Texas A&M Opens 2011 Season by Hosting Le Moyne

Feb. 17, 2011

 

Complete Texas A&M Game Notes in PDF Format

 

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The final preparations are over for the Texas A&M baseball team as the Aggies open the 2011 season this weekend by hosting Le Moyne in a three-game series inside the friendly confines of Olsen Field.

 

First pitch of the new campaign will be thrown at 6:35 p.m. Friday with the series continuing Saturday at 2:05 p.m. and concluding Sunday at 12:05 p.m.

 

SCHEDULE: Friday, 6:35 PM • Saturday, 2:05 PM • Sunday, 12:05 PM

RANKINGS: Texas A&M (Collegiate Baseball #8, USA Today/ESPN #13, NCBWA #16, Baseball America #21)

SERIES HISTORY: Texas A&M leads, 1-0

LAST MEETING: Texas A&M 7, Le Moyne 2 (June 1, 2007, during NCAA Regional play in College Station)

 

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• RADIO -- Fans can listen locally on WTAW-AM 1620 (Friday & Sunday) and Sports Radio 1150 The Zone (Saturday) ... Will Johnson (play-by-play, Fri & Sat), Dave South (play-by-play, Sun) and Scott Clendenin (commentary) will call the action ... pregame show begins 30 minutes prior to first pitch.

• INTERNET -- aggieathletics.com will offer live play-by-play and statistics ... fans can watch the game free of charge on aggieathletics.com.

• MOBILE PHONE -- listen to the game on your iPhone, Blackberry or PDA free of charge ... log on to radioaggieland.com for more information.

 

HEAD COACHES

Texas A&M - Rob Childress (6th Year • 199-113-1 at Texas A&M)

Le Moyne - Scott Cassidy (1st Year • 0-0 at Le Moyne)

 

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (2010 Stats) 

• FRIDAY: #12 John Stilson (Jr., RHP, 9-1, 0.80) vs. #23 Jeff Tardiff (Sr., RHP, 6-3, 3.33)

• SATURDAY: #38 Micahel Wacha (So., RHP, 9-2, 2.90) vs. #3 Cory Nelson (Sr., LHP, 2-6, 5.15)

• SUNDAY: #28 Ross Hales (R-So., LHP, 0-0, 11.57) vs. #38 Derek Zielinski (R-So., RHP, 0-0, 0.00)

 

LEADING OFF

The Texas A&M baseball team opens the 2011 season this weekend when the Aggies host Le Moyne at Olsen Field ... games are set for Friday (6:35 p.m.), Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and Sunday (12:05 p.m.) ... junior John Stilson (Texarkana) will be A&M's opening-night starter ... gates open 90 minutes prior to first pitch for all games.

 

A&M/LE MOYNE SERIES NOTABLES

Texas A&M and Le Moyne have met just once on the baseball diamond, four years ago during the College Station Regional of the 2007 NCAA Tournament ... the Aggies won the game, 7-2, at Olsen Field on their way to winning the regional and advancing to the super regionals that season.

 

MORE ON LE MOYNE

Le Moyne (Syracuse, N.Y.) returns 21 letterwinners, six position starters and 10 pitchers from a 2010 squad that went 28-27 ... As an institution, Le Moyne is a member of the NCAA-II's Northeast 10 Conference, however, the school's baseball program participates as an independent at the Division I level ... Scott Cassidy (Le Moyne `98) begins his first season as the head coach ... The Dolphins have made 16 NCAA tournament appearances, with the last coming in 2007 when they were a part of the College Station Regional ... Le Moyne began playing baseball during the 1948-49 school year ... for more information visit www.lemoynedolphins.com.

 

THE DRIVE FOR FIVE

Texas A&M has the chance to do something during the 2011 season that has never happened before in the program's 109 year history - make a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

Head coach Rob Childress has led the Aggies to the postseason each of the last four seasons, a feat that has happened only twice before at Texas A&M. Former head coach Tom Chandler led his squad to the NCAA Regionals each season from 1975 to 1978 and 11 years late the Aggies enjoyed a similar four-year run from 1986-89 under the direction of head coach Mark Johnson.

 

CHILDRESS STANDS ON THE BRINK OF 200

This weekend's series has the potential to be a milestone one for head coach Rob Childress, who enters the 2011 season seeking his 200th career coaching victory.

 

In five seasons at Texas A&M, Childress has compiled a 199-113 (.637) record and could join only two other coaches in program history to claim 200 wins during their tenure. Tom Chandler led the program for 26 seasons from 1959-84 and along the way notched 660 wins. Chandler was proceeded by Mark Johnson who led the Aggie baseball program 21 years from 1985-2005 and piled up a school-record 876 victories.

 

Amazingly, Texas A&M has enjoyed remarkable stability in its baseball program and has had just three head coaches since 1959.

 

The Childress era has also seen the Aggies' trophy case expand with the addition of a trio of Big 12 titles. In 2007, during just his second season in Aggieland, Childress oversaw an Aggie squad that increased its win total by 23 victories and claimed a Big 12 title with an impressive run at the league's postseason tournament. The Aggies reached the NCAA Super Regionals that season, a feat they would repeat the next season when they claimed the Big 12 regular season crown. The success has continued as Texas A&M again claimed the Big 12 Championship last season, defeating Baylor in the finale of the Big 12 Tournament.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M hosts Prairie View A&M on Tuesday night (6:35 p.m.) before welcoming Gonzaga to College Station for a three-game set at Olsen Field (Feb. 25-27).