranks second in the Big 12 and 15th nationally in saves with seven. In 23 1/3 innings of work, he sports a 5-0 record and a 1.54 ERA with 17 appearances out of the Aggie bullpen.
Starling sits in sixth place on the A&M single-season save charts, just six shy of the school record (13, Scott Beerer, 2003).
Finalists for the award will be announced May 28 with the winner named on June 4.
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 (W, 12-2) FOX College Sports
April 27 Missouri FOX Sports Net
May 10 at Nebraska CBS College Sports
May 16 at Texas FOX College Sports
AGGIES ON THE 'NET
For the sixth straight year, AggieAthletics.com will bring fans around the globe live video of Texas A&M baseball.
Fans will be able to watch, free of charge, all non-televised Aggie home games, along with selected road games, through the new Aggies All-Access.
If live video of an A&M game is not available, free live audio will be provided through All-Access.
The highly-popular Aggies All-Access is in its second season of bringing live game action, television shows, highlights and much more to A&M fans around the world. Aggies All-Access is the most-watched channel on the CSTV.com network.
2008 PHILLIPS 66BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
Texas A&M will be the defending champion at the 12th-annual Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, scheduled for May 21-25 at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in downtown Oklahoma City.
The eight-team championship will be in a two-division, pool play format for the third straight season in 2008. The winner of each bracket will meet in the championship game, with the victor earning the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship.
Oklahoma City and AT&T Bricktown Ballpark will be the host of the event through the 2011 season. For ticket information, contact the Oklahoma Redhawks at (405) 218-1000.
PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS WEEKEND SET FOR APRIL 25-27
Texas A&M Athletics will hold Prostate Cancer Awareness Weekend, presented by the College Station Medical Center and adidas, in conjunction with the April 25, 26 and 27 Missouri series at Olsen Field.