April 29, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - In its final road series of the regular season, the 21st-ranked Texas A&M softball team (34-13, 6-5 Big 12) travels to Lawrence, Kan., to face Kansas (31-20, 2-14 Big 12) in a pair of conference games at Arrocha Ballpark. Game one Saturday is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start, and first pitch Sunday will be thrown at noon.
In 2010, the Aggies swept the Jayhawks in their Big 12 opener at the Aggie Softball Complex. A&M run-ruled Kansas, 12-4, in game one on a grand slam by sophomore Rhi Kliesing added a second grand slam on the weekend, her career first, to give the Aggies a 10-1 run-rule victory and their first conference sweep of the season.
FOLLOW THE ACTION Live stats and live audio will be provided for every game this season on AggieAthletics.com. Fans can listen to this weekend's games live on Sports Radio 1150 AM. Log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.
LAST TIME OUT The 19th-ranked Aggies split games with No. 15 Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. A two-RBI double by May in her first Big 12 game of the season and an RBI single by senior Kelsey Spittler helped A&M to a 3-0 shutout of the Sooners in game one. Scoreless through six and a half innings in game two, a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh gave OU a 2-0 victory.
Redshirt junior Natalie Villarreal leads the Aggie bats with a .358 average, 39 runs, 48 hits and 12 doubles. Kliesing is close behind with a .352 batting average. She leads the team with 15 home runs, 45 RBI, 96 total bases and 34 walks. Dumezich and redshirt junior Lindsey Sisk combine for a 1.93 ERA from the circle. Dumezich (20-8) holds a 1.88 ERA this season with 10 solo shutouts in 167 2/3 innings of work. She has thrown 194 strikeouts in 24 complete games. Sisk (14-5) has a 2.00 ERA in 22 starts. She has allowed only 38 earned runs in 133 innings pitched while fanning 92 batters.
SCOUTING KANSAS The Jayhawks are 31-20 overall this season and 2-14 in Big 12 play. In 2010 the team was 21-35 overall and 2-16 in conference. On Wednesday, KU swept a doubleheader against Wichita State, breaking the school's single-season home run record on the way to tally 59 on the season. Redshirt junior Liz Kocon and sophomore Mariah Montgomery each hit two bombs while junior Marissa Ingle had one.
Leading the Kansas offense in 2011 is sophomore Maggie Hull. She has a .346 average with 38 runs on 54 hits, including 14 doubles, a triple and eight home runs for 47 RBI. Kocon leads the team with 14 home runs and 97 total bases. Freshman Kristin Martinez (12-10) has a 3.00 ERA in 33 appearances, throwing two complete shutouts while combining for two. She has fanned 78 batters in 126 innings in the circle.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE The Aggies are on a 19-game home winning streak, starting April 25, 2010. This is the second-longest home winning streak A&M has had since the program's inception in 1981. The longest winning streak at home by Aggie softball was a 20-game ride from Feb. 19, 2005-May 22, 2005.
HOME RUNS GALORE A&M has tallied 58 home runs this season, including five grand slams, in 47 games. The team sits at 17th in the nation in the most recent NCAA statistical rankings in home runs per game with a 1.23 average. Kliesing is 12th in the nation with 15 home runs and is 29th in home runs per game, individually. Of A&M's 19 players, 12 have gone yard in 2011. Undefeated at home, the Aggies have cleared their own fence 34 times, including three times in the one-run victory over No. 15 Baylor and once against No. 12 Nebraska. The team also had a solo bomb against top-ranked Arizona early in the season.
NATIONALLY-RANKED The Aggies are ranked in the top 25 in the most recent RPI standings in two categories (through games April 24) - home runs per game (17) and slugging percentage (25), and sit at 24th in the RPI rankings. Individually, Kliesing sits at 12th in home runs. Dumezich ranks eighth in the nation in shutouts and 24th in victories. May is 12th in sacrifice flies and 14th in RBI per game.
ON DECK The Aggies return home to host their final five Big 12 games of the season, beginning with a rematch against No. 3 Texas on Wednesday at the Aggie Softball Complex. The game will be broadcast nationally on FSN Southwest.
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. 21 by ESPN.com/USA Softball and No. 22 by USA Today/NFCA. A&M's remaining opponents appearing in the polls are No. 3/3 Texas and No. 16/17 Oklahoma State. In addition, Texas Tech is 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).
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.