COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M Baseball continues its season-opening 13-game homestand Tuesday when the Aggies host Stephen F. Austin in a 6:35 pm contest on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. The Maroon and White look to start 4-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Rob Childress sends Turner Larkins to the mound for his first career start. The freshman, who impressed in fall workouts, made quick work of Holy Cross on Sunday when he needed just nine pitches to get through a scoreless eighth inning. On the opening weekend, the Aggies were impressive across the board in offensive production, with a .346 batting average, .435 batting average with two outs, .348 batting average with runners in scoring position and .542 when leading off an inning.
#23 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (3-0) vs. SFA LUMBERJACKS (1-3)
Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park (6,100) • College Station, Texas
SCHEDULE - Tuesday 6:35 PM
RADIO - Sports Radio 1150 The Zone • Scott Clendenin (play-by-play)
LIVE VIDEO - SEC Network+ (WatchESPN credentials required through cable provider) • Will Johnson (play-by-play), Mark Johnson (color analyst)
LIVE AUDIO - 12thMan.com • radioaggieland.com (free)
LIVE STATS - 12thMan.com/tamustats.com (mobile devices)
RANKINGS - Texas A&M - 23rd (USAT), 16th (D1B), 22nd (NCBWA); SFA - unranked
SERIES HISTORY - Texas A&M leads 22-1
SERIES STREAKS - A&M won last four meetings
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
• TUESDAY: #23 Turner Larkins (Fr., RHP, 0-0, 0.00) vs #26 Jarred Greene (So., RHP, 1-0, 0.00)
FOLLOWING THE ACTION
• RADIO — Fans can listen to all games locally on SportsRadio 1150 The Zone... Dave South (play-by-play) and selected commentators will call the action... pregame show begins 30 minutes prior to first pitch.
• INTERNET — 12thMan.com will offer live play-by-play and statistics for all home games... fans with cable providers offering access to SEC Network+ can watch all non-televised home games via the WatchESPN App using their cable provider access code.
• MOBILE PHONE — listen to the game on your iPhone, Blackberry or PDA free of charge ... log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.
TEXAS A&M/STEPHEN F. AUSTIN SERIES NOTABLES
The Aggies are 22-1 all-time against the Lumberjacks, with the lone loss coming in 2010 when SFA notched a 7-6 win. Last season, the Aggies logged a 12-3 victory with PATRICK MCLENDON leading the A&M offense, going 4-for-6 with one double and two RBI. Cole Lankford and JB MOSS both went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. TYLER STUBBLEFIELD went 4.1 innings in his first career start, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out eight. JASON FREEMAN, AJ MINTER and RYAN HENDRIX each pitched a scoreless inning of relief to wrap up the game.
MORE ON STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
The Lumberjacks are coming off a 20-35 campaign in 2014... SFA finished 12th in the Southland Conference with an 11-19 record, not qualifying for the SLC Tournament... The Lumberjacks opened the season by going 1-3 at the Tipton Ford Classic they hosted at Jaycees Field, with a split against Washington State (W, 4-1; L, 3-4) and losses against Missouri State (4-5) and UT Arlington (9-18)... Matthew Dickey is the top returning hitter for the Jacks, batting .269 (52-for-193) for 29 runs, seven doubles, one triple, 16 RBI and 12 stolen bases last year... Nick Ramos hit .263 (50-for-190) with 28 runs, six doubles, three triples, 15 RBI and four stolen bases in 2014... Johnny Cardenas is in his seventh season as the Lumberjacks' head coach, with a 168-172 record... He was tabbed the Southland Conference Coach of the Year in 2010... Stephen F Austin now boasts their first-ever former player in the Major League's as catcher Steven Hill made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on August 10, 2010, hitting a home run in his only game that season... He returned to the Majors in 2012, appearing in nine games... The Lumberjacks have a pair of players on the doorstep with SS/3B Hunter Dozier (Kansas City Royals) and OF Bryson Myles (Cleveland Indians) reaching AA in 2014.
NOTES AND NOTABLES
• Head coach Rob Childress enters his 10th season at the helm of the Texas A&M baseball program, beginning the year with a 362-208-2 record. Last season, he led the Aggies to the postseason to extend their school-record streak to eight consecutive seasons.
• Texas A&M welcomes back 22 letterwinners, including five players who started more than 50 percent of A&M's games in the field last season. The Aggies also return 11 players who started at least 15 games, from last season's 36-26 team that advanced to the NCAA Championship. The Aggies return All-SEC Second Team performer in Nick Banks (OF).
