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No. 23 Aggies Host Texas Tech in Big 12 Opener

Texas A&M opens up the 14th season of Big 12 baseball this weekend when the Aggies (13-3) host Texas Tech (8-10) in a three-game series at Olsen Field ... games are scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Friday, 2:0

March 18, 2010

Complete Game Notes (PDF format)

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M opens up the 14th season of Big 12 baseball this weekend when the Aggies (13-3) host Texas Tech (8-10) in a three-game series at Olsen Field ... games are scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Friday, 2:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday ... A&M has won 10 of its last 11 games and is ranked 23rd in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll ... the Aggies took two of three from then 25th-ranked Washington State last weekend at Olsen Field ... the Red Raiders, meanwhile, began the year 7-2 but have lost eight of their last nine ... Tech was swept in a three-game set at TCU last weekend and fell to Texas State on Tuesday in Lubbock ... A&M is 11-2 at home this year while Texas Tech is 0-6 away from Dan Law Field ... on the season, the Aggies' three losses are by a combined seven runs.

#23 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (13-3, 0-0) vs TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (8-10, 0-0)
Friday, 6:35 PM / Saturday, 2:05 PM / Sunday, 1:05 PM

RADIO: WTAW-AM 1620 or KZNE-AM 1150 (see below)
Dave South, Will Johnson, Scott Clendenin and Kevin Hurley

FREE LIVE VIDEO: aggieathletics.com
FREE LIVE AUDIO: aggieathletics.com o radioaggieland.com
LIVE STATS: aggieathletics.com

RANKINGS: A&M - #23 (USA Today/ESPN)
SERIES HISTORY: A&M leads, 89-54
A&M STREAKS: Won 1 / Last 5 (2-3) / Last 10 (6-4)
LAST MEETING: A&M 11, Tech 4 (May 23, 2009 in Oklahoma City)

IMPORTANT RADIO INFORMATION

Friday's game will be broadcast locally on WTAW-AM 1620 ... the broadcast will follow the men's basketball NCAA Tournament game from Spokane, which is expected to tip at approximately 3:45 p.m. (CDT) ... Saturday's game will air on WTAW-AM 1620 ... if the Aggie men defeat Utah State in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Sunday's series finale will air on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone ... otherwise, Sunday's game will be broadcast on WTAW-AM 1620.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

  • FRIDAY: #50 Barret Loux (Jr., RHP, 2-1, 0.81) vs #42 John Neely (So., RHP, 0-0, 6.00)
  • SATURDAY: #36 Ross Stripling (So., RHP, 3-1, 4.57) vs #43 Bobby Doran (Jr., RHP, 0-1, 4.50)
  • SUNDAY: TBA vs TBA

    FOLLOWING THE ACTION

  • RADIO - Fans can listen to all three games on either WTAW-AM 1620 or KZNE-AM 1150 ... broadcast station will depend on the Aggie basketball team's NCAA tournament games (see information above) ... Dave South, Will Johnson, Scott Clendenin and Kevin Hurley will call the action all season long ... pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
  • INTERNET - aggieathletics.com will offer live play-by-play and statistics along with free live video through Aggies All-Access.
  • MOBILE PHONE - listen to the game on your iPhone, Blackberry or PDA free of charge ... log on to radioaggieland.com for more information.
  • TWITTER - Follow the team all season long, including live in-game updates, at @aggie_baseball.

    A&M IN THE BIG 12

    Texas A&M has a 195-167-1 record in 13 seasons in the Big 12 Conference ... the Aggies have won four league championships, regular-season titles in 1998, 1999 and 2008 and the postseason championship in 2007 ... in one of the tighter races in recent years, A&M finished sixth in the league last season at 14-13 ... 2010 marks the 12th time in 14 years that A&M will open Big 12 play with a home series.

    SERIES HISTORY: TEXAS TECH

    Texas A&M leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 89-54, dating back to the schools' first meeting in 1929 ... the teams split four games in 2009, with the Red Raiders claiming two of three in the regular-season series in Lubbock and the Aggies defeating Tech at the Big 12 Championship ... A&M took two of three from Texas Tech in the Red Raiders' last visit to Olsen Field in 2008 ... the baseball programs have been in the same conference since 1968 (SWC 1968-1996, Big 12 1997-present), and have squared off in a league series in every season since except for 1976 ... the Aggies lead in overall series wins, 25-13, while splitting three ... A&M has swept the series with Tech 15 times, while the Raiders have swept the Aggies four times ... the longest win streak in the series is 22 games (Texas A&M, 4/13/84-3/29/91) ... the Aggies are the only team to win back-to-back Big 12 series (1997 and 1998) and the only team to win a Big 12 road series (1997) ... there have been just three sweeps in Big 12 play between the schools ... 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 from Texas Tech in College Station in 2002 ... Texas A&M has never lost a conference series to Texas Tech in College Station (17-0-2 overall).

