March 13, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - No. 3 Texas A&M begins its 13th season of Big 12 baseball on Saturday evening when the Aggies open a split series with No. 5 Baylor at Olsen Field. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
The teams will meet again Sunday in College Station at 1:05 p.m. before the series shifts north to Waco for the finale Monday at 6:30 p.m., in a game originally scheduled for Friday evening but moved due to inclement weather.
The change in schedule will have the Aggies playing a game on five consecutive days for the first time since 1999 (April 16-20).
The weekend's games will conclude a now-extended eight-game homestand for A&M, who was picked by the league's coaches to defend its regular-season championship. The Aggies enter the game having won six of their last 10 and are coming off a loss to fourth-ranked Cal State Fullerton Tuesday night at Olsen.
The Bears, meanwhile, have won four straight and nine of their last 10 after sweeping South Alabama, UC Irvine and UAB in last weekend's QTI Baylor Classic.
All three games will air locally on WTAW-AM 1620 and worldwide on radioaggieland.com. Free live video of the Saturday and Sunday games will be available on aggieathletics.com, which will also carry free audio of Monday's series finale.
#3 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (11-4, 0-0) vs #5 BAYLOR BEARS (10-2, 0-0)
Saturday, March 14 • 6:35 PM
Sunday, March 15 • 1:05 PM
Olsen Field (7,053) • College Station, Texas
Monday, March 16 • 6:30 PM
Baylor Ballpark (5,000) • Waco, Texas
Television: None
Radio: WTAW-AM 1620
Free Live Video (Sat/Sun): aggieathletics.com
Gametracker: aggieathletics.com
Free Live Audio: radioaggieland.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
SATURDAY: #30 Brooks Raley (So., LHP, 3-0, 2.50) vs #15 Kendal Volz (Jr., RHP, 1-0, 1.86)
SUNDAY: #18 Alex Wilson (Jr., RHP, 1-2, 0.96) vs #11 Aaron Miller (Jr., LHP, 1-0, 3.48)
MONDAY: #50 Barret Loux (So., RHP, 0-0, 4.11) vs #33 Shawn Tolleson (So., RHP, 0-0, 4.97)
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
• SATURDAY: sponsored by Farm Bureau...Party at the Park (opens 5 p.m., inflatables, wiffle ball games, and more).
• SUNDAY: sponsored by Honey Baked Ham...kids 12 and under free with paid adult, limit four (Take Me Out to the Ballgame)...kids run the bases after the game, thanks to Schlotsky's.
TICKET INFORMATION
Reserved seats are $11, while general admission tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youth. Aggie students with a valid ID that do not have the all-sports option can get in for $4. Gates open 90 minutes prior to first pitch.
Season tickets and special ticket packages are currently on sale. For more information, contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 888-99-AGGIE or by logging on to aggieathletics.com.
Fans with tickets to the Friday game in Waco can use them for admission to Monday night's contest. For more Baylor ticket information please contact 254-710-1000.
PARKING INFORMATION
Lots immediately surrounding Olsen Field (100i, 100j, 100k) are reserved for season ticket and pass holders only. General parking is available in the southern lots of Reed Arena (100e, 100g) or in the West Campus garage. For much more detailed information, maps and more, visit Transportation Services online at transport.tamu.edu.
LEADING OFF
• Texas A&M is hitting .292 as a team with 22 home runs, 97 RBIs and 24 stolen bases, and is averaging seven runs per game.
• The Aggie offense has totaled 10 or more hits in eight of 15 games, and is undefeated in those contests.
• The Aggie pitching staff sports a 3.67 ERA, fourth-best in the Big 12, and has held opposing hitters to a .232 average. A&M pitchers have fanned a league-best 154 batters in 135 innings and sport a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.9, also best in the conference.
• A&M starters are 7-2 on the year with a 2.87 ERA, and are holding opposing hitters to a .210 average...the six Aggies have combined to punch out 105 hitters in just under 85 innings of work while walking only 21.
• Aggie pitching has struck out 10 or more hitters in seven of the last eight games and in all but four contests in 2009...the season high is 17 in a win over Wright State on Feb. 21.
• Three regular starters are hitting over .350 on the year: 3B Brooks Raley (.408) and LF Dylan Petrich (.385)...Shofner's .462 average ranks second in the Big 12.