• The Aggies enter the season ranked in the Top 25 in three of the five major college baseball polls, earning the No. 22 ranking in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, the No. 23 spot in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll and the No. 16 position in the inaugural D1Baseball.com ranking.
AGGIES SELECTED THIRD IN THE SEC WESTERN DIVISION
Texas A&M was selected to finish third in the SEC Western Division in the 24th annual SEC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll, the league announced on Thursday. Nick Banks named Preseason All-SEC Second Team in the league's first-ever release of preseason all-conference squads.
The Aggies were slotted to finish third by LSU, who received 13 of 14 first-place votes and Alabama. Texas A&M received one first-place vote. The Bayou Bengals were overwhelming favorites with all 91 possible points. Alabama tallied 62 points, followed by Texas A&M (60), Arkansas (59), Mississippi State (52), Ole Miss (42) and Auburn (19).
Defending national champion Vanderbilt was the selection to win the Eastern Division with 89 points and 11 first-place votes. Florida earned three first-place votes, finishing second with 80 points. South Carolina was slotted third with 67 points, followed by Tennessee (51), Georgia (42), Kentucky (36) and Missouri (20).
Points were compiled on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion.
Vanderbilt was predicted to be the 2015 SEC champion. In the 14 votes cast for the overall league winner, Vanderbilt received 11 votes, followed by Florida with two and LSU with one.
LISTEN AROUND THE WORLD
A&M fans in Bryan/College Station will find it easier to find baseball broadcasts as every game will air on SportsRadio 1150 The Zone. Free live audio of every pitch of the 2015 season is also available online at 12thMan.com. Fans across the world can listen to Aggie games free of charge on their iPhone, Blackberry and other selected PDAs and cell phones through the Radio Aggieland app. To check availability or to set up your device to listen to Aggie baseball all season long wherever you go, visit radioaggieland.com.
BANKS EARNS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA
NICK BANKS picked up a pair of Preseason All-America honors. The sophomore outfielder was named to the Perfect Game's 2015 Preseason College All-America Second Team and D1Baseball.com Preseason All-America Second Team.
As a freshman, Banks batted .327 with 29 runs, 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 26 RBI and seven stolen bases. In 30 SEC contests, Banks ranked fourth in the league with a .360 batting average, going 41-for-114 with seven doubles, one triple, one home run, 15 runs and 16 RBI.
Following his successful rookie campaign, Banks earned Freshman All-America recognition from National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association and Collegiate Baseball. He was named All-SEC Second Team as well as earning a place on the SEC All-Freshman squad. Banks and Florida's Logan Shore were the only two freshmen to earn All-SEC status in 2014.
MAKING EVERY OUT COUNT
The Aggies made every out count the opening weekend, hitting .435 (20-for-46) with two outs. Meanwhile, Holy Cross scuffled to hit .133 (4-for-30) with two outs. The Maroon and White logged 23 RBI with two outs, an average of 7.6 per game. Ronnie Gideon batted .625 (5-for-8) with 11 RBI with two outs in the three-game sweep of the Crusaders. JB MOSS hit 1.000 (3-for-3) with six RBI with two outs during the span.
SETTING THE TABLE
Aggie hitters leading off an inning have reached base in 13 of the 24 frames (.542), despite getting just three leadoff hits. A&M has drawn seven walks and have been hit by two pitches to start innings. LOGAN TAYLOR (2-of-2), MITCHELL NAU (2-of-3) and JB MOSS (2-of-5) each started two frames be reaching base.
BIG INNINGS
The Aggies have been producing plenty of big innings early in the 2015 campaign. The Maroon and White have scored multiple runs in 11 of their 24 innings on the year. Texas A&M has had seven innings with at least three runs and five “Big Innings” with at least four runs. Twice in 2015, A&M has logged seven runs, including the second inning of the season opener against Holy Cross and in the seventh inning of the second game of the year. The Aggies have batted through the line three times this season.
LOCAL BOY
With the departure of Krey Bratsen, the all-time Aggie leader in games played, newcomer BLAKE KOPETSKY takes over the role of the local boy. Kopetsky was a standout at Rudder High School in Bryan, earning three letters. He was tabbed an All-Texas 4A Third Team outfielder by the Texas SportsWriters Association as a senior in 2012. The last two years he played at Temple Junior College and returned home in the summers to star for the Brazos Valley Bombers.