    MORE ON TEXAS TECH (8-10, 0-0)

    Texas Tech enters Big 12 play with an 8-10 record ... the Red Raiders began the year 7-2 but have dropped eight of their last nine, including a loss to Texas State on Tuesday in Lubbock ... Tech was swept in a series at TCU last weekend ... the Red Raiders return 18 letterwinners, seven starters and nine pitchers from a 2009 team that went 25-32 and finished seventh in the Big 12 at 12-15 ... Texas Tech was picked to finish 10th in the league's preseason poll ... Dan Spencer (Portland State '90) is in his second season as the head coach in Lubbock with an overall record of 33-42 ... for more information visit texastech.com.

    UP NEXT

    Texas A&M hosts Northwestern State on Tuesday evening before continuing Big 12 play at Olsen Field over the weekend against Missouri.

    A LOOK BACK: WASHINGTON STATE

    Texas A&M claimed two of three games from then-No. 25 Washington State in a very entertaining series last weekend at Olsen Field ... the Aggies won the bookend games, 4-3 and 6-5, while dropping Saturday's contest, 7-5 ... on Friday, Joe Patterson leadoff double ... Johnson was eventually taken off the field on a stretcher, but was released from the hospital early that evening and was in attendance for Sunday's game ... A&M fell into a 7-0 hole, as the Cougars scored five runs off Aggie starter Brodie Greene hit two home runs and drove in four to lead Texas A&M to a 6-5 win ... Greene's second round-tripper was the decisive blow in the game, a two-out, two-run shot off the batter's eye in center field that broke a 4-4 tie ... John Stilson pitched the final three innings of the game and allowed an eighth-inning home run, but retired the final six batters in order to finish the afternoon.

    NOTES AND NOTABLES: TEAM

  • While struggling at times last season with two-out hitting (.270 average), the Aggies have started 2010 with a bang in that category ... A&M is hitting .387 this year with two outs, and 50 of its 103 RBIs (49 percent) have come with two down.
  • The Aggie bullpen has been nothing short of outstanding through the first 13 games of the year ... through 40 appearances, the pen has combined for a 5-0 record and a miniscule 0.87 ERA, giving up just six earned runs (nine runs total) over 62 innings of work ... during that span, the group has allowed just 36 hits, walked just 18 and fanned 78 while holding hitters to a .171 average ... the pen did not allow an earned run over a span of 37.1 innings dating from February 20-March 9 ... on the year, only seven of 37 inherited runners (19 percent) have scored.
  • A&M's weekend starting rotation of junior Barret Loux, sophomore Ross Stripling and junior Nick Fleece are a combined 6-2 with a 2.93 ERA on the young season ... overall, Aggie starting pitching in 2010 is 8-3 with a 3.22 ERA and .243 opponent average, walking just 13 and punching out 92 over 81 innings.
  • Texas A&M pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts in last Friday's win over No. 25 Washington State ... that tied for the most punchouts in a game by an Aggie staff since Jeff Granger fanned 21 in a win over Lubbock Christian on April 2, 1993 ... A&M also struck out 18 in a win over Texas-Pan American on March 30, 2001.
  • A&M pitching has struck out 11 or more batters in seven of the last nine games and nine contests overall ... the Aggies are averaging 10.7 punchouts per nine innings and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.5.
  • Aggie pitching has held opponents to two runs or less in six games this spring.
  • A&M has pounded out 10 or more hits in 10 of 16 games this year ... the offense is hitting .330 and averaging seven runs per game.
  • Aggie opponents have scored 19 runs in the three Aggie losses on the year ... 16 of those 19 runs have come in three innings (a 7-run third by SFA on Feb. 24, a 4-run fourth by Western Kentucky on Feb. 26, and a 5-run second by Washington State on March 13).
  • Texas A&M will play 21 of its first 24 games at home ... the Aggies' lone trip out of College Station during the span was for the QTI Baylor Classic in Waco ... A&M will play the entire month of March at Olsen Field until it closes the month on March 30 at Texas State ... the Aggies have nine regular-season games scheduled outside the state of Texas (Big 12 series at Kansas, Nebraska and OSU).

