No. 23 Aggies Host Baylor Friday

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

BIG 12 SNAPSHOT: TEXAS A&M

BIG 12 SNAPSHOT: BAYLOR (3-4)

A&M IN THE BIG 12

Texas A&M has a 201-170-2 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 ... the Aggies became the third program to reach 200 Big 12 wins with a March 27 victory over Missouri.

SERIES HISTORY: BAYLOR

The series with Baylor is the second longest in school history, with Friday's game marking the 310th meeting between the long-time rivals ... the Aggies lead the series, 176-128-4, which dates back to 1904, and have won nine of the last 11 ... A&M won a non-conference meeting between the teams in late February, 4-2, as part of the QTI Baylor Classic ... Texas A&M took two of three last year in a battle of top-10 teams, claiming the first two games in College Station before dropping a one-run, 10-inning affair in the series finale in Waco ... the Aggies have won the last three Big 12 series ... Texas A&M is 8-11 all-time in Baylor Ballpark, which opened in 1999.

A&M/BAYLOR SERIES BREAKDOWN
Series Record A&M leads, 176-128-4
A&M Streak Won 1
in College Station (since `71) A&M leads, 40-21
in Waco (since `71) A&M leads, 35-26
neutral sites (since `71) Baylor leads, 5-4

BIG 12 ERA (1997-present)
overall Baylor leads, 22-21
in College Station A&M leads, 11-9
in Waco Baylor leads, 12-8
at Big 12 Tourney A&M leads, 2-1

A&M vs BAYLOR, BIG 12 SERIES HISTORY
overall Won 6, Lost 7
in College Station* Won 4, Lost 3
in Waco* Won 2, Lost 4
A&M Streak Won 3
series opener Won 7, Lost 6
* split series; home site counted where majority of games played

STATISTICAL COMPARISON: A&M vs BAYLOR

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

A&M/BAYLOR STATISTICAL COMPARISON
Category A&M Big 12 Rk BU Big 12 Rk
Batting Avg. .322 4th .327 3rd
Runs Per Game 6.5 9th 8.1 4th
Home Runs 23 8th 30 5th
Stolen Bases 49-74 3rd 34-40 6th
Earned Run Avg. 3.38 2nd 4.22 4th
Opponent Avg. .236 2nd .288 9th
Strikeouts 285 1st 220 7th
Saves 5 6th 11 1st
Fielding Pct. .954 10th .964 7th

MORE ON BAYLOR (17-10, 3-4)

Baylor is 17-10 on the season and sits in sixth place in the Big 12 at 3-4 ... Baylor has won four of its last five entering the weekend and has put up big offensive numbers of late, averaging 12.6 runs over those five contests ... BU is coming off a series win at Missouri ... the Bears saw two games of their league-opening series at Oklahoma snowed out ... leading the offense are sophomores Joey Hainsfurther (.393, 1 HR, 27 RBI) and Brooks Pinckard (.379, 13 RBI, 11-11 SB), and senior Raynor Campbell (.367, 5 HR, 32 RBI) ... Pinckard also anchors the Bears' bullpen (0.68 ERA, 7 saves) ... Steve Smith (Baylor `86) is in his 15th season in Waco with a record of 552-363-1 ... for more information visit baylorbears.com.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M continues a rough road swing with a trip to No. 11 TCU Tuesday night and a series opener at 5th-ranked Texas Friday evening in Austin ... the Aggies return home to conclude the series with the Longhorns and open a seven-game home swing on Saturday, April 17 ... A&M is scheduled to play seven of its next eight following the Baylor series against opponents who are ranked in the top 12 nationally.

A LOOK BACK: UTSA

Brodie Greene went 4-for-5 with four RBIs to lead 23rd-ranked Texas A&M to a 14-5 win over UTSA Tuesday evening before 3,068 fans at Olsen Field ... Greene delivered the knockout blow in the decisive sixth inning--one which saw the Aggies score seven times--with a long three-run homer deep into Aggie Alley behind left field ... Shane Minks (1-0) picked up the victory in relief, allowing two hits and walking a pair over 1 2/3 shutout innings ... Minks highlighted a strong outing by the A&M bullpen, where three relievers combined to allow just three hits and two unearned runs over 4 2/3 innings.

A LOOK BACK: KANSAS

Texas A&M split a three-game series with Kansas this past weekend in Lawrence ... the Aggies fell in the opener Thursday (9-5) before winning Friday's game (6-4) ... the teams battled to an 8-8 tie in 11 innings in the finale on Saturday.

