COLLEGE STATION, Texas - After extending its home winning streak to 28 games on Wednesday, the No. 15 Texas A&M softball team (4-2) is ready to host the Aggie Classic this weekend at the Aggie Softball Complex.
The four-team tournament is the first of three that the Aggies will host this season. North Carolina State (3-1), Tulsa (2-1) and UTSA (3-4) will be making the trip to College Station for the weekend and will each play five games at A&M's field.
Coming off of its 10th straight and 22nd overall NCAA Tournament appearance, the Aggies return 14 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last year's 44-15 squad. All-Americans Meagan May and Mel Dumezich return for their junior season while two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Natalie Villarreal will take to the diamond for the last time as a senior.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats and live audio will be provided for every game this season on AggieAthletics.com, while live streaming video will be offered at each of the Aggies' home games. Fans can also listen to several of the Aggies' games live locally on Sports Radio 1150 AM. Each A&M game this weekend will be featured on 95.1-3 The Zone HD, making it available worldwide on any smartphone or HD radio. Sunday's game vs. Tulsa will also be broadcast locally on Sports Radio 1150 AM. Log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME
As part of the Take Me Out to the Ballgame promotion, two kids will get in free with the purchase of one adult ticket every Sunday. Fans can also enjoy the same deal during the Thursday, March 8 game vs. Monmouth.
AGGIES IN THE POLLS
Texas A&M is ranked 15th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll, and was slated at No. 18 in the USA Today/NFCA rankings. The Aggies' remaining 2012 opponents appearing in the polls are No. 1/3 Florida, No. 3/1 California, No. 4/4 Oklahoma, No. 6/5 Missouri, No. 7/9 Washington, No. 9/10 Baylor, No. 13/13 Texas, No. 15/18 Oklahoma State, No. 17/17 Houston and No. 24/22 Nebraska. In addition, Hawaii, Tulsa, BYU and New Mexico are receiving votes.
ON DECK
The Aggies will travel to the Palm Springs area to play in the Cathedral City Classic. A&M will open the tournament Thursday with a noon game vs. No. 1 Florida and a 2:30 p.m. game against New Mexico (RV). Friday will see the Aggies face No. 7 Washington at 12:30 p.m. and rematch against BYU (RV) at 3 p.m. The team will close out the weekend with an 11:30 a.m. game vs. Pacific. All games are listed in CST.
FAN FEST
Dumezich broke her personal career record for strikeouts in a game with 13 vs. Northwestern, forcing 11 batters to swing at the last pitch and catching two batters looking. The right-handed hurler's 425 strikeouts rank ninth all-time for A&M.
FRESHMAN FIVE
Evans welcomes a group of five freshmen to the team this season. Lauren Ainsley (RHP - La Vernia, Texas), Brittany Clopton (OF - Montgomery, Texas), Kayla Klein (RHP - Whittier, Calif.), Sara Mireles (LHP - New Braunfels, Texas) and Lauren Tamayo (UT - Roanoke, Texas) will put on the Maroon & White in 2012.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA STATE
North Carolina State is coming off of a 2011 season in which the Wolfpack achieved a 26-22 record and were eliminated in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Head Coach Lisa Navas looks to rebound in her ninth season at North Carolina State. The Wolfpack returns 10 letterwinners and brings five true freshmen into the mix. Senior Tori Ann Williford looks to be the top offense player for the Wolfpack this year and should receive a tremendous amount of support from junior teammate Bethaney Wells. In the circle, Senior Morgan Peeler looks to be the ace of the staff. So far this season, the Wolfpack has posted a 3-1 record with a thrilling victory against then-No. 10 Georgia. Seven players have above a .300 batting average for the Wolfpack, including two players who are hitting in the 400s (Landon Warren, .429; Wells, .417). Emily Weiman (3-1) leads the pitching staff with a 1.78 ERA over 19.2 innings pitched. Weiman has received all four decisions for the Wolfpack and posts 25 strikeouts through four games.
The Aggies and Wolfpack have only met once before, in Columbus, Ga., in 2008. A&M won that game, 4-0.
SCOUTING TULSA
The University of Tulsa (2-1) is coming off of a successful 2011 softball season under head coach John Bargfeldt, finishing the season with a 46-15 record and posting a 19-5 record in conference play to win the Conference USA Championship as well as advance to the NCAA Norman Regional. In 2012, The Golden Hurricane look to build from last season's success, garnishing a preseason No. 25 ranking, while returning the sophomore C-USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Aimee Creger, as well as shortstop Samantha Cobb, centerfielder Caitlin Everett, and third basemen Jill Barrett, who were also All-Conference selections at their respective position. The 2012 season did not start off like the Golden Hurricane would have hoped, dropping a 19-4 matchup to Louisiana-Lafayette. The Hurricane did bounce back, however, winning their next two games by a combined score of 23-4 (Mississippi Valley State 11-3; Rutgers 12-1). Samantha Cobb has paced the offense so far this season with an astounding .833 batting average with three home runs and seven RBI through the first three games. Lacey Middlebrooks leads the pitching staff with eight strikeouts in her only appearance of the season, against Mississippi Valley State.
The Aggies have defeated the Golden Hurricane in 10 of 12 contests between the two teams. A&M and Tulsa last met in a 2009 doubleheader at the Aggie Softball Complex where the Aggies won an 8-0, five-inning run-rule before the Golden Hurricane took game two, 3-2.
