COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 22/23 Texas A&M softball team opens the home portion of the 2015 season this weekend when hosts Eastern Michigan, Missouri State and Penn State.
The Aggies start the with a 3:00 p.m. Friday game against Penn State, followed by a 5:15 p.m. matchup with Eastern Michigan. Saturday's slate features a 3:00 p.m. rematch with Eastern Michigan, and a 5:15 p.m. faceoff against Penn State. Texas A&M ends the weekend with a 12:15 p.m. Sunday game against Missouri State. All times are CT, and all games are played at the Aggie Softball Complex. Due to time conflicts with baseball and men's basketball, parking will be $5 all day for Friday, Saturday and Sunday's games.
Fans unable to attend the game can listen to it live on 12thMan.com or RadioAggieland.com. Download the RadioAggieland app to listen to the games, or tune in online. Additionally, each game on the Aggies' home slate will be broadcast on SEC Network +, with seven contests on the ESPN family of channels.
Instantaneous live mobile stats can be seen from any mobile device, as well as any computer at TAMUstats.com. Live stats will also be available for every game of the 2015 season through 12thMan.com. Click on the live stats link on the Aggie softball schedule page any time after first pitch to follow the action.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Maroon Fridays
Come to each Friday home game covered in maroon and you could be chosen as the Maroon Fan of the Game, and be entered into a grand prize drawing that will be announced at the end of the season.
Kids Take Over The Park On Saturdays
With each adult ticket purchased, parents can bring up to four kids into the game for free. Pregame activities include poster making, face tattoos, sidewalk chalk, inflatables & more. During the game, kids will be selected to assist the marketing team with everything from the t-shirt toss to announcing the Aggie batters for one half inning. Following the conclusion of the final game on Saturday, all kids are invited on the field to run the bases.
Slug It Sundays
Post-game, TAMU students are invited onto the field to attempt to hit a home run for an exclusive prize. Limit one swing per student and students must present a valid student ID to participate.
Junior Aggie Club Days
Each member of the Junior Aggie Club will be allowed free entry to each softball game. To join the Junior Aggie Club for just $25, go to www.JuniorAggieClub.com.Â
AT FIRST GLANCE
The Aggie Classic is the 2015 home opener for Texas A&M. The Aggies return home to face Eastern Michigan, Missouri State and Penn State over the three-day event. Returning five starters and four pitchers, the Aggies bring back experienced talent while also welcoming a crop of seven fresh faces to the diamond. Despite returning 13 letterwinners and four pitchers, Texas A&M will take the field without its top three hitters last season. Sophomore April Ryan, who looks to pick up where her teammates left off, is coming off a season where she hit .295 with 14 doubles and 40 RBIs. The Aggies also bring back their top two pitchers in seniors Rachel Fox and Katie Marks. The duo combined for 15 wins and Fox led the team wiht 123 strikeouts.
LAST AT BAT
The Aggies opened 2015 with a 3-2 outing at the SoCal Collegiate Classic. A&M opened with a 5-1 win over Utah before being run-ruled by No. 6 UCLA, 13-0. Coming off the loss, A&M rebounded for a perfect second day, opening with a come-from-behind 9-5 victory over San Diego State and avenging their earlier loss with a 6-4 victory over UCLA. Coach Evans and the team dropped a hard fought decision to close the tournament on Sunday, falling 1-0 to Purdue.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Last weekend in Boca Raton at the FAU Kick-Off Tournament, the Penn State softball team got off to it's best start in 18 years. The team went 3-0 for the first time since 1997, defeating Arkansas, LIU Brooklyn and Georgia Tech, before dropping its final two against Kansas and host Florida Atlantic. This weekend will also mark the return of former Aggie Megan Gibson to her Alma mater. Gibson, who played in College Station from 2005-08 was recently inducted into her school's athletic Hall of Fame. While at A&M, she amassed some very gaudy numbers, including six career school records. She has had the most doubles (48), home runs (56), RBI (183), total bases (447), walks (172) and had the highest slugging percentage (.717). She also ranks in the program's top 10 in seven other categories.
SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN
Eastern Michigan will open the 2015 season at the Aggie Classic. The Eagles were picked to finish sixth in the Mid-Atlantic Conference's West Division in the 2015 preseason poll after finishing 13-37 in 2014. Under the direction of second year head coach Melissa Gentile, EMU returns 13 members of last year's squad including seven starters. Abby Davidson leads the Eagles in batting average (.285), runs (19), hits (37) and stolen bases (4). EMU also benefits from the return of Lindsay Rich on the mound, who dominated the Eagles' pitching statistics in 2014 including 143.3 innings pitched and 84 Ks.
SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE
The Bears opened the season with a 4-1 record at the Louisiana Tech Invitational. Freshman Chelsea Thomas was named MVC Newcomer of the Week after hitting five runs and leading the conference freshmen in RBIs last weekend. Sophomore pitcher Erin Struemph was a preseason All-MVC selection and is the Bears' leading returner in nearly every statistical category. They also return senior Chelsea Jones, who has made over 100 appearances on the mound and is a fixture in the batting order. Similar to the Aggies, Missouri State lost a large senior class and much of their starters with them, so this matchup will be a clash of the newcomers.
VS. THE FIELD
The Aggies are 18-5 all-time against Utah, after hosting the Utes in the teams' last meeting – a 7-5 A&M win in 2009. UCLA leads the series with Texas A&M, 7-8. The teams last met in the 2013 Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, also in Los Angeles, with the Aggies winning 7-6 in eight innings. The Aggies and Aztecs last played in Culver City, Calif., in 2014, a Texas A&M win that moved the all-time record to 7-2 in the Aggies' favor. Texas A&M holds a 2-1 lead in the series against Purdue, with two victories coming at the 2013 Aggie Invite.