    NOTES AND NOTABLES: PLAYER

  • Senior DH Joe Patterson is pacing a solid Aggie offensive attack, hitting a team-best .444 (28-for-63) with seven doubles, two home runs, 12 RBIs and 15 runs scored ... Patterson, who saw a career-best 15-game hit streak come to an end in the series finale with Winthrop (3/7), has reached safely in every game this season and has hit safely in all but one ... Patterson has reached safely (hit, walk or HBP) in 31 straight games dating back to last season.
  • Senior CF Brodie Greene is also hitting .444 (28-for-63) with five doubles, three triples, two home runs, 14 RBIs and 21 runs scored ... Greene carries a career-high 12-game hit streak into the weekend.
  • Junior 1B Caleb Shofner leads the team in home runs (5) and RBIs (24) and sports a .419 average ... if Shofner maintains his pace, he would drive in 91 runs over a 61-game season (drove in 42 over 61 games in 2009) ... Shofner is hitting .439 over his last 10 games with five doubles, a triple, three home runs and 16 RBIs.
  • Junior C Kevin Gonzalez is hitting .375 over his last nine games with three home runs and 10 RBIs ... Gonzalez has hit safely in all but two of 15 games played this year.
  • Junior 2B Andrew Collazo hit in the leadoff spot for the first time this spring following A&M's loss to Western Kentucky (2/26) ... since then, the Aggies are 10-1 ... over that span, Collazo is hitting .318 with three RBIs, four stolen bases and five runs scored.
  • Sophomore utility man Scott Arthur is hitting .320 over his last 10 games with three doubles, four RBIs, eight runs scored and four stolen bases.
  • Sophomore two-way standout John Stilson has made a huge impact in his very brief Aggie career ... Stilson has made six appearances in relief so far in 2010 and has already picked up two wins and two saves, and has punched out 25 in 17 innings of work ... he has allowed eight baserunners in 58 plate appearances-a bunt single on the infield vs SFA (2/24), a base hit vs Winthrop (3/7), and five free passes ... opponents are hitting .040 against Stilson.
  • True freshman pitcher Michael Wacha has appeared in five of A&M's last 10 games (four relief, one start), and is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a save ... Wacha did not allow a run in any of those outings (16 IP), gave up just nine hits and walked two while striking out 24 ... he enters the weekend with 21 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to Feb. 20.
  • Senior pitcher Clayton Ehlert is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in his last three outings (two starts, one relief) ... in 14 2/3 innings, Ehlert has allowed two earned runs and a walk while striking out 18 ... opponents are hitting .226 against him in that span ... Ehlert has thrown 11 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings entering the weekend ... the senior gave up seven two-out runs in a loss to SFA (2/24), and removing that 1/3 of an inning from his statistics would drop his ERA from 4.67 to 1.06.

    FRIDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER: #50 BARRET LOUX (JR-2L, rhp)

    Has struck out 23 and not allowed an earned run in last two starts (12.1 innings) ... did not factor in the decision last week against No. 25 Washington State (3/12) ... allowed five hits, two unearned runs and two walks while fanning 11 in 5.1 innings against the Cougars ... named Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week after dominating outing against Winthrop (3/5) ... allowed only a first-inning double in seven strong innings, fanning a career-high 12 ... suffered the loss against Western Kentucky in Waco (2/26), despite allowing one earned run (5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) ... made his first career opening-day start last week against Seton Hall (2/19), picking up the victory (5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) ... he finished 2009 with a 3-3 record and 4.12 ERA ... ranked fourth on the staff with 62 strikeouts over 48 innings of work and held opposing hitters to a .226 average ... punched out at least six batters in six outings.

    SATURDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER: #36 Ross Stripling (SO-1L, rhp)

    Suffered first loss of the season last Saturday against No. 25 Washington State ... touched for five second-inning runs while allowing seven total over five innings of work ... struck out nine, did not walk a batter and allowed one earned run in 6 2/3 innings of work against Winthrop (3/6) ... earned the win at Baylor (2/27), allowing six hits and one earned run over five innings, while not walking a batter and punching out three ... got the win in his first career start last Saturday against Seton Hall (2/20 - 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) ... emerged as a solid bullpen presence for the Aggies as a true freshman in '09 ... appeared in 13 games, all in relief, posting a 1-0 record and 2.51 ERA ... 13 relief outings ranked sixth on the staff .. allowed first earned run in his seventh appearance (March 18 vs New Mexico) ... struck out the first six batters he faced in his A&M career ... played summer ball with the San Luis Obispo (Calif.) Blues of the wood-bat Sierra Baseball League ... went 2-2 with a 1.96 ERA in 36.2 innings of work ... fanned 56 batters and walked just 12.

