COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies will face their stiffest test to date in 2015 as they host the Dallas Baptist Patriots on Tuesday. With a 12-0 record, Texas A&M looks to continue their best start since the 1993 campaign. Dallas Baptist (6-1) enters the fray garnering national attention. The Patriots are ranked No. 23 in the Baseball America Top 25, one spot behind Texas A&M, and No. 29 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30. The Aggies' bullpen enters the week with a streak of 21.1 consecutive innings without giving up a run. The A&M relievers have combined to scatter six hits and one walk while striking out 17 over the span.
#11 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (12-0) vs. DALLAS BAPTIST PATRIOTS (6-1)
Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park (6,100) • College Station, Texas
SCHEDULE - Thursday - 6:35 pm
RADIO - Sports Radio 1150 The Zone • Dave South (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 - 11 (USAT), 11 (CB), 14 (D1B), (NCBWA), 22 (BA); DBU - 23 (BA), 30 (NCBWA)
SERIES HISTORY - Texas A&M leads series, 26-8
SERIES STREAKS - Texas A&M has won the last two meetings
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
• TUESDAY: #23 Turner Larkins (Fr., RHP, 1-0, 1.42) vs. #18 Jay Calhoun (Sr., RHP, 0-0, 12.46)
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/DALLAS BAPTIST SERIES NOTABLES
This marks the 35th meeting between Texas A&M and Dallas Baptist with the Aggies owning a 26-8 advantage in the all-time series with every game in the series being played in College Station. The teams have met off-and-on since the 1985 campaign. The teams played a multi-game series every year between 2006-11. The last meeting came in 2013 with the Maroon and White posting a 2-0 win. In the victory, the Aggies scored both runs in the first inning with a MITCHELL NAU RBI double and an RBI single by Cole Lankford. GRAYSON LONG, AJ MINTER, Parker Ray and Jason Jester combined on the three-hit shutout. Long picked up the victory, scattering two hits and two walks while striking out five in 5.1 innings.
MORE ON DALLAS BAPTIST
Dallas Baptist is slotted in two of the national rankings, including No. 23 in the Baseball America Top 25 and No. 29 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll. The Patriots own a 6-1 mark, starting the season with a three-game sweep of Monmouth, a midweek victory at Baylor and two wins against San Diego, before dropping their last game against USD on Feb. 22. All five of DBU's games last week were cancelled or postponed, including a midweek home game against Oklahoma and a four-game home series against UMass-Lowell.
The Patriots are hitting .265 on the season, led by Justin Wall, batting .355 (11-for-31) with four runs, one double, two triples, five RBI and three stolen bases. Cameron Duzenack is hitting .296 (8-for-27) with eight runs, two doubles, one home run and eight RBI. Dallas Baptist's pitching staff sports a 2.76 ERA, holding opponents to a .210 batting average.
In 2008, current Patriots' head coach Dan Heefner led DBU to its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance in his second season as head coach. In 2011, Dallas Baptist won the NCAA Fort Worth Regional and came within a game of the College World Series, losing to California at the Santa Clara Super Regional. The Patriots made their third NCAA Championship appearance in 2013, falling to Baylor in the championship game of the Waco Regional. Last season, in their fourth regional, DBU went two-and-out in Fort Worth, losing to Sam Houston State (2-1) and Siena (9-8) The Patriots have three 40-win seasons in the last four years.
Dallas Baptist boasts 14 former players who reached the Major Leagues, including Brandon Bantz, Vick Black and Ryan Goins who all made their debuts in 2013. The group is led by 10-year veteran and three-time MLB All-Star infielder Freddy Sanchez and two-time MLB All-Star Ben Zobrist.
NOTES AND NOTABLES
• Head coach ROB CHLDRESS enters his 10th season at the helm of the Texas A&M baseball program, beginning the year with a 371-208-2 record. Last season, he led the Aggies to the postseason to extend their school-record streak to eight consecutive seasons.
• The Aggies enter the week ranked in the Top 25 of all five major polls, earning the No. 11 spot in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and the Collegiate Baseball ranking, the No. 14 position in the D1Baseball.com ranking and NCBWA poll and the No. 22 spot in the Baseball America ranking.
TUESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER: #23 TURNER LARKINS
Making his third career start... was fantastic in his first career start, scattering five hits while striking out nine in 5.1 innings against Stephen F Austin... last week he was left with a no-decision against Houston Baptist, allowing one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out two in 5.1 innings... made quick work of Holy Cross in his first career outing, using just nine pitches to dispatch of the Crusaders in the eighth inning of the series finale win... owns a 6.0-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio... selected on pick before Johnny Manziel in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
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.
