May 7, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 20 Texas A&M softball team travels to Stillwater, Okla., this weekend for its final regular season games against No. 11 Oklahoma State and a lot is at stake for both teams. Due to the possiblity of inclement weather, the games have been changed to a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.
The Aggies (39-13, 10-6 Big 12) sit in fourth place in the Big 12 and can finish as high third and as low as fifth. The Cowgirls (43-11, 12-4 Big 12) are in third place in the conference and need just one win to secure that position and serve as the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championship.
In addition to the league championship seeding, A&M looks to enhance its seeding and the potential to host in the NCAA Tournament. In the most recent release of the NCAA RPI, the Aggies are 17th right behind Oklahoma State at 16th.
Texas A&M comes into the weekend having won its last four games. The team posts a .292 batting average and 2.68 ERA and is 7-4 on the road this season. OSU has won two straight and is hitting .284 with a 2.02 ERA. The Cowgirls are 19-1 at home this year.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Free live stats and live audio will be provided for both games this weekend on AggieAthletics.com. In addition, fans can listen to the broadcasts live on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone, making them available worldwide on any iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry or PDA free of charge. Log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.
ON DECK
With the regular season coming to a close this weekend, the Aggies look to the Big 12 Tournament Friday, May 14 - Sunday, May 16. Only the lowest four seeds play on Friday evening, while the top six seeds step on the diamond on Saturday. The winners of the single elimination tournament play again Saturday evening, while the championship game is televised on FSN at noon Sunday.
LAST TIME OUT
Texas A&M used a balanced offense as nearly every player in the lineup recorded a hit in a 10-6 victory over Texas Tech last Saturday. A&M tallied 13 hits, five Aggies had multiple-hit games, and four posted multiple RBIs. On Sunday, sophomore Amanda Scarborough (2005) and Lisa Klam (1999) each blasted six home runs in league play their freshman seasons.
RPI
In the most recent NCAA softball RPI that came out on May 4, Texas A&M moved up a spot to 17th. Alabama, Michigan, Washington, Florida and Georgia Tech round out the top five, while the Big 12 had five schools in the top 20. Texas was ranked eighth, Missouri 10th, Oklahoma 11th, and Oklahoma State 16th. Texas Tech (45), Nebraska (56), Iowa State (57), Baylor (61) and Kansas (88) are ranked further down on the list.
WHO'S HOT?
In the last three games, Orsak has been in a league of her own, batting .556 with two of five hits for extra bases, seven RBIs, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .600 on base percentage. Orsak reached base at least once and recorded at least one RBI in every game. The second home run of her career was a three-run shot that put Sunday's game out of reach for the sweep. It was part of a career performance that included a five-RBI game. Senior Macie Morrow is right on Orsak's tail with a .545 average, six hits, six runs, four RBIs and two stolen bases in the last three contests. Kliesing has been solid as well, boasting a .529 average with nine hits, four runs and four RBIs in the last five games.
AGGIES ON THE ROAD
A&M is 7-4 on the road this season and 5-3 when traveling in Big 12 games. As the away team in Big 12 games, the Aggies are hitting .265 with a 2.95 ERA and an opponent batting average of .274. May leads the offense hitting .350 with three of seven hits for home runs, five runs scored, a .800 slugging percentage and a .567 on base percentage. Freshman Lauren Schwirtlich (.345), junior Rebecca Arbino (19-9) leads the league with nine shutouts, while freshman Melissa Dumezich (14-1) posts the lowest ERA on the team at 2.18.
In conference games, Kliesing has a team-best .378 batting average with 17 hits, three doubles and two home runs. Schwirtlich (.321) records 18 hits. In addition, in Big 12 only games, May leads the conference with seven home runs, a .583 on base percentage and 20 walks.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls were in sole possession of first place in the Big 12 and looked nearly untouchable until Texas Tech swept OSU on April 22. Those games snapped a 17-game winning streak for Oklahoma State and since then the team has gone 3-4, with its last two wins coming at home against Nebraska. The Cowgirls definitely hold a home-field advantage, having fallen just once back on March 9 against Tulsa. Leading the offense is Mariah Gearhart with a .373 average, 56 hits, 48 runs and 22-of-24 stolen bases. Julie Ward provides the power with 48 hits, 30 of which are for extra bases, including 20 doubles and 10 home runs and 52 RBIs. Chelsea Garcia (.303) is the only other Cowgirl hitting above .300. In the circle, Kat Espinosa (19-4) and Anna Whiddon (21-6) split time. Espinosa posts a 1.51 ERA, while Whiddon leads with 182 K's in 167.0 innings pitched and holds opponents to a .174 batting average.
VERSUS THE COWGIRLS
A&M leads the all-time series 35-21 against the Cowgirls and split the two-game set in College Station last season. The Aggies have won 13 of the last 15 contests between the two teams and are 9-4 all-time in Stillwater. Last year on April 8, A&M was down by a run until Spittler laced the game-winning, two-run single up the middle in the fourth inning of game one for a 2-1 win. The Aggies split the doubleheader with the Cowgirls after falling 13-1 in game two. Kliesing picked up the win in the circle scattering five hits and allowing one run and two walks while fanning four batters. In game two, OSU put up a nine-spot in the top of the first inning and never looked back. OSU was the only blemish on the Aggies' 17-1 Big 12 record in 2008.
A HOME RUN COMPARISON
Texas A&M has blasted 53 home runs in 52 games this season, already putting them past their season total of 35 homers in 54 games last year. Fifty-three is the second-most home runs hit by the Aggies in the history of the program and the team needs just three more to mark the most home runs hit in a single season in program history.
WHERE DO THE AGGIES RANK NATIONALLY?
In the NCAA statistics the Aggies are ranked in the top 25 in win-loss percentage (25) and doubles per game (24) (through games May 2). Individually, May sits third in home runs and slugging percentage, fifth in home runs per game, 9th in on base percentage, 12th in walks and 15th in RBIs per game. Arbino ranks 17th in the nation in shutouts.