April 2, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 10th-ranked Texas A&M baseball team (19-9, 6-3) returns to the road and Big 12 play this weekend when the Aggies head to Lubbock to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-18, 4-5).
The two teams will meet in the series opener on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Dan Law Field. Game two is set for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday with the finale scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
A&M sits tied for first in the Big 12 standings with Oklahoma (4-2) after sweeping Kansas last weekend at Olsen Field. The Aggies have won four straight in league play and a season-best six in a row overall.
Tech is in a four-way tie for sixth at 4-5 in the Big 12 and is coming off a series loss in Austin last weekend. The Red Raiders opened league play with a series win over Nebraska in Lubbock before dropping two-of-three at both Baylor and Texas.
Friday's game also opens a stretch that will see Texas A&M play seven of its next eight games away from home. The Aggies will host Houston on Tuesday before traveling to Kansas State and Rice the following week.
Fans can listen to all the action on WTAW-AM 1620. All games can also be heard free of charge worldwide on aggieathletics.com and radioaggieland.com.
GAMES 29-31
#10 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (19-9, 6-3) at TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (12-18, 4-5)
Friday, April 3 • 6:35 PM
Saturday, April 4 • 6:30 PM
Sunday, April 5 • 1:00 PM
Dan Law Field (4,466) • Lubbock, Texas
Television: None
Radio: WTAW-AM 1620
Gametracker: aggieathletics.com
Free Live Audio: aggieathletics.com/radioaggieland.com
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are $11 for adults and $9 for youth and can be purchased at the Texas Tech Athletic Ticket Office, Dan Law Field or online at texastech.com.
For more information, contact the Red Raider ATO at 806-742-4412 or 888-GO-BIG12.
SNAPSHOT: TEXAS A&M
`09 Record: 19-9, 6-3 Big 12 (T-1st)
Streak: Won 6
Last 5/10: 5-0/6-4
Rankings: #14 (BB Am), #10 (rivals), #11 (USAT), #13 (NCBWA), #21 (Coll BB)
Up Next: Houston (H-Tue)
Head Coach: Rob Childress, 4th year
at A&M: 138-77-1 (.641)
Overall: 138-77-1 (.641)
vs Tech: 5-3
On the Web: aggieathletics.com
SNAPSHOT: TEXAS TECH
`09 Record: 12-18, 4-5 Big 12 (T-6th)
Streak: Lost 1 Last 5/10: 2-3/4-6
Rankings: Not Ranked
Up Next: vs UTSA-DH (Tue, Midland)
Head Coach: Dan Spencer, 1st year
at Tech: 12-18 (.400)
Overall: 12-18 (.400)
vs A&M: never faced
On the Web: texastech.com
TEAM NOTES
• Texas A&M became the 17th team all-time to reach the 2,300-win milestone with a 3-0 victory over Kansas last Friday.
• A&M is hitting .288 as a team with 33 home runs, 174 RBIs and 46 stolen bases, and is averaging seven runs per game.
• on the Aggies' six-game win streak, the team is hitting .322 with 40 RBIs, a .977 fielding percentage and is averaging 8.2 runs per game.
• The Aggie offense has totaled nine or more hits in 18 of its 28 games, and is 17-1 in those contests.
• A&M ranks second in the Big 12 in stolen bases, third in home runs and fifth in runs scored.
• The Aggie pitching staff sports a 4.21 ERA, fourth-best in the Big 12, and has held opposing hitters to a .253 average. A&M pitchers have fanned a league-best 289 batters in 250 innings and sport a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.4, also best in the conference.
• While leading the league in strikeouts and K/BB ratio, A&M also ranks third in opponent batting average.
• A&M's weekend rotation of Brooks Raley, Alex Wilson and Barret Loux are a combined 8-3 with a 3.23 ERA...the trio has combined to strike out 150 in just 108.2 innings and is holding opposing hitters to a .204 average.
• Aggie pitching has struck out eight or more batters in 25 of 28 games in `09, and 10 or more in 18 (four straight entering the weekend)...the season high is 17 against Wright State (Feb. 21).
• The Aggies have come from behind in 13 of their 19 wins this year.
• Since the start of the 2007 season, A&M is 84-22 (.792) at Olsen Field...the Aggies are also 30-8 (.789) in that time in mid-week contests (Tuesday and Wednesday games).
MORE ON TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech (12-18) enters the weekend in sixth place in the Big 12 at 4-5. The Red Raiders have two wins over Nebraska and one each against Baylor and Texas.
Tech hits .291 as a team with 23 home runs, 156 RBIs and 31 stolen bases, and averages six runs per game. The pitching staff sports a 5.54 ERA, ninth in the league, and a .293 opponent batting average.
Dan Spencer is in his first season as the head coach in Lubbock. For more information on Texas Tech baseball, visit texastech.com.
SERIES HISTORY
Texas A&M leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 87-52, dating back to the schools' first meeting in 1929. Last season, A&M took two of three from the Red Raiders at Olsen, winning the first two games but dropping the series finale.
• The Red Raiders did not field a baseball team from 1930-1953, and began Southwest Conference competition in the sport in 1968. For every season except 1976, the Aggies and Tech have faced off in a league series.
• Last year's series opener was a 6-5, 12-inning win for the Aggies at Olsen Field, capped off by a walk-off home run by Dane Carter.
• A&M split a pair of games in its last visit to Lubbock in a snow-shortened series in 2007.
• The Aggies lead in overall series victories, 25-12, while splitting three.
• A&M has swept the series with Tech 15 times, while the Raiders have swept the Aggies four times.
• Texas A&M has never lost a conference series to Texas Tech in College Station (17-0-2 overall).
• The Aggies, meanwhile, are 8-12-1 in series in Lubbock, and have not won one since 1997.
• The longest win streak in the series is 22 games by Texas A&M (April 13 `84-March 29 `91).
• Of the 39 games played (including postseason tournaments) since the formation of the Big 12 prior to the `97 season, A&M has won 20 times while Tech has claimed 19 victories.
• A&M is the only team to win back-to-back Big 12 series, having won the first two (1997, 1998).
• A&M is also the only team to win a Big 12 road series (1997).
• There have been just three sweeps in Big 12 series play between the Aggies and Raiders. Tech swept a two-game series from A&M in Lubbock in 1999 and a three-game set in 2001, while the Aggies took all three games from Texas Tech in College Station in 2002.
• Texas Tech is the Aggies' seventh most common opponent, with 138 games played between the schools.
Series Record: A&M leads, 87-52
A&M Streak: Lost 1
in College Station*: A&M leads, 55-15
in Lubbock*: Tech leads, 33-29
neutral sites*: series tied, 3-3
* since 1971
BIG 12 ERA (1997-present)
overall: A&M leads, 20-19
A&M vs TECH, in BIG 12 SERIES
overall: Won 7, Lost 4, Split 1
For the complete A&M/Texas Tech series history, visit page 164 of the 2009 Aggie Baseball official guide.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M returns home to host Houston on Tuesday before making a quick turnaround and heading to Manhattan for a series against Kansas State, scheduled from Thursday-Saturday to avoid playing on Easter Sunday.