SETTING THE TABLE
Aggie hitters leading off an inning have reached base in 47 of the 96 frames (.490), despite getting just 20 leadoff hits. A&M has drawn 20 walks and have been hit by five pitches to start innings. The Aggies have three leadoff home runs on the year. LOGAN TAYLOR (4-6) has reached base in four of his six plate appearances leading off, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, one walk and one HBP. MITCHELL NAU has reached on six of his 10 leadoff plate appearances, going 1-for-5 with three walks and two HBP. Other notables include LOGAN NOTTEBROK (4-6), and BLAKE ALLEMAND (7-14).
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.
MAKING EVERY OUT COUNT
The Aggies are making every out count this season, hitting .326 (43-for-132) with two outs. Meanwhile, their opponents have scuffled, hitting .207 (28-for-135) with two outs. The Maroon and White have logged 34 RBI with two outs, an average of 2.83 per game. Ronnie Gideon is batting .333 (5-for-15) with 11 RBI with two outs. JB MOSS hit .538 (7-for-13) with eight RBI with two outs during the span. Other notable hitters with two outs include, NICK BANKS (7-for-13, 6 RBI) and MICHAEL BARASH (4-for-9, 2 RBI).
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.
Banks is living up to the publicity in 2015. He's batting .439 (18-for-41) with 12 runs, two doubles, one triple, one home run, 12 RBI and three stolen bases.
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).
Kopetsky has appeared in seven games, including four starts. He's batting .429 (6-for-14) with three runs, one double, one triple, four walks, two RBI and one stolen base. Kopetsky has reached base via a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch in all seven of his games and he boasts a .556 on-base percentage.
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 179 games. With 21 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 .279 (172-for-617) with 17 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 75 RBI and 26 stolen bases. He has made 173 career starts, including 47 in 2012, 61 in 2013 and 53 in 2014.
CALL ON ME
Coach Childress has three pitchers who he has called on 50 or more times in their career, including JASON FREEMAN, A.J. MINTER and ANDREW VINSON. MATT KENT is also nearing the half-century mark with 49 appearances.
Freeman leads all active Aggies with his 59 games which includes 56 relief appearances. For his career, the right-hander is 5-3 with a 4.81 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 67.1 innings. Minter is 5-0 with a 2.19 ERA, two saves and 63 strikeouts (25 BB) in 53.1 innings in 55 appearances, 52 in relief. In 52 games, all out of the bullpen, Vinson is 4-3 with a 3.12 ERA, two saves and 59 strikeouts (21 BB) in 60.2 innings. Kent counts nine starts among his 49 games. The southpaw is 8-4 with a 3.35 ERA and 70 strikeouts (11 BB) in 102.0 innings.
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 30 of their 96 innings on the year. Texas A&M has had 17 innings with at least three runs and eight “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 four times this season.
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.
WALK'S AS GOOD AS A HIT
Texas A&M batters have taken advantage of the free passes in 2015. The Aggies are average 5.33 walks per game. The Maroon and White have 64 walks on the season, with 20 of them coming when leading off an inning. 33 of the 64 walks have resulted in runs, including each of the last two Sunday's when the Aggies have had four players walk and come around to score.
A HIT BY PITCH'S AS GOOD AS A HIT
Texas A&M batters have taken one for the team quite a bit in 2015, getting hit by 20 pitches in 12 games, an average 1.67 HBP per game. Eleven of the 20 players who have reached via an HBP have come around to score a run.
CATCHER'S INTERFERENCE IS AS GOOD AS A HIT
Two Aggies have reached via catcher's interference with both coming around to score.
2,500-WIN CLUB
The Aggies lead all SEC programs in all-time wins, but were recently joined by Mississippi State and Alabama in the prestigious 2,500-win club. Texas A&M is currently one of just 14 NCAA Division I programs to reach the 2,500-win plateau, entering play with a 2,527-1,430-42 mark. With 2,497 wins, Minnesota is just three wins away from becoming the 15th team to reach 2,500 wins. 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.
The northpaw has been impressive in his two appearance this season. Simonds has not yielded a run in 8.1 innings, striking out eight and scattering five hits. In his first career outing, he retired 12 of 13 batters, he faced with the only batter reaching base on a HBP, as he blanked Holy Cross for 4.0 innings with four strikeouts. In his last appearance, Simonds scattered three hits over 2.1 innings against Stephen F. Austin, striking out four Lumberjacks. In his last outing, he blanked Penn State for two frames in the series opener.
1,000 WINS AT OLSEN FIELD
The Aggies enter the week needing eight 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 995-324-4 (.754).
