BaseballMay 07, 2009

No. 14 Aggies Clash with No. 7 Texas in Lone Star Showdown

The 14th-ranked Texas A&M baseball team puts its Big 12 title hopes on the line this weekend when the Aggies (32-16, 13-8) clash with rival and seventh-ranked Texas (34-11-1, 15-8-1) in the State Farm

May 7, 2009

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 14th-ranked Texas A&M baseball team puts its Big 12 title hopes on the line this weekend when the Aggies (32-16, 13-8) clash with rival and seventh-ranked Texas (34-11-1, 15-8-1) in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown.

The annual split series opens at Olsen Field Friday night at 6:35 p.m. The action then shifts to Austin for nationally-televised games on Saturday (12 p.m., FSN) and Sunday (2 p.m., FCS).

A&M sits in third place in the conference race with six games remaining. The Aggies trail the Longhorns by one game and second-place Kansas State by percentage points entering the weekend. In fact, the top six teams in the league are separated by two games in the standings.

Fans can listen to all the action on WTAW-AM 1620. Free live video of the games will be available on aggieathletics.com, while free live audio can be found at radioaggieland.com.

#14 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (32-16, 13-8) vs #7 TEXAS LONGHORNS (34-11-1, 15-8-1)

Friday, May 8 • 6:35 PM
C.E. "Pat" Olsen Field (7,053) • College Station, Texas

Saturday, May 9 • 12:06 PM
Sunday, May 10 • 2:05 PM
UFCU Disch-Falk Field (6,649) • Austin, Texas

Television: Sat & Sun (see below)
Free Live Video: aggieathletics.com (Fri)
Radio: WTAW-AM 1620
Gametracker: aggieathletics.com
Free Live Audio: radioaggieland.com

WEEKEND EVENTS

FRIDAY: sponsored by State Farm...senior recognition night.

TICKET/PARKING INFO

Reserved seats are $15 (lower level) and $12 (upper level), while general admission tickets are $8 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. For more information, contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 888-99-AGGIE or by logging on to aggieathletics.com.

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.

WEEKEND TV INFO

Saturday: FSN

Saturday's game will be televised live by FOX Sports Net. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. Greg Lucas (play-by-play) and Jack Lazorko (commentary) will call the action. The game will air live on the following FSN affiliates:

FSN Arizona

FSN Detroit

FSN Houston

FSN Midwest

FSN North

FSN Ohio

FSN Rocky Mtn

FSN Southwest (TX & OK)

FSN West (delay 2pm PT)

FSN Wisconsin

Comcast Bay Area

Comcast Philadelphia

All of the stations above are also available on DirecTV and Dish Network as part of the "Sports Pack".

Sunday: FOX College Sports

Sunday's game will be televised live by FOX College Sports. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Dan McLaughlin (play-by-play) and Keith Moreland (commentary) will call the action. FCS is available on digital cable outlets around the country. The game will also be televised on DirecTV Channel 615.

A&M SNAPSHOT

`09 Record: 32-16, 13-8 Big 12 (3rd)
Streak: Won 2
Last 5/10: 4-1/8-2
Rankings: #14 (BB Amer), #15 (Col BB), #16 (USAT), #16 (NCBWA), #16 (rivals)
Up Next: Texas State (H-Tue)
Head Coach: Rob Childress, 4th year
at A&M: 151-84-1 (.642)
Overall: 151-84-1 (.642)
On the Web: aggieathletics.com

TEXAS SNAPSHOT

`09 Record: 34-11-1, 15-8-1 Big 12 (1st)
Streak: Won 5
Last 5/10: 5-0/6-3-1
Rankings: #8 (BB Amer), #8 (Col BB), #7 (USAT), #8 (NCBWA), #7 (rivals)
Up Next: Alabama A&M (H-Sat DH)
Head Coach: Augie Garrido, 13th year
at UT: 551-264-2 (.674)
Overall: 1,702-788-9 (.683), 41st year
On the Web: www.texassports.com

BIG 12 CAPSULES

Texas A&M

SERIES WINS: Baylor (split series, 2 of 3), Kansas (sweep), Nebraska (sweep), Oklahoma State (2 of 3).

SERIES LOSSES: at Missouri (2 of 3), at Texas Tech (2 of 3), at Kansas State (2 of 3).

REMAINING GAMES (6, 1H/5A): at Texas (1H/2A), at Oklahoma.

Texas

SERIES WINS: Missouri (2 of 3), Texas Tech (2 of 3), at Oklahoma State (2 of 3), at Nebraska (sweep), Oklahoma (sweep), Baylor (sweep).

SERIES LOSSES: at Kansas (sweep), Kansas State (2 losses, 1 tie).

REMAINING GAMES (3, 2H/1A): A&M (2H/1A).

TEAM NOTES

A&M averages seven runs per contest and has totaled 66 home runs, 303 RBIs and 63 stolen bases.

The Aggies have won 11 of their last 13 games...over that span A&M has hit .347 with 22 home runs, 98 RBIs, a .980 fielding percentage, a 3.18 ERA and a .244 opponent average.

A&M is 10-2 on the current season-long 13-game homestand...the Aggies are 26-8 at Olsen in `09 with two regular-season games remaining (Friday vs Texas, Tuesday vs Texas State).