Other recent players to hail from Bryan or College Station include Bratsen (2011-14), Luke Anders (2006-09), Nick Anders (2009), Kyle Nicholson (2004-07) and Keith Stein (2005-06).
TURNER BASEBALL
Turner Larkins has the distinction of being selected in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft one spot before Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel. The Milwaukee Brewers selected Larkins out of Arlington Martin High School in the 28th round with the 836th overall pick. The San Diego Padres followed by drafting Manziel with the 837th pick.
TOUGH TESTS SPANGLE THE 2015 SCHEDULE
The Aggies will play 11 teams that participated in the 2014 NCAA Championship for a total of 27 games, including Alabama (3), Kentucky (3), Mississippi State (3), Arkansas (3), LSU (3), South Carolina (3), Ole Miss (3), Sam Houston State (2), Dallas Baptist, Houston, Nebraska and Rice.
The Aggies will play seven SEC series against teams that played in the 2014 NCAA Championship, including College World Series participant Ole Miss.
Four of A&M's opponents hosted a regional in 2014 and Ole Miss and Houston both played in Super Regionals. The Aggies' meat grinder of a schedule includes 18 games against squads that racked up 40 or more wins last season as well as three games each against Mississippi State (39-23), Alabama (37-23) and Kentucky (37-24).
ALLEMAND'S SENIORITY
Blake Allemand enters the season as the most senior of veterans on the squad. Heading into Tuesday's game, Allemand has played in 170 games. With 30 more games, Allemand would become just the 17th Aggie to appear in 200 games. Five Aggies have appeared in 200 games in the 21st century, including school record holder Krey Bratsen (245 - 2011-014), Kevin Gonzalez (236 - 2008-11), Brodie Green (228 - 2007-10), Kyle Colligan (218 - 2006-09) and Brandon Wood (204 - 2010-13).
For his career, Allemand is hitting .278 (163-for-586) with 15 doubles, four triples, one home run, 68 RBI and 25 stolen bases. He has made 164 career starts, including 47 in 2012, 61 in 2013 and 53 in 2014.
CALL ON ME
Coach Childress has a pair of pitchers who he has called on 50 or more times in their career, including JASON FREEMAN and A.J. MINTER. He also has a pair of arms nearing the 50-game plateau, including ANDREW VINSON with 49 and MATT KENT with 47.
Freeman leads all active players with his 55 games which includes 52 relief appearances. For his career, the right-hander is 4-3 with a 5.06 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 64.0 innings. Minter is 4-0 with a 2.55 ERA, two saves and 47 strikeouts (19 BB) in 42.1 innings in 53 appearances, 52 in relief. In 49 games, all out of the bullpen, Vinson is 4-3 with a 3.28 ERA, two saves and 56 strikeouts (21 BB) in 57.2 innings. Kent counts seven starts among his 47 games. The southpaw is 6-4 with a 3.32 ERA and 56 strikeouts (10 BB) in 89.1 innings.
POSITION CHANGES
Although nothing is set in stone, the Aggies are entering the season anticipating position changes for a few of starters. LOGAN TAYLOR, who started 43 games at shortstop in 2014, has been working in the outfield and is expected to open the season in leftfield. LOGAN NOTTEBROK, who notched 27 starts at third base and was the designated hitter on nine occasions, has been working out at first base. BLAKE ALLEMAND is getting most of his work at shortstop in the preseason. Although he has 28 career starts at shortstop, most of his work the last three years has come third base (76) and second base (57).
POSTSEASON STREAK CONTINUES IN 2015
Prior to the arrival of head coach Rob Childress, Texas A&M had never appeared in the NCAA Tournament more than four consecutive years. Advancing to the NCAA Houston Regional in 2014 extended the Aggies current string to eight consecutive years, something that had never happened before in the program's 113 year history.
Childress has led the Aggies to the postseason each of the last eight seasons, topping the previous-high water mark of four-straight trips, a feat that had happened only twice before at Texas A&M. Former head coach Tom Chandler led his squad to the NCAA Regionals each season from 1975 to 1978 and 11 years later the Aggies enjoyed a similar four-year run from 1986-89 under the direction of head coach Mark Johnson.