GOING BACK TO CALI
The Aggies have become a mainstay in several California tournaments, taking at least one trip to the West Coast over the past four seasons. Texas A&M has a 19-11 record in the Golden State since 2011 including a 5-0 turn to open the 2014 season in Santa Barbara and 3-2 finish at the 2015 SoCal Collegiate Classic. The Aggies will return to California for the Mary Nutter Classic the third weekend of February.
THE 2015 AGGIES
In its third season in the Southeastern Conference, Texas A&M welcomes seven newcomers to the 2015 squad with freshmen Kristen Cuyos (Pearland), Erin Hoothoufd (Beach City), Kayla Ober (Katy), Hailey Rebar (San Antonio), Erica Russell (Bryan), Tori Vidales (La Porte) and Ashley Walters (Kerrville). Returning to action are five sophomores, four juniors and in incredibly experience four-member senior class. The Aggies will have to replace a prolific group of eight seniors from 2014 but retain four members of their pitching staff and several fresh faces who worked their way up the stat columns last season.
WELCOME BACK
The Aggies 13 student-athletes from the 2014 squad, including an experienced pitching staff and plenty of hitting power. Right-handed pitchers Rachel Fox and Katie Marks led the Aggies in 2014, putting together 30 wins with a combined 193 Ks. Sophomore April Ryan is A&M's leading hitter, batting .295 with 43 runs and 40 RBIs.
RANKING THE AGGIES
Texas A&M have a No. 22/23 ranking after the first weekend of play in 2015. The Aggies' remaining 2015 opponents in the top 25 are No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3/4 Alabama, No. 12/10 UCLA, No. 5/6 Kentucky, No. 16 LSU, No. 17 Auburn and No. 25 Cal State Fullerton. In addition, South Carolina, San Diego State and Mississippi State are receiving votes.
SEC PRESEASON POLL
The Southeastern Conference coaches predicted a No. 9 finish for the Aggies in 2015, finishing behind No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Missouri, No. 7 Auburn and No. 8 Tennessee. Rounding out the preseason poll are No. 10 South Carolina, No. 11 Mississippi State, No. 12 Arkansas and No. 13 Ole Miss. Nine of the 13 SEC softball teams appeared among the nation's top-25 in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Poll. Points for the SEC poll were awarded on a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 basis. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. The SEC did away with East-West divisions after the 2012-13 season in all sports but baseball and football.
FULL FEBRUARY
With four tournaments and two nonconference midweek games at the beginning of the season, the Aggies will play over one third of their regular-season schedule in the month of February. Of the 56 scheduled games in 2015, 22 of them will take place during the first four weeks of the season.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Get the latest news, updates and action from Aggie Softball by following the team's official Twitter account @AggieSoftball. Fans on Facebook can also stay connected by liking the Aggie Softball page (facebook.com/TAMUSoftball).
LISTEN LIVE
Aggie Softball fans worldwide can listen to each game of the 2015 season live on AggieAthletics.com. All contests are provided by The Zone and can be heard on smartphones and HD radios via 95.1-3 The Zone HD on the Radio Aggieland app. Select games are also available in the Bryan-College Station area on Sports Radio 1150 AM. Every game will be live online at RadioAggieland.com and 12thMan.com.
MOBILE LIVE STATS
Fans who wish to follow the action of each game this season can also receive free, instantaneous live stats on any computer or smartphone by visiting TAMUstats.com. Users can access current live stats and stats from past games.
AGGIE SOFTBALL ON TV
The Aggies will play at least seven games on national TV this season, beginning with the Sunday, March 8 game against Kentucky on the SEC Network at noon CT. Of the Aggies' seven televised contests, five will be played at the Aggie Softball Complex. The Aggies will host No. 20 Auburn on ESPNU on Saturday, April 11 at 1 p.m. CT. A week earlier the Aggies and South Carolina will face off on the SEC Network – March 21-22. In addition to the seven regular-season games, each Texas A&M home game will be broadcast on the SEC Network + channel and the WatchESPN app. The entire SEC tournament, including both play-in games, will be broadcast on ESPN networks. The SEC Tournament is set for May 6-9 in Baton Rouge, La.
TICKETS
All tickets may be purchased over the phone at 1-888-99-AGGIE OR 979-845-2311, online at tickets.12thManFoundation.com, or in person at The Zone at Kyle Field ticket office. Season tickets are currently available for just $125. Individual game tickets for softball will go on sale in January and are $10 for reserved (sections 4-8) and $8 for Adult General Admission (sections 1-3). Youth GA tickets are available for $5 each. Group rates are also available to groups of at least 20, and cost $8 for reserved seats and $3 for GA. Texas A&M students with no all-sports option may purchase a student walkup ticket for $5. Junior Aggie Club members are admitted free of charge to all Aggie softball games. Membership to the JAC is just $25, and information is available at www.JuniorAggieClub.com.
PARKING
Parking for all Aggie softball games is available in Lot 100 at both Reed Arena and Olsen Field. For games that do not conflict with baseball, the entry gate on the Reed Arena side of the stadium will not be opened; fans are encouraged to park at Olsen Field for those games to allow easy access to the stadium entrance. Visitors may park for free when there is not a conflict with an A&M men's basketball or baseball game. This does not include 24-hour numbered, 12th Man or timed spaces. Visit transportation.tamu.edu for more information.
UP NEXT
The Aggies head back to California for the Mary Nutter Classic. Texas A&M will play BYU on Friday, Feb. 20, and UCSB and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Feb. 20. They'll close the weekend facing Syracuse and Stanford on Sunday, Feb. 22. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com and follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.