April 16, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 21 Texas A&M softball team travels to Iowa State this weekend for a two-game series with the Cyclones. First pitch on Saturday is set for 2 p.m. and Sunday's game begins at 11 a.m.
The Aggies (33-11, 4-4 Big 12) are coming off of a 4-3, come-from-behind win against Sam Houston State Wednesday and sit in fourth place in the Big 12 Conference.
Iowa State (24-19, 2-5 Big 12) won their second game in-a-row and second league game last night downing Nebraska 9-5 after a walk-off grand slam by Sydni Jones in the seventh inning.
A&M is 3-2 in its last five games and is led by freshman Lauren Schwirtlich in Big 12 games. From Corpus Christi, Texas, Schwirtlich is hitting .320 against conference teams with eight hits and two doubles. The Aggies record a .286 overall batting average and a 2.45 team ERA.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats and free live audio will be provided for both games this weekend on AggieAthletics.com. In addition, fans can listen to the broadcast live on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone making it available worldwide on any iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry or PDA free of charge. Log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.
ON DECK
Texas A&M remains on the road and searches for another half-point in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown on Wednesday. The Aggies search for a sweep of Texas at 6:30 p.m. in Austin before returning home next weekend for a two-game series against Missouri. Sunday's game against the Tigers is televised nationally on ESPN.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Rhi Kliesing who tied the game with A&M trailing by three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Junior Rebecca Arbino leads the league with nine shutouts.
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
The Cyclones are in ninth place in the Big 12 and last lost a pair of games to Oklahoma State in conference play. ISU has played two games this week, downing Northern Iowa, 6-0, on Tuesday and the Huskers, 9-5, on Thursday. Prior to this week the Cyclones lost six consecutive games. Iowa State has a .282 team batting average and a 2.92 team ERA. Heidi Kidwell leads ISU with a .353 average, 53 hits and 11-of-15 stolen bases. Three other players are hitting above .300 and Alex Johnson (.278) leads the squad with 26 RBIs. Rachel Zabriskie (19-11) is the team's go-to pitcher. She holds opponents to a .214 batting average and has struck out 219 in 191.2 innings pitched. Carleigh Berry (6-3) and Kelsey Kidwell (.350) lead the team on offense in league games.
VERSUS THE CYCLONES
The Aggies have won 31 of 36 games between the two teams and won six straight against the Cyclones before splitting the series at home last season. A&M fell 3-0 before run-ruling Iowa State 9-1 in five innings. Kliesing led the team last year going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.
RPI
The NCAA softball RPI came out this week and Texas A&M is ranked 19th. Alabama, Michigan Florida, Washington, and Georgia Tech round out the top five, while the Big 12 has five schools in the top 20. Texas is ranked sixth, Oklahoma seventh, Oklahoma State 10th and Missouri 13th. Nebraska (48), Iowa State (53), Texas Tech (55) and Baylor (64) are ranked further down on the list.
AGGIES IN THE POLLS
Texas A&M is ranked 21st in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 this week and No. 22 in the USA Today/NFCA poll. A&M's remaining ranked opponents are No. 11/14 Missouri, No. 9 Oklahoma State, and No. 14/15 Texas. In addition, Baylor is receiving votes.
AGGIES IN EXTRA INNINGS
Texas A&M has had six contests go to extra innings this season with its longest (10 innings) coming against Baylor on March 31. The Aggies post a 4-2 record in extra-inning games, while Arbino is 3-1 past the seventh, Kliesing is 0-1, and Dumezich is 1-0.
EVANS APPROACHING 850 CAREER WINS
Head coach Jo Evans is approaching her 850th career win. One of the winningest active DI coaches in softball today, Evans holds an 847-476-2 overall record. At the beginning of the season she ranked 15th in career victories among active DI coaches.