TRENDING UPWARD
The Aggies are one of just 22 schools to log 200 or more wins between 2010-14. Over the five-year span, Texas A&M is tied with Kent State for 17th place with 203 victories. The Maroon and White are 203-116-1 (.636) over the span. The SEC boasts six teams with over 200 wins between 2010-14, including South Carolina (245), Vanderbilt (240), LSU (227), Florida (216), Arkansas (208) and Texas. The six leads all conferences, trailed by the ACC (5), Pac 12 (4) and Big 12 (4).
BOLT RETURNS TO STAFF
WILL BOLT returns to College Station for the first year of his second stint on Rob Childress' Aggie coaching staff. He previously served a two-year stint as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas A&M in 2006-07. Bolt's primary functions include coordinating the offensive game, mentoring the infielders and serving as third base coach.
In addition to serving as a volunteer assistant under Childress, Bolt was also a four-year starter at Nebraska from 1999-2002, while Childress was serving as an assistant coach under Dave Van Horn.
Bolt spent the last three seasons as an associate head coach for Nebraska under Darin Erstad. He helped the Huskers get back to the NCAA Championship in 2014 after a five-year hiatus.
RELATIVELY SPEAKING
Nick Choruby - father, Shawn Choruby, was an outfielder for the Aggies in 1984-85.
Ronnie Gideon - father, Ron Gideon works in the Colorado Rockies organization as a development supervisor with the New Britain Rock Cats. He played in the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets organization from 1984-90, starting as a first baseman before spending the last two years as a pitcher.
Lee May Gonzalez - cousin, Michael Gonzalez, is an 11-year MLB veteran, including stints as a relief pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2003-06), Atlanta Braves (2007-09), Baltimore Orioles (2010-11), Texas Rangers (2011), Washington Nationals (2012) and Milwaukee Brewers (2013). Has appeared in 509 games, all in relief, with a 17-24 record, 56 saves, 3.14 ERA and 511 strikeouts in 444.1 innings. Best season to date came in 2006 with the Pirates, going 3-4 with a career-high 24 saves, a 2.17 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 54.0 innings.
Lee May Gonzalez - uncle, Eric Gonzalez, played for the Aggies in 1992-93 and is currently the head coach at Laredo Community College. As a junior in 1992, Eric batted .287 with 31 runs, 14 doubles, one triple, one home run, 26 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 55 games.
Cason Sherrod - grandfather, Horace “Bud” Sherrod, played football at the University of Tennessee and was Most Valuable Player of the 1951 Cotton Bowl Classic as a defensive end, helping lead UT to a 20-14 win over the Texas Longhorns. He spent one season in the NFL, playing for the New York Giants in 1952. He is a member of the University of Tennessee Athletic Hall of Fame.
Cody Whiting - mother, then Joy Tiner, was a 1990 All-America in softball at Cal State Fullerton, batting .311 with 30 runs and 17 RBI.
2,500-WIN CLUB
The Aggies lead all SEC programs in all-time wins, but were recently joined by Mississippi State in the prestigious 2,500-win club. Texas A&M is currently one of just 13 NCAA Division I programs to reach the 2,500-win plateau, entering play with a 2,518-1,430-42 mark. Before February is over, two teams may join the 2,500-win club including another of SEC team. Mississippi State won its season opener, marking its 2,500th victory and the Bulldogs now boast 2,503 wins. Alabama (2,499) and Minnesota (2,494) are nearing the plateau. South Carolina would need 44 wins in 2015 to reach the plateau by the end of the year. Everybody is at least two decades worth of wins behind Fordham which owns 4,367 all-time wins.
PITCHER WEDGE
Kyle Simonds marks the only player on the squad to not play high school baseball. Simonds spent his springs at Grand Island (Neb.) Central Catholic High School playing golf. Skilled on the links, Simonds qualified for the Nebraska Class C state tournament all four years, finishing 11th at the championship as a junior. He got his share of baseball in the summers staring for American Legion squad Home Federal. He went 2-for-2 with one double, one home run and three RBI at the Cornhusker League All-Star Game in July 2012.
Simonds honed his pitching skills at Hutchinson Community College where he blossomed last year. As a sophomore, he was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Pitcher of the Year, posting a 13-0 record (13 wins led the nation) and a 2.30 ERA. He broke single season school records for wins (13), complete-games (nine), shutouts (three) and strikeouts (103) in 2014.
1,000 WINS AT OLSEN FIELD
The Aggies enter Tuesday's game needing 14 home wins to reach the 1,000-win plateau at the friendly confines of Olsen Field. Now in their 38th season at the now-Blue Bell Park, the Maroon and White are 986-324-4.