• Shofner leads the conference in on-base percentage (.604) and slugging percentage (.846).
• Shofner, Luke Anders, Brodie Greene and Adam Smith are all tied for the team lead with three home runs apiece.
• Raley leads the team and ranks second in the Big 12 with eight stolen bases...he is also tied for the league lead with seven doubles in `09.
• Junior Alex Wilson has been fantastic on the mound despite sporting a 1-2 record...he has a league-high 35 strikeouts in just under 19 innings of work and has walked only five...he sports a 0.96 ERA and a .136 opponent average...Wilson has fanned 14, seven and 14 in his three starts in `09.
• Raley sports a staff-best 3-0 record and his 2.50 ERA ranks third...he has held opposing hitters to a .234 average.
• Junior Travis Starling has three saves on the year, tying him for second in the Big 12...he now has 14 in his Aggie career, ranking him third all-time on the charts.
• Texas A&M has scored 40 of its 105 runs this season (or 38 percent) in the sixth inning.
• The Aggies have come from behind in eight of their 11 wins this year.
• Since the start of the 2007 season, A&M is 77-20 (.794) at Olsen Field...the Aggies are also 28-6 (.824) in that time in mid-week contests (Tuesday and Wednesday games).
MORE ON BAYLOR
Baylor has won four straight and enters the weekend with a 10-2 overall record and a high ranking of No. 5 nationally (by Baseball America).
The Bears hit .298 as a team, average 6.6 runs per game and sport a 3.55 team ERA.
Steve Smith is in his 15th season as the head coach in Waco. For more information on Baylor baseball, visit baylorbears.com.
SERIES HISTORY
The series between Texas A&M and Baylor is the second longest in school history--Saturday's game will mark the 306th meeting between the schools on the diamond. The teams first met in 1904, with the Aggies winning all four games played that season.
• Only Texas has played more baseball games against the Aggies than Baylor.
• A&M swept the Bears in last season's split series, including a 13-12, 11-inning win in the finale that saw the Aggies score six runs in the ninth to force extra innings.
• The teams have played a split-site series since the formation of the Big 12 in 1997.
• Baylor has won seven of the 12 Big 12 series between the schools, with the Aggies taking the last two.
• There have been three sweeps in the Big 12 series history between the schools, two by Baylor (`00 and `05) and one by A&M (`08).
• The last time both teams were ranked when meeting in the regular season was 2003, when the 23rd-ranked Aggies took two-of-three from the sixth-ranked Bears.
• The last time both teams were ranked in the top 10 nationally for the series was in 1999 (A&M No. 5, Baylor No. 7).
• The teams have met every year since 1946.
* since 1971
BIG 12 ERA (1997-present)
A&M vs BAYLOR, in BIG 12 SERIES
* split series; home site counted where majority of games played
For the complete A&M/Baylor series history, visit page 156 of the 2009 Aggie Baseball official guide.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M will host New Mexico in a pair of games Tuesday and Wednesday evening (both 6:35 p.m. starts) before hopping a plane to Columbia Thursday afternoon. The Aggies open a three-game series at Missouri next Friday, March 20.
A&M IN BIG 12 OPENERS
Texas A&M will begin its 13th season of Big 12 baseball this weekend against Baylor. Some notes on A&M's Big 12 opener history:
• The Aggies are 6-6 all time in their first Big 12 game of the season...A&M has won two straight league openers, including a 6-5, 12-inning victory over Texas Tech last March at Olsen Field.
• The Aggies have won eight of the previous 12 Big 12-opening series...last year A&M took two of three from the Red Raiders.
• A&M has swept its first Big 12 series three times (Oklahoma State in 1999, Kansas State in 2000 and Texas Tech in 2002).
• A&M has been swept in its first Big 12 series once (Missouri, 2006).
• A&M has opened the league season at home 10 times and on the road twice...'09 will mark the fourth year that the Aggies and Baylor have faced off to open Big 12 play (1997, 2001, 2004).
• Three of the Aggies' Big 12 openers have gone extra innings (11-inning, 2-1 loss to Baylor, 2/24/01; 10-inning, 7-6 win over Texas Tech, 3/1/02; 12-inning, 6-5 win over Texas Tech, 3/14/08).