No. 21 Aggies Host Surging Missouri to Close Homestand

March 25, 2010

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M wraps up a season-long 17-game homestand this weekend when the 21st-ranked Aggies (15-5, 2-1) host the surging Missouri Tigers (12-6, 0-0) in Big 12 action at Olsen Field ... the series opens on Friday at 6:35 p.m., with games also scheduled on Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and Sunday (1:05 p.m.) afternoons ... A&M has lost two straight for just the second time this year and is coming off a tough 4-2 loss to Northwestern State on Tuesday evening ... the Aggies are in second place in the Big 12 after taking two of three from Texas Tech last weekend ... Mizzou, meanwhile, has won five straight and eight of its last nine, and will be opening conference play against Texas A&M ... the Tigers are coming off a two-game sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff this week in Columbia which saw MU outscore UAPB 37-2 ... A&M is 13-4 at home this spring while Missouri is 5-5 away from Taylor Stadium.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

• FRIDAY: #50 Barret Loux (Jr., RHP, 3-1, 1.29) vs #46 Nick Tepesch (Jr., RHP, 2-0, 5.40)
• SATURDAY: #36 Ross Stripling (So., RHP, 3-1, 5.18) vs TBA
• SUNDAY: #13 Clayton Ehlert (Sr., RHP, 1-2, 5.40) vs TBA

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• RADIO -- Fans can listen to all three games on WTAW-AM 1620 ... 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 197-168-1 record in its 14th season 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.

SERIES HISTORY: MISSOURI

Texas A&M leads the all-time series with Missouri, 37-27-1 ... since the formation of the Big 12 in 1997, the series has been one of the most hotly-contested for both schools, with the Tigers holding a 21-19 advantage ... over the last 14 years, 20 of the 40 meetings have been decided by two runs or less, with--you guessed it--each winning 10 of those ... MU took three of four meetings between the teams last season, claiming two of three in Columbia in March and then a game in the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City in May ... A&M has won seven of the 13 league series against Mizzou ... in a strange quirk, the road team has won seven of those 13 Big 12 series ... in the last meeting between the teams in College Station (2008), the Aggies swept a battle of top-six teams en route to the Big 12 title ... A&M and MU have met three times in NCAA Regional play, with the last coming in 1988 (Starkville, Mississippi).

A&M/MIZZOU SERIES BREAKDOWN
Series Record A&M leads, 37-27-1
A&M Streak Lost 1
in College Station (since `71) A&M leads, 16-10
in Columbia (since `71) Mizzou leads, 11-10
neutral sites (since `71) A&M leads, 5-3

BIG 12 ERA (1997-present)
overall Mizzou leads, 21-19
in College Station Mizzou leads, 9-8
in Columbia Mizzou leads, 11-10
at Big 12 Tourney series tied, 1-1

A&M vs MIZZOU, BIG 12 SERIES HISTORY
overall Won 7, Lost 6
in College Station Won 3, Lost 3
in Columbia Won 4, Lost 3
A&M Streak Won 2
series opener Won 8, Lost 5

MORE ON MISSOURI (12-6, 0-0)

Missouri will open up Big 12 play this weekend against Texas A&M ... the Tigers are 12-6 on the year, and have won five straight and eight of nine entering the series with the Aggies ... MU fell below .500 after dropping all three games in the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park to start the month, but have rebounded with an impressive 8-1 mark on the recently-completed homestand ... the Tigers swept North Dakota last weekend in Columbia before drilling Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a combined score of 37-2 in two mid-week games at Taylor Stadium ... as a team, Mizzou is hitting .303, averaging 7.9 runs per game and fielding at a .971 clip ... the Tiger pitching staff features a 3.75 team ERA and a .272 opponent average ... Missouri is paced offensively by senior infielder Michael Liberto (.458, 0 HR, 14 RBI) and senior outfielder Aaron Senne (.388, 7 HR, 21 RBI) ... 19 letterwinners, three position starters and eight pitchers return from a 2009 team that went 35-27, finished third in the Big 12 at 16-11 and advanced to the NCAA Oxford Regional ... Tim Jamieson (New Orleans `81) is in his 16th season at Missouri with an overall record of 527-362-2 ... for more information, visit mutigers.com.

STATISTICAL COMPARISON: A&M vs MISSOURI

A look at how Texas A&M and Missouri stack up statistically and in the Big 12 entering the series...

A&M/MIZZOU STATISTICAL COMPARISON Category A&M B12 Rk MU B12 Rk
Batting Avg. .328 3rd .303 8th
Runs Per Game 6.6 9th 7.9 4th
Home Runs 16 8th 20 T-4th
Stolen Bases 36-53 3rd 17-21 9th
Earned Run Avg. 2.92 2nd 3.75 7th
Opponent Avg. .226 2nd .272 T-7th
Strikeouts 203 1st 105 10th
Saves 4 5th 2 T-9th
Fielding Pct. .959 10th .971 7th

UP NEXT

Texas A&M hits the road and has a short week ahead, as the Aggies face Texas State Tuesday in San Marcos ... A&M will turn around and leave for Lawrence, Kansas, the following morning for a Thursday-Saturday series against the Jayhawks at Hoglund Ballpark.