RED, WHITE, AND BLUE
Three Aggies were blessed with the experience of traveling with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last summer. Sophomore outfielder Nick Banks and junior pitcher A.J. Minter were selected to play and Rob Childress served as the team's pitching coach.
Team USA went 18-8-2 over the season and claimed the title at the Honkbal - Haarlem Week in the Netherlands. Banks appeared in 26 of the 28 games with 23 starts. He batted .241 (21-for-87) with 11 runs, two doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI. Minter appeared in nine games, logging a 0-0 record with a 0.00 ERA. He yielded just two unearned runs on four hits and seven walks while striking out 10 over 12.1 innings.
“SON, THERE AIN'T NO DRAFT NO MORE”
The Aggies roster includes six players who have been selected in a Major League Draft. RYAN HENDRIX was drafted the earliest among the group, selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 17th round of the 2013 draft. He was one of three Aggie commits to get selected in the 2013 draft, along with Ronnie Gideon (35th round - Colorado Rockies) and Tyler Stubblefield (36th round - Atlanta Braves).
SUMMER LOVIN'
Aggies picked up a number of accolades during the summer campaign.
In the Alaska Baseball League, Tyler Stubblefield was named the ABL Pitcher of the Year and ABL Top Prospect, and Ryan Hendrix was named to the All-ABL team. Stubblefield led the ABL in ERA (1.06) and wins (5-0). He also ranked third in the league with 45 strikeouts. Hendrix was 3-1 with a 3.06 ERA, striking out 43 batters in 44.0 innings.
In the Northwoods League, Matt Kent was earned honors as NWL Midseason All-Star, MWL Postseason All Star and NWL Co-Pitcher of the Year as well as being named a NWL Top 10 Prospect for the second consecutive year. The Northwoods League Top 200 Prospects list included No. 4 Matt Kent, No. 19 RYNE BIRK, No. 58 MARK ECKER.
In the Texas Collegiate League, Logan Nottebrok was named to the All-TCL team as a designated hitter, batting .339 with four home runs, 28 runs and 20 RBI in just 32 games.
In the Florida League, HUNTER MELTON earned postseason All-Star recognition. He led the league in RBI (33) and ranked sixth in batting average (.330), second in slugging percentage (.530) and OPS (.919) and third in doubles (10).
PONY EXPRESS
In a rare convergence, the Texas A&M roster includes a pair of players who put together as five-year string as starting running backs for the Houston Memorial High School Mustangs. From 2009-13, main ball carrying role was handled by BOOMER WHITE (2009-11) and MATT COLLINS (2012-13). Over the five-year span, the two combined for 8,096 yards and 99 TDs as starting running backs. White, who must sit out the 2015 season due to NCAA transfer rules, rushed for 5,569 for 69 touchdowns, including an epic junior campaign in which he amassed 2,417 yards and 29 TDs. He was named District 19-5A Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. Collins ran for 2,527 yards and 30 TDs in his two seasons as a starter. The pair rang up all-district honors all five years.
2015 SEC TOURNAMENT
The 2015 SEC Baseball Tournament is scheduled for May 19-24 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., a suburb of Birmingham.
The tournament, being held in Hoover for the 18th consecutive year, for the third consecutive year, the tournament will be a 12-team field. The regular-season division winners will claim the top two seeds and the next 10 teams by conference winning percentage, regardless of division will claim the remaining berths in the tournament. The 5-12 teams will play a single-elimination opening round on May 19, followed by a double-elimination format until the semifinals, when the format will revert to single elimination through the championship game.
FAST STARTS
The Aggies are outscoring opponents 18-1 in the first two innings of games, including 7-1 in the first inning and 11-0 in the second inning. A&M is hitting .385 (5-for-13) with two doubles, one home run and seven RBI in the first frame of games. The Maroon and White step offense up in the second inning, batting .588 (10-for-17) with one double, one triple, one home run and 11 RBI.
BAGS FULL OF AGS
JB MOSS has come to the plate with bases loaded on two occasions this season, going 2-for-2 with four RBI, logging a pair of two-run singles. Texas A&M has batted four times with bases loaded, going 2-for-3 with one sacrifice fly and five RBI.
UP NEXT…
The Aggies welcome Penn State to Blue Bell Park for a three-game series starting on Friday. It marks A&M's first series hosting a Big Ten opponent since Michigan State visited in 2012, a three-game sweep for the Maroon and White.