March 18, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SAN DIEGO - The No. 20 Texas A&M softball team takes a six-game winning streak on the road to the San Diego Classic II this weekend where the Aggies face Harvard, Long Beach State, No. 25 Massachusetts, UIC and San Diego State.
A&M (22-6) starts the tournament with a pair of games Friday afternoon (4 and 6:30 p.m.) and plays two more back-to-back Saturday (11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.) before finishing its final non-conference tournament on Sunday at noon.
In addition to winning six straight, the Aggies have won eight of its last nine games and took home the Aggie Invitational title last weekend.
Texas A&M is led offensively by freshman Rebecca Arbino (11-3) has recorded five shutouts and struck out 80 in 90.1 innings pitched.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats and free live audio will be provided for every game this weekend on AggieAthletics.com. In addition, fans can listen to every contest broadcast live on KNDE-FM's HD3 channel, Play x REPlay (95.1-3 on the FM dial of an HD Radio), making them available worldwide on any iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry or PDA free of charge. Log on to radioaggieland.com for more information. In order to find out what the other teams are doing in the San Diego Classic II, the Rebecca Arbino went 4-0 on the week with three straight shutouts and a 0.58 ERA. She threw 19 scoreless innings before giving up the first of only two runs and she threw 21 innings before giving up the first of only two walks, both of which came on Sunday. Arbino posted two, three-hit blanks and struck out 22 in 24 innings pitched. On Saturday against the Bison, she was perfect through three and was only two over the minimum number of batters faced through six frames. She gave up her final two hits with two down in the seventh. Arbino hurled a total of 24 scoreless innings and 26 innings without giving up a walk (3/6-3-13). She gave up just one extra base hit (a double) on the week and held her opponents to a .172 batting average. Arbino leads the Big 12 in shutouts.
AGGIE INVITATIONAL MVP
If the award would have been given, junior Rhi Kliesing was bound to get it boasting a .556 batting average with 10 hits, two doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs. This included going 5-for-5 against Utah State.
In a close second would have been Dumezich. In four appearances, she threw 14 scoreless innings and struck out 16 batters. Dumezich allowed six hits - none of which were for extra bases - and walked six to go 2-0 with two shutouts and improve her overall record to 5-0
SPITTLER'S STREAK
Junior Alex Reynolds and May all had perfect, career-best performances at the dish last weekend. Kliesing was 5-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored against Utah State Friday. Reynolds went 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs in the same game, while May went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles a two-run home run and three runs scored against NDSU Sunday.
RAU'S BIG HITS
Junior Kara Rau was called upon to pinch hit twice at the Aggie Invitational and came through big both times. With two outs in the fifth inning against Wright State, the League City, Texas, native stepped up to the plate and cracked a bases-clearing double to give A&M a 5-0 advantage. Then, the Aggies were down 2-1 with two on and two out in the bottom of the fifth against the Bison Sunday. Rau delivered her second RBI hit of the weekend and the game-winning run crossed the plate as the attempt to throw out Rau went over the first baseman's head.
SCOUTING HARVARD
Harvard is 4-7 on the season with six of its games coming in the last week. The Crimson is 2-4 in those contests and faces San Diego State and Kansas in San Diego before taking on the Aggies. Harvard is hitting .204 as a team and Melissa Schelberg leads the way with a .276 batting average and eight hits. Ellen Macadam has the only home run of the year and leads the team with five RBIs. No. 1 pitcher Rachel Brown holds a 1.47 ERA and a 4-2 record with 52 K's in 36.2 innings pitched. This is the first meeting between the Crimson and the Aggies.
SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State improved to 11-12 with a 4-3, come-from-behind win against Kansas on Wednesday. Liz Javier had the game-winning RBI and Petty Taylor (5-7) threw seven scoreless innings in relief for the win. The 49ers have now won six of their last seven games. Javier (.327) is the only LBSU player hitting above .300 as the team posts a .245 batting average. Nalani St. Germain (.292) holds the power and leads the team with 21 hits, 21 runs, eight home runs and 18 RBIs. In the circle, Taylor records a 2.17 ERA, one shutout and 72 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched. Texas A&M is 5-10 against Long Beach State and last saw them in San Diego in 2008. The Aggies gave up two runs in the first innings and were unable to come back, falling 2-1.
SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS
No. 25 UMass is 11-4 and plays seven games at the San Diego Classic II this weekend, beginning Thursday evening. The Minutewomen have won six of their last seven and played a tight contest with then-No. 6 Missouri in late Feb. in which they fell, 2-1. UMass is hitting .287 as team and has three players with averages over .400. Carly Normandin has only played in nine games, but leads the team with a .471 average. Katie Bettencourt is hitting .425, while Kyllie Magill (.420) holds a team-high 21 hits and 15 runs. Michelle Libby and Sarah Reeves provide the power with three home runs each and 11 and 10 RBIs, respectively. The Minutewomen flip between two pitchers, but Sara Plourde (10-2) has carried the majority of the load with four shutouts and 140 K's in 79.2 innings pitched. The Aggies are 2-3 against UMass and last faced the team in Columbus, Ga., in 2008 as part of the NFCA Leadoff Classic. A&M outhit the Minutewomen, 9-4, but committed two errors and gave up three unearned runs to fall 4-1.
SCOUTING UIC
The University of Illinois at Chicago is 6-13 this season with a .243 team batting average and is led by Shannon Kehr (.346) with 18 hits, eight runs and five home runs. Kehr is one of three players hitting above .300. Carly Demarco (.326) has speed with 13-of-14 stolen bases. Brooke Frydendall has driven in the most runs with nine RBIs. Devin Miller and Ashley Hewett share time in the circle. Miller (2-6) has a 2.58 ERA and has fanned 43 in 54.1 innings pitched. Hewett (3-7) posts a 3.46 ERA with 45 K's in 60.2 innings pitched. A&M is 1-1 against UIC and has not faced the team since 1999. The Flames were ranked No. 24 and defeated the Aggies 3-1 at the UTA Classic in Grand Prairie, Texas.
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE
As one of the hosts of the San Diego Classic II, San Diego State is receiving votes in both polls and carries a season-long seven-game winning streak into the tournament this weekend. Justeen Maeva leads the Aztecs with a .400 batting average, 22 hits, three home runs and 17 RBIs. Brittany Knudsen (.328) also posts 22 hits, 14 runs and is 7-of-9 in stolen bases. Samantha Beasley has seen the majority of time in the circle and has a 0.84 ERA and an 11-5 record. She has fanned 138 in 91.1 innings pitched. A&M holds a 3-2 all-time record against the Aztecs and last faced them in Cathedral City, Calif., on Feb. 26. The Aggies came out on top of a 7-6, eight-inning game. Morrow delivered the game-winning RBI single in the top of the eighth and Arbino threw six innings for the win in the circle.
SISK OUT FOR THE SEASON
Junior transfer Lindsey Sisk injured the tendon to her middle finger on her non-throwing hand and will be out for the entire 2010 season.