A LOOK BACK: NORTHWESTERN STATE

Northwestern State hit two early home runs and held on for a 4-2 win over No. 21 Texas A&M Tuesday evening before 2,785 fans at Olsen Field ... the Demons (15-4) built a quick three-run lead after three at-bats and rode the arm of senior Ryan Zimmerman through seven innings ... the Aggies (15-5) rallied in their final at-bat but NSU closer Chad Sheppard induced a game-ending double play with the tying run at the plate to seal the outcome ... Joe Patterson and Brodie Greene hit solo home runs to account for A&M's runs.

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 .386 this year with two outs, and 59 of its 120 RBIs (49 percent) have come with two down. • The Aggie bullpen has been outstanding through the first part of the year ... through 52 appearances, the pen has combined for a 6-0 record and a 1.84 ERA, giving up 16 earned runs (20 runs total) over 78.1 innings of work ... the group has allowed just 52 hits, walked just 23 and fanned 92 while holding hitters to a .190 average ... the pen had its first rough outing of the season on March 21 vs Texas Tech (4.2 IP, 10 H, 9 ER) ... removing that game, the numbers fall to this: 0.86 ERA, 7 ER, .167 opponent 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, 17 of 54 inherited runners (31 percent) have scored. • A&M's weekend starting rotation of junior Barret Loux, sophomore Clayton Ehlert are a combined 6-3 with a 3.49 ERA in weekend starts on the season ... overall, Aggie starting pitching in 2010 is 9-5 with a 3.67 ERA and .250 opponent average, walking just 16 and punching out 111 (6.9 K/BB ratio) over 100.2 innings. • Texas A&M pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts in the March 12 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 10 games this spring ... the Aggies are averaging 10.2 punchouts per nine innings and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.2. • Aggie pitching has held opponents to two runs or less in six games. • A&M has pounded out 10 or more hits in 13 of 20 games this year ... the offense is hitting .328 and averaging 6.6 runs per game. • Aggie opponents have scored 36 runs in the five Aggie losses on the year ... 27 of those 36 runs have come in five innings (a 7-run third by SFA on Feb. 24, a 4-run fourth by Western Kentucky on Feb. 26, a 5-run second by Washington State on March 13, and a 6-run fifth and 5-run sixth by Texas Tech on March 21). • 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 CF Brodie Greene is hitting a team-best .438 with six doubles, five triples, three home runs, 19 RBIs and 24 runs scored ... Greene carries a career-high 16-game hit streak into the weekend. • Senior DH Joe Patterson is right behind Greene with a .425 average ... has eight doubles, three home runs, 15 RBIs and 19 runs scored ... carries a nine-game hit streak into the weekend ... 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 35 straight games dating back to last season. • Junior 1B Caleb Shofner leads the team in home runs (5) and RBIs (24) and sports a .403 average ... if Shofner maintains his pace, he would drive in 73 runs over a 61-game season (drove in 42 over 61 games in 2009) ... carries a nine-game hit streak into the Mizzou series, hitting .417 over that span with nine RBIs and seven runs scored. • Junior C Kevin Gonzalez has hit safely in 17 of 19 games played this year ... gotten a hit in 13 of last 14 games, hitting .380 over that time with three home runs and 13 RBIs. • Sophomore utility man Scott Arthur is hitting .293 over his last 12 games with three doubles, four RBIs, nine runs scored and six stolen bases. • Sophomore two-way standout John Stilson has made a huge impact in his very brief Aggie career ... Stilson has made 10 appearances in relief so far in 2010 and has already picked up four wins and three saves, and has punched out 41 in 27 innings of work ... opponents are hitting .106 against Stilson. • True freshman pitcher Michael Wacha has made seven appearances out of the bullpen and is 2-0 with a 0.46 ERA and a save ... saw a string of 21.2 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to Feb. 20 snapped in Saturday's win over Texas Tech when the Red Raiders pushed home an unearned run. • Senior pitcher Clayton Ehlert is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in his last four outings (three starts, one relief) ... had a string of 15 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings snapped in Sunday's loss to Texas Tech ... 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 5.40 to 2.53.

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

Has struck out 33 and allowed two earned runs in last three starts (18 innings) ... has fanned 10 or more hitters in three straight games, after entering the year with two career 10+ strikeout outings ... earned the victory in last Friday's Big 12 opener against Texas Tech (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10 K) ... did not factor in the decision 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 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.

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

Got a no-decision against Texas Tech in first career Big 12 start (3/20) ... lasted just 2.2 innings, giving up four hits and three runs ... 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 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 and walked just 12.

SUNDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER: #13 Clayton Ehlert (SR-3L, rhp)

Has started four games in 2010 ... left game against Texas Tech (3/21) tied 1-1 in the fifth but ended up suffering the loss (4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K) ... was very strong in lone relief outing of the year (3/14 vs Washington State) ... tossed 3.2 shutout innings, fanning five, as the Aggies rallied for a 6-5 win ... took a no-decision in outing vs BYU (3/3), giving up five hits and two runs over four innings of work ... suffered the loss against SFA (2/24), giving up all seven runs with two outs in the third inning after retiring the first seven batters of the game in order ... appeared in 12 games in 2009, making 10 starts ... was 5-2 on the mound with a 7.09 ERA ... matched a career high with a strong seven innings of work in win over SFA (March 3), allowing five hits, one run and one walk while punching out nine ... allowed two runs or less in five starts ... was the Aggies' main mid-week starter ... two losses came in final two outings of the season, vs Missouri in the Big 12 Championship (May 20) and Oregon State in NCAA Regional play (May 31) ... struck out a career-best nine batters twice (March 3 vs SFA, March 31 vs UTSA) ... played summer ball with teammates Estevan Uriegas and Scott Arthur for the Mat-Su Miners (Palmer, Alaska) of the wood bat Alaskan League ... went 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA over 24.1 innings of work, helping the Miners to the league championship.

TEXAS A&M IN THE NCAA RANKINGS

A look at Texas A&M in the NCAA's first statistical rankings, through games of March 21...

A&M IN THE NCAA RANKINGS

Category NCAA Rk
Walks Allowed/9 inn. 2.06 2nd
Strikeouts/9 inn. 10.3 3rd
Hits Allowed/9 inn. 7.52 6th
Earned Run Average 2.86 6th
Triples 9 16th
Sacrifice Bunts 17 26th
W/L Percentage .789 22nd
Stolen Bases 36 39th
Batting Average .333 41st

AGGIES IN THE NCAA RANKINGS

Player Category NCAA Rk
Michael Wacha ERA 0.35 1st
Barret Loux K/9 inn. 15.11 1st
John Stilson Hits/9 inn. 2.8 1st
Brodie Greene Triples 5 3rd
John Stilson K/9 inn. 13.66 7th
Barret Loux Strikeouts 47 7th
Michael Wacha Hits/9 inn. 4.55 7th
Scott Arthur Sac Bunts 6 8th
John Stilson ERA 1.05 11th
John Stilson Wins 4 17th
Michael Wacha K/9 inn. 12.61 17th
Barret Loux ERA 1.29 20th
John Stilson Strikeouts 39 24th
Michael Wacha Strikeouts 36 36th
Brodie Greene Hits 34 36th
Ross Stripling Walks/9 inn. 1.11 37th

TEXAS A&M IN THE BIG 12 RANKINGS

A look at Texas A&M players who appear in the top of the Big 12 statistical rankings, through games of March 25...

AGGIES IN THE BIG 12 RANKINGS

Player Category Big 12 Rk
Brodie Greene Triples 5 1st
Brodie Greene Runs 24 T-1st
Brodie Greene Total Bases 60 2nd
Brodie Greene Hits 35 2nd
Brodie Greene Slugging Pct. .750 3rd
Brodie Greene Batting Avg. .438 4th
Caleb Shofner Total Bases 56 3rd
Caleb Shofner Home Runs 5 T-3rd
Caleb Shofner Doubles 8 T-4th
Caleb Shofner RBIs 24 T-4th
Caleb Shofner Hits 31 T-5th
Caleb Shofner Batting Avg. .403 T-9th
Joe Patterson Hits 34 3rd
Joe Patterson Batting Avg. .425 7th
John Stilson Opponent Avg. .106 1st
John Stilson Wins 4 T-3rd
John Stilson Strikeouts 41 T-4th
John Stilson Saves 3 T-4th
Barret Loux Strikeouts 47 2nd
Barret Loux Opponent Avg. .179 4th
Michael Wacha Strikeouts 41 T-4th
Michael Wacha Innings 32.2 5th
Michael Wacha Opponent Avg. .183 5th

A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

Infield defense had been a bit of a struggle for the Aggies through the first part of the season, so the coaching staff mixed things up prior to the Texas Tech series. Brodie Greene was moved from center field to shortstop, Caleb Shofner from first to third base and Kenny Jackson from third base/shortstop to first base. While it's just been four games, the improvement has been noticeable.

Here's a look at the defensive numbers for the four primary infield positions (1B, 2B, 3B, SS) both before and after the change on March 19...

INFIELD DEFENSE IMPROVEMENT

Category Errors E/Gm Fld. Pct.
First 16 games 23 1.4 .934
Since (4 games) 2 0.5 .974

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.

2010 BIG 12 BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL

School (1st) Points
1. Texas (9) 81
2. Kansas (1) 69
3. Texas A&M 64
4. Oklahoma 57
5. Oklahoma St 47
6. Baylor 39
7. Kansas State 29
8. Missouri 22
Nebraska 22
10. Texas Tech 20

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.