April 24, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
The Texas A&M softball team wraps up its regular season home schedule with a pair of games against Iowa State this weekend. Saturday's contest begins at 1 p.m., while first pitch on Sunday is slated for noon.
On Saturday numerous Aggie softball alumni will be recognized before the game and on Sunday seniors Holly Ridley, Holly Ridley 19 extra-base hits lead the team. Her eight home runs and three triples are also tops. Kliesing and Glasco each tally a team-best 28 RBIs and Kliesing adds seven homers. In the circle, the sophomore records a 2.28 ERA with 157 strikeouts in 206.0 innings pitched.
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
The Cyclones snapped No. 10 Missouri's 10-game winning streak with a 4-3 upset in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday in Columbia, Mo. The team sits in ninth place in the league standings and split with the Tigers to mark their third Big 12 series split. Iowa State also split with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State and defeated Nebraska in a single game. ISU's school record for Big 12 wins in a season is six.
The Cyclones are hitting .251 with a .949 fielding percentage. Courtney Wray (.301) is the only player hitting above .300 and will most likely miss the remainder of the season after fracturing her arm on a hit by pitch against Missouri. Kelsey Kidwell leads the team with 46 hits, while Alex Johnson is the power hitter with 15 extra-base hits, including six home runs, and 35 RBIs. Carleigh Berry provides the speed on the base paths with 16-of-17 stolen bases.
Rachel Zabriskie (15-21) has thrown 242.0 innings this season and leads a pitching staff that records a 2.78 ERA. Zabriskie has fanned 198 batters and picked up three shutouts. Charissa Carlin provides most of the relief in the circle with 40 K's in 68.2 innings pitched.
VERSUS THE CYCLONES
A&M has won 30 of 35 games against ISU. The Aggies were victorious in the last six meetings and the last 10 of 11 games. In addition, the Cyclones have only won two contests in College Station.
The Aggies took three wins from Iowa State in 2008. Sophomore Kelsey Spittler led the way hitting .571 in the stretch with four hits, a double and two RBIs. Villarreal laced three hits, including a double and a home run, with five RBIs and three runs. Glasco and Reynolds added two hits and an RBI. Ridley's solo home run in the fourth inning against ISU at the Big 12 Tournament started the Aggies' run to a Big 12 Championship.
AGGIE SOFTBALL ON ESPN AGAIN
The Aggies were televised on ESPN last Sunday at Oklahoma and are slated to have a second game on ESPN on Saturday, May 2 at Texas. In addition, the Big 12 Tournament Championship game on May 10 will be broadcast on FSN.
RPI
As of April 21, Texas A&M moved up one spot to 34th in the 2009 NCAA ratings percentage index. Other Big 12 schools in the top 40 are Missouri (11), Oklahoma (9), Texas (23), Nebraska (32) and Baylor (33).