April 5, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
On a three-game conference winning streak, the No. 20 Texas A&M softball team (30-8, 3-1 Big 12) travels to Austin Wednesday to play No. 5 Texas (31-3, 4-0 Big 12) in the first softball game of the 2011 State Farm Lone Star Showdown. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. at McCombs Field.
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In 2010, the Aggies battled to 1-0 walk-off victory at home when sophomore Mel Dumezich hit an RBI single that scored Macie Morrow from third in the bottom of the seventh. When the teams faced in Austin later that month, the Longhorns hit two home runs for a 4-1 victory.
A&M trails Texas in the 2011 State Farm Lone Star Showdown, 7-5 points. The winner of Wednesday's contest will earn half of a point for their school.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats and live audio will be provided for every game this season on AggieAthletics.com. Fans can listen to Wednesday's game live this weekend on Sports Radio 1150 AM. Log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies swept a two-game series against Iowa State, shutting the Cyclones out, 8-0, on Saturday before defeating them, 7-5, Sunday at the Aggie Softball Complex. Redshirt junior Natalie Villarreal put up four doubles and three runs on the weekend, never striking out in seven at-bats. She now leads the Big 12 in doubles in conference play. Sunday, the Frisco, Texas, native was 3-for-4 with three consecutive doubles. Sophomore Mel Dumezich (16-5) picked up her eighth shutout with Saturday's five-inning victory. She appeared in both of the Aggies' games, fanning seven batters and allowing only two runs on two hits. In conference-only stats, the right-handed pitcher leads her peers in opposing batting average, holding the competition to .129 hitting.
SCOUTING TEXAS
The No. 5 Longhorns are 31-3 on the season and 4-0 in Big 12 play. Leading the Big 12, the team is undefeated at home and swept a series with Oklahoma State last weekend in Stillwater, defeating the Cowgirls, 6-3 on Saturday, before shutting them out, 10-0, Sunday. Texas was 43-15 overall and was a conference-leading 14-2 in Big 12 games in 2010. Leading the Longhorns in 2011 is Lexy Bennett. The junior is batting .471 with 49 hits in 104 at-bats, including nine doubles, two triples and eight home runs. She also leads the team with 44 runs, earning 36 RBI and 86 total bases, and was named the Big 12 Player of the Week this week. Sophomore Torie Schmidt (.421) has connected for 40 hits, scoring 20 runs and putting up 18 RBI. Sophomore Blaire Luna (18-2) leads the hurlers, posting a 0.96 ERA in 20 appearances in the circle. The right-handed pitcher has thrown 10 shutouts in 123 2/3 innings of work, striking out 190 batters and allowing only 17 earned runs on 61 hits. She has been named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week twice this season. A&M leads the all-time series against Texas, 18-17.
HOME RUNS GALORE
The Aggies have tallied 54 home runs this season, including five grand slams, in 38 games. The team sits at 9th in the nation in the most recent NCAA statistical rankings in home runs per game with a 1.42 average. Senior Rhi Kliesing is sixth in the nation with 14 home runs and is 16th in home runs per game, individually. Of A&M's 19 players, 12 have gone yard in 2011 to lead the Big 12 in long balls. Undefeated at home, the Aggies have cleared their own fence 33 times, including three times in the one-run victory over No. 15 Baylor. The team also had a solo bomb against top-ranked Arizona early in the season.
WHERE DO THE AGGIES RANK NATIONALLY?
The Aggies are ranked in the top 25 in four categories (through games April 3) - home runs per game (9), slugging percentage (17), win-loss percentage (22) and scoring (23). Individually, Kliesing sits sixth in home runs, 14th in slugging percentage and 16th in home runs per game. Dumezich ranks fifth in the nation in shutouts and 18th in victories. Sophomore Meagan May is sixth in sacrifice flies and 23rd in RBI per game.
MAY INJURED
May, a 2010 All-American, fractured her right middle finger March 23 in the first inning of the game against Sam Houston State. She will not be in the lineup against Texas on Wednesday and is out indefinitely.
ON DECK
The Aggies travel to Columbia, Mo., this weekend to take on No. 12 Missouri in a two-game series. Game one Saturday is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch, while Sunday's game is slated for an 11 a.m. start.
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. 20 by both ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA. A&M's remaining opponents appearing in the polls are No. 5/7 Texas, No. 11/13 Nebraska, No. 14/15 Oklahoma, No. 16/12 Missouri, No. 21/21 Oklahoma State and No. 24/24 Texas Tech.
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' contest at home against Texas on May 4 will air live on FSN. The game is set for a 6:30 first pitch.
GET IT LIVE
Live audio and live stats are featured in every A&M game in 2011. 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.