    LOUX EARNS BIG 12, NATIONAL HONORS

    Texas A&M junior pitcher Barret Loux was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week by a select media panel on March 8.

    Loux pitched a gem in the Aggies' 7-0, series opening win over Winthrop on March 5. In seven shutout innings, the Houston native allowed one hit and two walks while striking out a career-high 12 batters on the night. Facing a team which averaged 10.1 runs per game and was hitting .386, Loux gave up a one-out double in the first and hit the next batter, then retired 19 of the last 21 batters he faced. During his performance, he allowed only two balls out of the infield, the first-inning double and a fourth-inning fly out. It marked the first conference weekly award of Loux's career and the second this season for an Aggie.

    One day later, he was named to the College Baseball Foundation's National All-Star Lineup for his effort.

    FIVE NAMED TO QTI BAYLOR CLASSIC ALL-TOURNEY TEAM

    Five members of the Aggie baseball team earned all-tournament honors after a second-place finish at last weekend's QTI Baylor Classic.

    Junior 1B Caleb Shofner was named to the all-tourney team and also took home Most Outstanding Hitter honors. The native of nearby Hewitt impressed his hometown fans by hitting .500 with a home run and four RBIs on the weekend.

    Joining Shofner on the squad were junior 2B Joe Patterson (.455, 2 runs), sophomore P/SS Brodie Greene (.364, 2B, run).

    GREENE EARNS FIRST CAREER BIG 12 WEEKLY HONOR

    Texas A&M senior center fielder Brodie Greene was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 22 by a select media panel.

    Greene hit .727 (8-for-11) in the Aggies' three-game sweep of Seton Hall with two triples, six RBIs and three stolen bases. The Bullard, Texas native reached base in 10 of his 14 plate appearances, scoring seven of those times, and posted a slugging percentage of 1.091 and an .833 average with runners in scoring position. Not only was he a big success at the plate, but Greene also excelled in his first start in center field in nearly two years. He recorded a diving catch on a deep fly ball to center field in the first game of the twinbill on Feb. 20 that saved several runs, and also picked up an outfield assist in the fifth inning of the second game. The latter helped gun down a runner at the plate and keep the score tied at three in a contest the Aggies' would eventually win, 6-3.

    AGGIES PEGGED THIRD IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL

    Texas A&M was picked to finish third in a preseason vote of the league's head coaches.

    Defending regular-season champion Texas (81) was a unanimous choice as the league favorite, followed by Kansas (69), the Aggies (64), Oklahoma (57), Oklahoma State (47), Baylor (39), Kansas State (29), Missouri (22), Nebraska (22) and Texas Tech (20). Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

    AGGIES ON THE 'NET

    For the eighth straight season, AggieAthletics.com will bring fans around the globe live video of Texas A&M baseball.

    Fans will be able to watch, free of charge, all non-televised Aggie home games, along with selected road games, through Aggies All-Access. If live video of an A&M game is not available, free live audio will be provided through All-Access. AggieAthletics.com is in its second year as an official partner of the CBS College Sports network.

    RADIOAGGIELAND.COM: LISTEN ON-THE-GO

    An exciting addition to Aggie baseball's online presence is the new radioaggieland.com, brought to you by the folks at Bryan Broadcasting.

    Fans can listen to streaming audio of the two stations that carry A&M baseball-News/Talk 1620 WTAW and SportsRadio 1150 The Zone-along with several sister stations free of charge. The service is available on iPhones, Blackberrys and other selected PDAs and cell phones, as well as on personal computers.

    To check availability or to set up your device to listen to Aggie baseball all season long wherever you go, visit radioaggieland.com.

    2010 PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

    The 14th-annual Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship is scheduled for May 26-30 at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in downtown Oklahoma City.

    The eight-team championship will be in a two-division, pool play format for the fifth straight season in 2009. The winner of each bracket will meet in the championship game, with the victor earning the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. Texas is the defending champion.

    Oklahoma City and AT&T Bricktown Ballpark will be the host of the event through the 2011 season.

    For ticket information, contact the Oklahoma Redhawks at (405) 218-1000.