March 3, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
The 22nd-ranked Texas A&M softball team travels to Starkville, Miss. this weekend to play in the Bulldog Classic. A&M (12-5) takes on Mississippi Valley State (5-6), Memphis (12-3) and host Mississippi State (6-10).
The Aggies play their first game of the tournament against Mississippi Valley State at 1 p.m. on Friday. A&M will play two games on Saturday, starting with a 10 a.m. matchup with Memphis and following with a 4 p.m. contest against Mississippi State. The tournament ends Sunday with an 11 a.m. game vs. Mississippi Valley State.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats and live audio will be provided for every game this season on AggieAthletics.com. Fans can listen to Sports Radio 1150 AM to hear the Saturday afternoon and Sunday games live. Friday and Saturday morning's games can be heard in HD on 95.1-3 The Zone. Log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies were 3-2 at the Cathedral City Classic in Cathedral City, Calif, falling to No. 7 Washington and top-ranked Georgia while run-ruling Long Beach State, Ohio State and Northwestern in five innings each. Senior Rhi Kliesing led the offense with a seventh home run on the season, batting .500 in five games. The Pearland, Texas, native was 6-for-12 with four runs and six RBI. Freshman Amber Garza batted .400 with a long ball of her own, and added a single, a double and a triple in five games. Sophomore Meagan May connected for three home runs, batting .375 on the tournament. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Mel Dumezich (7-3) picked up two wins and a loss with one shutout in 16 innings of work from the circle. She fanned 16 batters and allowed only six earned runs for a 3.38 ERA on the weekend. Dumezich also hit her career-first grand slam in the 10-1 victory over Ohio State.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
Mississippi Valley State is 5-6 on the season. The team was 27-23 overall and a conference-leading 13-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2010. Leading the Devilettes in 2011 is junior Rachelle Harris. She has started in all 11 games and holds a .345 batting average, going 10-for-29 with 2 RBI and a double. Rashundra Brass follows closely with a .324 average, and leads the team with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, 10 runs scored and 12 RBI. Pitcher Kimberly Spivey (3-4) maintains a 5.32 ERA. The sophomore has thrown 32 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched. This is the first meeting between the two teams. A&M will also host the Devilettes next weekend at the Texas A&M Invitational.
SCOUTING MEMPHIS
The Tigers are 12-3 in 2011, spending last weekend at the Stanford Nike Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., where they were 3-1, including a 2-1 upset of No. 16 Stanford. In 2010 the team was 25-26 overall and 8-15 in Conference USA. Junior Jessica Phillips leads the team this year with a .343 batting average, 10 RBI and nine runs on 12 hits, four of them long balls. Sophomore Carly Hummel holds a perfect 8-0 record from the circle with a 0.91 ERA in 10 appearances. She has struck out 53 batters in 53.2 innings of work and has allowed only seven earned runs, collecting three shutouts. Memphis is receiving votes this week for the first time in the program's history. This is the first time for the Aggies to play the Tigers.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
The host Bulldogs traveled to Woodstock, Ga., last weekend for the Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament and then faced Alabama-Birmingham in a midweek game on Tuesday. The team returned home with a 6-10 overall record. MSU suffered four losses in the tournament and fell to UAB, 8-0, but defeated Bowling Green. The team ended the 2010 season at 26-29 overall and 7-20 in the Southeastern Conference. Senior Courtney Nesbit is batting .353 this season, going 18-for-51 with a five home runs, three doubles, three triples and 15 RBI. Sophomore Kylie Vry (2-7) records a 2.80 ERA with one shutout. She has thrown 33 strikeouts and allowed 20 earned runs in 50 innings in the circle. This is the sixth meeting between the Aggies and the Bulldogs, with A&M leading the all-time record 3-2. The teams last met in College Station in 2010, when the Aggies run ruled MSU in two games.
ON DECK
The Aggies return to College Station to face UTSA in a midweek game on March 9 before hosting San Diego State, Louisiana Tech and MVSU in the Texas A&M Invitational, March 11-13.
AGGIES IN THE POLLS
Texas A&M started the season ranked in the top 25 in both preseason national polls, and is currently ranked No. 22 by both ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA. A&M's remaining opponents appearing in the polls are No. 10/11 Oklahoma, No. 12/12 Texas, No. 15/20 Nebraska, No. 18/17 Missouri, No. 19/15 Oklahoma State, No. 20/19 Texas Tech and No. 25/23 Houston. In addition Baylor, San Diego State and Memphis are receiving votes.
BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
A&M was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Aggies received 54 points and finished behind preseason favorite Oklahoma (79), Missouri (71) and Texas (69). A&M was selected as the frontrunner for three consecutive years, from 2006-08, and was picked sixth last season. Oklahoma State placed fifth with 50 points, followed by Baylor (40), Texas Tech (33), Nebraska (26), Iowa State (15) and Kansas (13).
AGGIE SOFTBALL ON TV
The Aggies are one of four Big 12 teams to play in front of a national audience in 2011. A&M's contest against Texas on May 4 will air live on FSN. The game is set for a 6:30 first pitch.
GET IT LIVE
Live streaming video will be available for every home game this season. Fans can log on to AggieAthletics.com to watch the action as it happens. Live audio and live stats are featured in every A&M game in 2010. Several contests will be aired on Sports Radio 1150 AM. All other games will be broadcast live on AggieAthletics.com and on 95.1-3 The Zone HD, making it available worldwide on any iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry or PDA free of charge. Log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.