A&M is 10-1 at home in Big 12 play this year...Friday's game against Texas is the Aggies' final league contest at Olsen.

Texas A&M ranks fifth nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (9.9) and 16th nationally in fewest walks per nine innings (2.81).

Texas A&M ranks seventh in the league in batting average and fourth in ERA.

A&M leads the league in fielding percentage in conference games (.987) and ranks third for the entire season (.974)...the Aggies' season percentage of .974 ranks 18th nationally.

A&M put together a string of 263 straight chances without an error from April 9-22.

The Aggie pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts (467) and K/BB ratio (3.6)...A&M also ranks second in opponent batting average (.253).

The Aggies' 467 strikeouts is 69 shy of the school record (536 set in 1991 and 1999) with seven regular-season games remaining.

Aggie pitching has struck out eight or more batters in 36 of 48 games (75%) in `09, and 10 or more in 26 (54%)...the season high is 17 (Wright State, Feb. 21).

The Aggies have come from behind in 19 of their 32 wins this year.

Five of A&M's eight Big 12 losses this year have been by two runs or less.

Since the start of the 2007 season, A&M is 94-25 (.790) at Olsen Field...the Aggies are also 33-9 (.786) in that time in mid-week contests (Tuesday and Wednesday games).

A&M is 4-1 this season against top-five opponents...the Aggies have defeated UC Irvine (No. 5), Baylor twice (No. 5) and Rice (No. 1), while falling to Cal State Fullerton (No. 4)...A&M is 7-4 overall against ranked opponents.

LAST 5 (4-1): .325, 11 HR, 33 RBI...3.72 ERA, 38 K, .279 opponent avg., .966 fielding pct.

LAST 10 (8-2): .349, 18 HR, 74 RBI...3.54 ERA, 88 K, .257 opponent avg., .974 fielding pct.

vs RANKED TEAMS (7-4): .285, 15 HR, 61 RBI...4.23 ERA, 106 K, .265 opponent avg., .981 fielding pct.

ROAD GAMES (6-8): .261, 19 HR, 63 RBI...4.62 ERA, 129 K, .249 opponent avg., .986 fielding pct.

MORE ON TEXAS

Texas (34-11-1) leads the Big 12 standings at 15-8-1 and has won 10 of its last 13 league games. The Longhorns took over first place with a three-game sweep of Baylor last weekend.

Texas hits .293 as a team with 26 home runs, 230 RBIs and 59 stolen bases, and averages 5.8 runs per game. The pitching staff sports an NCAA-best 2.49 ERA and a .227 opponent batting average.

Augie Garrido is in his 13th season as the head coach in Austin. For more information on Texas baseball, visit texassports.com.

SERIES HISTORY

The Texas A&M/Texas rivalry is the longest running and most often played series in Aggie baseball history. The teams will meet for the 351st time on Friday in a series that dates back 105 years.

2009 will mark the 95th straight season that the teams have met on the baseball diamond...the last time A&M and UT did not play baseball was in 1914.

Texas is the Aggies' most common opponent at the Big 12 Championship (nine meetings).

Texas is by far A&M's most common opponent of all time.

Nine of the last 14 meetings have been decided by three runs or less.

The teams combined to sweep the Big 12 championships last year...the Aggies took the regular-season crown while the Longhorns won the postseason championship in Oklahoma City.

Next year's series is scheduled for April 16-18 in Austin (Fri) and College Station (Sat-Sun).

Series Record UT leads, 227-118-5

A&M Streak Lost 4

in College Station* UT leads, 38-27

in Austin* UT leads, 49-14

neutral sites* UT leads, 7-6
* since 1971

BIG 12 ERA (1997-present)

overall UT leads, 31-14

in College Station UT leads, 10-8

in Austin UT leads, 15-3

at Big 12 Tourney UT leads, 6-3

A&M vs TEXAS, in BIG 12 SERIES

overall Won 3, Lost 9

in College Station* Won 1, Lost 5

in Austin* Won 2, Lost 4

A&M Streak Lost 5

series opener Won 4, Lost 8
* split series; home site counted where majority of games played

For the complete A&M/Texas series history, visit page 163 of the 2009 Aggie Baseball official guide.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M plays its final regular-season home game on Tuesday when the Aggies host Texas State at 6:35 p.m. A&M will then head to Oklahoma for a three-game series with the Sooners and remain in the area for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship the following week at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.

AGGIE SENIORS TO BE HONORED FRIDAY

Texas A&M's senior class--Luke Anders, Kyle Colligan, Hank Robertson and Kyle Thebeau--along with redshirt junior Travis Starling, will be honored prior to Friday's game against Texas.

Some notes about the accomplishments of the Class of `09...

This senior class, which came into the program along with Coach Rob Childress in `06, has led the Aggies to 126 wins over the last two-plus seasons.

helped lead A&M to back-to-back Big 12 titles (postseason 2007, regular season 2008).

brought back-to-back NCAA Regional titles home for the first time in school history.

part of the Aggies earning their first No. 1 ranking in a decade (1999).

put together a school and conference record 16-game Big 12 win streak in 2008.

all five honorees are on track to graduate within the next year.