March 5, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
No. 17 Texas A&M softball team returns home this weekend to host the Aggie Invitational presented by the City of College Station. Kent State, Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin and Utah travel to the Aggie Softball Complex for the three-day tournament.
The Aggies (14-8) have won nine of their last 11 games and step on the diamond on Friday at 5:15 p.m. against Utah. A&M starts Saturday's action with Kent State at 3:00 p.m. and Utah at 5:15 p.m. The Aggies wrap up the invitational on Sunday with Louisiana Tech at 2:30 p.m. and Stephen F. Austin at 4:45 p.m.
A&M downed Houston 6-2 on the road Wednesday before returning to College Station for five straight home games. Senior Erin Glasco's three-run shot in the top of the first got the Aggies out to a comfortable lead and sophomore Rhi Kliesing struck out 10 to give A&M its second win over the Cougars this season.
Sophomore Holly Ridley, the Big 12 Player of the Week, USA Softball National Player of the Week and NFCA National Player of the Week, is hitting .369 with a team-best .815 slugging percentage, seven home runs and 19 RBIs.
Kliesing, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, continues to shine in the circle posting a 1.69 earned run average and a 10-4 record. She has fanned 99 on the year with three shutouts.
Live stats will be provided for every game this weekend with live audio and video for A&M games on AggieAthletics.com. Fans can also listen to A&M's contests on Sunday live on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone.
General parking is free on days when there is not a baseball or basketball game and is available in lots 100g, 100j and 100k. Due to the baseball game on Friday fans attending the 5:15 p.m. game will be charged $5. Due men's basketball and baseball on Saturday, fans may be charged $5. In addition, fans attending Saturday's games should be award of traffic exiting from the basketball game and are advised to use George Bush to Olsen Blvd. and park in the Olsen lots. Finally, due to baseball on Sunday, fans attending the 2:30 p.m. game may also be charged $5.
PROMOTIONS
Stampfest 2009 continues this weekend, and along with that comes great times and great prizes. From March 3-8 come see the Aggies take the field in baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball, women's tennis and equestrian in 14 events and enter to win some amazing prizes courtesy of the 12th Man Team Rewards Program.
SCOUTING KENT STATE
The Golden Flashes (5-5) have not competed in 19 days after rain cancelled their tournament last weekend in Elon, North Carolina. The Flashes last went 1-4 at the Littlewood Classic hosted by Arizona State Feb. 13-15. Leah Archual is batting a team-best .371 with 13 hits and two doubles. Jess Carmichael (.333) has nine hits and three RBIs. Kylie Reynolds is 4-3 in the circle, but has 79 strikeouts in 48.2 innings pitched. Kent State is hitting .188 as a team with an ERA of 2.80.
VERSUS THE GOLDEN FLASHES
A&M and Kent State have met once in 1994 and the Aggies came out on top 3-0 at the Tulsa Festival in Tulsa, Okla.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA TECH
The Lady Techsters (10-8) come into the weekend after defeating Southeastern Louisiana 2-0 and 10-1 on Wednesday. Amberly Waits boasts a .488 batting average with 21 hits, four doubles, three home runs and 21 RBIs. Tech is hitting .233 as a team with a 2.01 team ERA. Meghan Krieq and Krissi Oliver split time in the circle, but Krieq has a 0.72 ERA and has recorded almost double the amount of K's with 64.
VERSUS THE LADY TECHSTERS
A&M leads the all-time series 34-24 and last met Tech at the 2008 NCAA Regional in College Station, where they blanked the Techsters 4-0 and 6-0. Villarreal connected for an RBI single and Spittler added a hit and a run on May 17. On May 18, Ridley went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run. Morrow was 2-for-3, while Villarreal added an RBI single and Kliesing a double.
SCOUTING STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
The Ladyjack softball team (8-12) split a doubleheader with North Texas on Wednesday breaking a four-game winning streak with a 1-3 in the first game but coming back to win the second 9-5. Kayla Gutowski has a team-high .286 average with four doubles and 15 RBIs. Kendal Harper is right behind batting .278 with 20 hits and 12 runs. Kim Daley leads the Ladyjacks with five home runs. Monika Covington is 6-6 and has thrown the most innings with a 2.24 ERA and 85 strikeouts. SFA is hitting .231 with a 2.98 ERA.
VERSUS THE LADYJACKS
The Aggies have won 46 of 50 meetings between the two opponents and took two games from the Ladyjacks in 2008. SFA traveled to College Station and fell 7-1 and 3-0 in a doubleheader on Feb. 20. Reynolds batted .500 with three hits, including a home run. Glasco added a double and a home run with three RBIs. Kliesing gave up just two hits in game two to earn her first collegiate win with a shutout.
AGGIE CONNECTIONS
The SFA second-year head coach Gay McNutt was a four-year starter behind the plate at Texas A&M, starring for the Aggies from 1982-1985. She was named to the all-region team each of those four years and earned All-American honors as a senior in 1985. McNutt, who served as team captain in each of her last two seasons at A&M, helped lead the Aggies to a pair of national championships.
SCOUTING UTAH
The Utes lost nine of their last 10 games and went 1-3 last weekend at the San Diego Classic, defeating Santa Clara, 2-1. Utah is hitting .211 as a team with a 4.82 ERA. Brooke Olson (.314) is the only player batting over .300. Kara Foster leads the team with 17 hits, three doubles, seven home runs and four stolen bases. Whitney Holm has a team-best 13 RBIs. Four pitchers have seen action for the Utes. Ashley Smuda is 6-3 with 27 strikeouts.
VERSUS THE UTES
The Aggies lead the series 15-5 and the last time Utah faced A&M was on Feb 10, 2007 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Aggies downed Utah 10-3 and Morrow picked up a double and a walk in the two hole as a freshman.
RECAP
Texas A&M won their midweek game against Houston after a 4-1 weekend at home. The Ags took two of three games from Arizona and also came out with two wins over Monmouth. Against with Wildcats on Saturday, A&M played in front of 1,403 fans - its largest crowd this season.
WHAT'S UP NEXT
After a five-game home stretch, the Aggies take a spring break trip to Boca Raton, Fla., for five games at the FAU Parents' Weekend tournament. The Aggies will face Bethune Cookman, Florida Atlantic, Liberty, Purdue and Rutgers.