On Thursday, Kansas built a six-run lead and withstood a late Texas A&M rally to hold on for a 9-5 win ... KU led 7-1 after seven before the Aggies pulled within a pair ... the Jayhawks, however, got two back in the eighth and fought off a ninth-inning rally en route to its seventh victory in its last eight games ... designated hitter Caleb Shofner and Andrew Collazo finished the night with two hits apiece ... for the game, the Aggies out-hit Kansas, 15-12 ... T.J. Walz (5-2) picked up the victory after giving up four runs over 7 1/3 innings of work ... he gave up 11 hits and two walks while fanning eight. Bochy earned his fifth save of the season after getting the final four outs ... Barret Loux (4-2) took the loss, going six complete and allowing five hits, four runs and four walks while striking out six ... KU touched the Aggie pen for seven hits and five runs over two innings of work.

On Friday, Adam Smith delivered a key two-out, two-run single and John Stilson tossed the final 4 2/3 innings to lead No. 22 A&M to a 6-4 win ... Stilson entered the game with two on in scoring position and one out in the fifth to protect a 3-1 lead ... the Jayhawks got one of those home but would not score again until tallying a pair of unearned runs in the ninth ... Smith's hit came with two down in the seventh and extended a slim two-run A&M lead ... the Jayhawks saw a nine-game home win streak snapped as they lost in Lawrence for only the second time this season ... Brandon Wood and Kevin Gonzalez had a pair of hits each for the Aggies, who out-hit Kansas, 9-8 ... Stilson (6-0) earned his league-leading sixth win of the season after allowing four hits and two unearned runs over a career-best 4 2/3 innings ... he walked two and struck out six ... starter Ross Stripling lasted 4 1/3 and allowed two runs on four hits and a walk.

On Saturday, A&M played to an 8-8 tie with Kansas in 11 innings ... the Aggies pushed a run across in the 11th on a balk by KU pitcher Colton Murray, but Brian Heere delivered a one-out RBI single in the last of the inning to even the score ... A&M's travel plans forced the game to be stopped upon completion of the inning ... it was the first tie for the Aggies since 2006 and just the second in a Big 12 game in school history ... A&M erased a 6-3 deficit with a four-spot in the eighth, but KU scored in the last of the ninth to force extras ... the Aggies out-hit Kansas, 13-12, on the day ... Brodie Greene led the way with a 3-for-5 effort, while Caleb Shofner and Adam Smith had two hits apiece.

NOTES AND NOTABLES: TEAM

NOTES AND NOTABLES: PLAYER

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

Has struck out 50 and allowed seven earned runs in last five starts (31 innings) ... has fanned 10 or more hitters in four of last five games, after entering the year with two career 10+ strikeout outings ... suffered the loss at Kansas (4/1), giving up four runs and five hits over six innings ... became 12th player in program history to record 200 career strikeouts during win over Missouri (3/26) ... earned the win after going seven-plus and allowing three hits, one run and a walk while fanning 11 ... picked up the victory in the Big 12 opener against Texas Tech (3/19, 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)

Effective but has not earned a decision in his last two starts ... lasted 4 1/3 against Kansas (4/2), giving up four hits and two earned runs ... allowed six hits and one unearned run, while not walking a batter and punching out six over 4.2 innings in come-from-behind win over Missouri (3/27) ... 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 against No. 25 Washington State (3/13) ... 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.

TEXAS A&M IN THE NCAA RANKINGS

A look at Texas A&M in the NCAA's statistical rankings, through games of April 4...

A&M IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
Category NCAA Rk
Walks Allowed/9 inn. 2.32 3rd
Strikeouts/9 inn. 10.1 3rd
Hits Allowed/9 inn. 8.29 11th
Earned Run Average 3.39 12th
Triples 12 21st
Sacrifice Bunts 24 29th
Hit by Pitch 42 32nd
W/L Percentage .685 37th

AGGIES IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
Player Category NCAA Rk
Michael Wacha ERA 1.54 15th
John Stilson ERA 0.95 3rd
Barret Loux ERA 1.98 28th
Barret Loux K/9 inn. 14.05 1st
John Stilson K/9 inn. 13.85 2nd
John Stilson Hits/9 inn. 3.82 3rd
Michael Wacha Hits/9 inn. 5.93 17th
Barret Loux Hits/9 inn. 5.93 17th
Ross Stripling Walks/9 inn. 1.08 14th
Michael Wacha Walks/9 inn. 1.54 57th
Barret Loux Strikeouts 64 3rd
John Stilson Strikeouts 58 14th
John Stilson Wins 6 3rd
Brodie Greene Triples 6 4th
Caleb Shofner Hit by Pitch 12 21st
Scott Arthur Sac Bunts 8 4th