INHERITANCE TAX
Texas A&M relief pitchers have stranded the last 12 inherited runners and 15 of 18 inherited runners on the season. The second game of the season was the only game the bullpen has allowed inherited runners to score, when three of the six scored in A&M's 16-11 win over Holy Cross. TY SCHLOTTMANN has been the most tested out of the bullpen and he has been up to the task, stranding six of his seven inherited runners.
STOUT BULLPEN
They have only been thrown in tight situations on a few occasions thus far in 2015, but the Aggies' bullpen has been solid. Twelve pitchers have combined to work 40.2 innings out of the bullpen, posting a 3-0 record, four saves, a 1.55 ERA, 26 hits and just four walks while striking out 38. The bullpen sports a WHIP of 0.74, opponent batting average of .182 and a 9.5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
KYLE SIMONDS has worked the most innings, weaving 8.1 scoreless frames, scattering five hits while striking out eight in three appearances. He owns one of the Aggies' four saves, a four-inning outing in the season opener against Holy Cross. TY SCHLOTTMANN has been called on the most, with eight appearances. The southpaw has worked 7.0 blank frames, earning a 1-0 record, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out six. RYAN HENDRIX and MARK ECKER are sharing the closer role, with Hendrix picking up two saves and Ecker earning one.
FOR STARTERS
Aggie starting pitchers have been solid in 2015, posting a 9-0 record with a 1.74 ERA after 12 games. A&M starters are holding opponents to a .244 batting and boast a 3.43-to-1 strikeouts-to-walk ratio (72/21). AJ MINTER (2-0) has held opponents to a .210 batting average and has allowed just five runs, one unearned, while striking out 23 in 16.0 innings over his first three starts. MATT KENT is also 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA, allowing seven runs, five earned, in 19.2 innings of work. The junior lefty boasts A&M's two longest starts. He has issued just one walk on the season, while striking out 17.
ENTRANCE EXAMS
Freshmen BRIGHAM HILL and TURNER LARKINS have been sharp in their early tests as starting pitchers. In a combined three starts, the duo is 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA and 20 strikeouts (4 BB) in 16.0 innings of work. The rookies will work on lengthening their starts as all three outings went 5.1 innings. Larkins has two starts under his belt, going 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA, allowing one run on 12 hits and two walks while striking out 11 in 10.2 innings. Hill recorded a victory against Incarnate Word, pitching 5.1 shutout innings with three hits and two walks while striking out nine.
SEEMS LIKE JUST LAST YEAR
Here's a comparison of the Aggies offensive numbers through 12 games in 2014 and 2015.
|
|
2014 |
2015 |
|
Batting Average |
.256 |
.347 |
|
Runs Per Game |
5.08 |
9.08 |
|
Runs |
61 |
109 |
|
Home Runs |
5 |
16 |
|
RBI |
58 |
100 |
|
Slugging Percentage |
.347 |
.544 |
|
On-Base Percentage |
.3354 |
.449 |
STREAKS
NICK BANKS is in the midst of his longest career hit streak at 11 games. Banks has a hit in all 11 of the games he has played in 2015. He's batting .439 (18-for-41) with 12 runs, two doubles, one triple, one home run, 12 RBI and three stolen bases.
KYLE SIMONDS is on an 8.1 inning scoreless streak, covering three outings. He's scattered five hits while striking out eight over the span.
TY SCHLOTTMAN is unscored upon in eight outings, covering 7.0 innings. He's scattered three hits and two walks while striking out six over the span.
MICHAEL BARASH is on a six-game hit streak. He's batting .533 (8-for-15) with two runs and two RBI over the span. His on-base percentage over the span is .611 with two walks and one HBP.
BLAKE KOPETSKY is on a five-game hit streak and the junior has reached base in all seven of the games he has played in this season. He owns a .429 batting average and .556 on-base percentage over the span, hitting 6-for-14 with four walks, three runs, one double, one triple, one stolen base and two RBI.
The Aggies own a 13-game win streak at Blue Bell Park dating back to the 2014 season.
MORE PITCHING AND BULLPEN NOTES
The Aggie bullpen has not allowed a run in the last 20.1 innings of work dating back to the Saturday contest against Penn State. The relief pitchers have scattered six hits and one walk while striking out 17 over the span. The run includes two bullpen wins and three saves.
In the last seven games, Texas A&M pitchers have held opponents to 70 hits and 17 walks while striking out 89 in 90 innings of work. The staff owns a 1.20 ERA, .213 opponent batting average and 0.97 WHIP during the span.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to action Friday when they head to Minute Maid Park for three games of action in the Astros College Classic. Texas A&M has games set against Nebraska at 3:35 pm on Friday, Houston at 7:05 pm on Saturday and Baylor at 2:35 pm on Sunday.