SCOUTING UTSA
UTSA (3-4) finished one game above .500 in 2011 with a 28-27. Head coach Amanda Lehotak looks to get the Roadrunners off to a hot start in her first year at UTSA. The Roadrunners finished last season with a 17-13 record in the Southland Conference. UTSA is looking for its sixth conference championship and its first since 2006. The Roadrunners return 11 letterwinners to their roster this season. After opening the season on a four-game losing streak and giving up a combined 38 runs to the likes of Colorado State (10), Texas (15), Cal-State Fullerton (5), and Texas (8), the Roadrunners have managed to rattle off three-straight wins against Cal-State Fullerton and Texas Southern twice. UTSA has been led offensively by first baseman Caitlyn Ivy. The senior is hitting .429 so far this season with one home run and seven RBI. Another leader for the Roadrunners is freshman Catcher Megan Low, who is also batting .429. Alyssa Vordenbaum leads the pitching staff so far this season with a 3.73 ERA, posting a 2-1 record in 15 innings pitched with 11 strikeouts.
A&M holds a 29-6 all-time record over UTSA, winning the last 11 contests that date back to 2002. Last season, the Aggies defeated the Roadrunners, 4-0, at home.
AGGIE CONNECTION
UTSA assistant coach Megan Gibson is one of the big names in Aggie softball, garnering three NFCA All-American honors under A&M head coach Jo Evans in her four years in Maroon and White. The pitching standout was both Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the Year as a senior and led the Aggies to three conference titles and two WCWS appearances. In 2008 she was the runner-up for NFCA National Player of the Year. Last season, Gibson was the Aggies' volunteer pitching coach, helping the team to an NCAA Super Regional finish and a combined 1.95 ERA in the circle.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
The Aggies are on a program-best 28-game home winning streak, starting April 25, 2010. The streak is also the longest current home winning streak in the nation as the Aggies went undefeated at home in 2011. This is the longest home winning streak A&M has had since the program's inception in 1981. The previous record holder by Aggie softball was a 21-game ride from Feb. 19, 2005-May 22, 2005.
HOME RUNS GALORE
A&M tallied 81 home runs during the 2011 season, including eight grand slams, in 59 games. The team ended the season at fifth in the nation in the NCAA statistical rankings in home runs per game with a 1.37 average. Then-senior Rhi Kliesing was 13th in the nation with 18 home runs and 24th in home runs per game, individually. Of A&M's 19 players, 12 went yard in 2011. Undefeated at home, the Aggies cleared their own fence 49 times, including three times in the one-run victory over No. 15 Baylor, once against No. 12 Nebraska and No. 3 Texas, five times in the sweep of No. 16 OSU, seven times in the NCAA College Station Regional and three times vs. No. 1 Arizona State at the Super Regional level. The team also had a solo bomb against top-ranked Arizona early in the season. Then-freshman Amber Garza led the team with three grand slams, including two on back-to-back days in the NCAA Tournament.
NATIONALLY RANKED
The Aggies consistently found themselves among the best in the nation in several categories last season. In the final NCAA Statistical Ranking Summary, A&M ranked 29th in ERA (1.95), 28th in fielding percentage (0.971), 27th in scoring (5.59), 20th in win-loss percentage (0.746), fifth in home runs per game (1.37) and 19th in slugging percentage (0.497). Individually, Kliesing was 13th in home runs and 24th in home runs per game (0.31), while May was ranked 33rd. May was also 30th in RBI per game (1.02). May's 0.77 walks per game on average were 21st in the nation and her four sacrifice flies ranked 18th. From the circle, Dumezich ranked 13th in victories (30), 31st in hits per seven innings (4.72), 33rd in strikeouts (262) and 12th in shutouts (12).
ACTIVE ALL-AMERICANS
In 2011 Dumezich was named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American second team after earning a 1.92 ERA in 247 1/3 Innings pitched. The junior gave up only 68 runs while fanning 262 batters as a sophomore and ranks ninth on the Aggies' career strikeouts list.
May earned All-America second team honors in 2010 as a freshman. The standout catcher broke the team and Big 12 records for home runs in a season after clearing the fence 24 times. She also posted a team-leading .405 batting average, 66 hits, 16 doubles, 62 RBI, a .945 slugging percentage and a .557 on base percentage. May was one of only six Aggies to earn the honor as a freshman.
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2012 softball season can be purchased through the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Office for $5-$8. Fans can purchase tickets to every home game in person at The Zone at Kyle Field box office, online at www.12thManFoundation.com, or over the phone at 1-888-99-AGGIE (2-4443) or (979) 845-2311. The ticket window at the Aggie Softball Complex will open one hour prior to each home game, at which time remaining tickets may be purchased at the gate.
PARKING
Parking this season is free for each home game that does not share a date with a baseball or basketball game. Fans can park in Reed Arena Lot 100, across the street from the Aggie Softball Complex. For conflicting dates, fans will be charged $5 to park.
BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
A&M was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Aggies received 37 points and finished behind preseason favorite Missouri (59), and Oklahoma (56), Texas (50) and Baylor (45). A&M was selected as the frontrunner for three consecutive years, from 2006-08, and was picked fourth last season, ending 2011 in third place. Oklahoma State placed sixth with 32 points, followed by Texas Tech (22), Kansas (13) and Iowa State (10).
GET IT LIVE
Live audio and live stats are featured in every A&M game in 2012. 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.