COLLEGE STATION, Texas - On the heels of their first loss of the season, the Texas A&M Aggies look to start a new win streak as they travel to San Antonio to play the UTSA Roadrunners Tuesday evening at Wolff Stadium. The Aggies started the season with a 24-game win streak, the longest win streak in the history of the SEC. Tuesday marks the Aggies' first trip to San Antonio since the 2011 season, when A&M was tripped up by UTSA, 3-2. This season, the Aggies have been sharp in midweek games, outscoring opponents 43-12 in seven contests. The pitching staff owns a 1.38 ERA and has 71 strikeouts in 65.0 innings of midweek action.
#2 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (24-1, 5-1 SEC) at UTSA ROADRUNNERS (13-10, 4-2 C-USA)
Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium (9,200) • San Antonio, Texas
SCHEDULE - Tuesday - 6:30 pm
RADIO - Sports Radio 1150 The Zone • Dave South (play-by-play)
LIVE AUDIO - 12thMan.com • radioaggieland.com (free)
LIVE STATS - GoUTSA.com
RANKINGS - Texas A&M - 1 (CB), 2 (USAT), 3 (D1B), 3 (BA), 3 (NCBWA); UTSA - unranked
SERIES HISTORY - Texas A&M leads 22-9. The Aggies have won the last three games.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
• TUESDAY: #23 Turner Larkins (Fr., RHP, 2-1, 3.58 ERA) vs. #34 Boone Mokry (Sr., RHP, 1-0, 3.72 ERA)
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.
• 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/UTSA SERIES NOTABLES
This marks the 32nd meeting between Texas A&M and UTSA with the Aggies owning a 22-9 advantage in the all-time series. The Maroon and White have won eight of the last nine games. The squads did not play last season, snapping a 21-year string (1993-2013) when the teams met at least once a year. The Roadrunners own a 5-3 advantage in games played in San Antonio.
Texas A&M won both meetings in 2013. In a game that drifted well past midnight, the Aggies weathered a 3-hour, 12-minute rain delay and over-came a 3-0 first-inning deficit to record a 11-4 win over the Roadrunners in a regular season meeting. The game was stopped in the middle of the fourth inning at 7:20, 44 minutes into the contest, with UTSA leading 3-0. Immediately after sitting through the lengthy delay, the Aggies sent 12 batters to the plate to drop the anvil on the Roadrunners in a six-run fourth inning. The teams met again two months later in an elimination game at the Corvallis Regional with A&M winning, 6-1. Cole Lankford went 5-for-5 in the game and Parker Ray earned the win, allowing one run while striking out eight in 8.2 innings.
MORE ON UTSA
The Roadrunners are 13-10 on the season with a 4-2 record in Conference USA action. UTSA has series sweeps against Bryant and Marshall and won two of three against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Roadrunners have dropped series against McNeese State, UC Irvine and Western Kentucky.
The offensive-minded Roadrunners are averaging 6.04 runs per game with a .287 batting average, .371 on-base percentage and .434 slugging percentage. UTSA is led by Tyler Straub, who is batting .382 with 29 hits, six doubles, one home run and 11 RBI. Kevin Markham is hitting .341 with seven doubles, one triple, three home runs and 13 RBI. Jesse Baker is hitting .317 for the year and has four home runs in the last six games.
The Roadrunner pitching staff has a 4.49 ERA and owns a .286 opponent batting average. Boone Mokry (1-0) will get the start for UTSA on the mound. He's has a 3.72 ERA in 9.2 innings of work, holding opponents to a .188 batting average. The top pitchers out of the bullpen are Logan Onda (2-0, 1 save, 1.17 ERA) and Jeremy Filipek (1-0, 1 save, 2.76 ERA).
UTSA has three NCAA Championship appearances since it began playing baseball in 1992, including 1994 (Austin Regional), 2005 (Waco Regional) and 2013 (Corvallis Regional). The Aggies bounced the Roadrunners from the Corvallis Regional with a 6-1 win. Last season, UTSA advanced to the championship game of the C-USA tournament, but lost to Rice, 11-5.
TUESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER: #23 TURNER LARKINS
Making his seventh career start... owns a 7.0-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio... looking to bounce back from a rough outing in the second game of A&M's doubleheader against Alabama when he lasted just 0.2 inning in the Aggies' first loss of the year... earned a win in his first career SEC and weekend start, holding Auburn to one run on four hits while striking out seven in 6.1 innings... was fantastic in his first career start, scattering five hits while striking out nine in 5.1 innings against Stephen F Austin... owns a 9.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio (27 K/3 BB)... 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... selected on pick before Johnny Manziel in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
LARKINS' CAREER TOTALS
|
Year |
W-L |
ERA |
APP/GS |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
AVG |
|
2015 |
2-1 |
3.58 |
8/6 |
0 |
27.2 |
32 |
12 |
11 |
4 |
28 |
.288 |
|
Career |
2-1 |
3.58 |
8/6 |
0 |
27.2 |
32 |
12 |
11 |
4 |
28 |
.288 |
SETTING THE TABLE
Aggie hitters leading off an inning have reached base in 91 of the 207 frames (.440), despite getting just 38 leadoff hits. A&M has drawn 41 walks and have been hit by seven pitches to start innings. The Aggies have five leadoff home runs on the year. LOGAN TAYLOR has reached base in seven of his 14 plate appearances leading off, with two home runs, three walk and one HBP. MITCHELL NAU has reached on 10 of his 17 leadoff plate appearances, going 4-for-11 with four walks and two HBP. Other notables include BLAKE KOPETSKY (9-17), RONNIE GIDEON (7-9), and BLAKE ALLEMAND (19-40).
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.
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.
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 15 games, including 12 starts. He's batting .297 (8-for-29) with seven runs, one double, one triple, 10 walks, four RBI and three stolen bases. Kopetsky has reached base via a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch in 12 of his 15 games and he boasts a .447 on-base percentage. In Texas A&M's 4-3 win against UTPA, Kopetsky tied a school record with five walks.
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 hype in 2015, batting .418 (38-for-91) with 20 runs, five doubles, two triples, one home run, 17 RBI and four stolen bases. He has reached base via walk, hit or HBP in all 24 of his games, sporting a .486 on-base percentage.
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 51 of their 207 innings on the year. Texas A&M has had 30 innings with at least three runs and 13 “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 lineup six times this season, including twice in the Aggies' 11-2 win against Prairie View A&M.
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 192 games. With eight 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 (184-for-660) with 18 doubles, five triples, two home runs, 82 RBI and 28 stolen bases. He has made 183 career starts, including 47 in 2012, 61 in 2013 and 53 in 2014.
STOUT BULLPEN
The Aggie bullpen has been tested more frequently as the season has progressed and are stepping up to the challenge. Thirteen pitchers have combined to work 93.0 innings out of the bullpen, posting a 9-0 record, nine saves, a 0.97 ERA, 60 hits and 23 walks while striking out 87. The bullpen sports a WHIP of 0.89, opponent batting average of .186 and a 3.78-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. At the Houston College Classic, the bullpen allowed just one hit in 7.2 innings of scoreless relief.
The Aggie bullpen enters the Alabama series with a 16.2 inning scoreless string. The relievers are holding opponents to eight hits and 10 walks while striking out 17 over the span.
KYLE SIMONDS has worked the most innings, weaving 20.2 frames, allowing just one unearned run on 11 hits and seven walks while striking out 18 in eight appearances. He is 2-0 and owns one of the Aggies' eight saves, a four-inning outing in the season opener against Holy Cross. TY SCHLOTTMANN has been called on the most, with 14 appearances. The southpaw has worked 15.0 frames, earning a 2-0 record with 0.60 ERA, scattering nine hits and two walks while striking out 12. He has stranded 14 of 15 inherited baserunners. Eighth-inning set-up man ANDREW VINSON and dual closers RYAN HENDRIX and MARK ECKER have combined to work 34.0 innings without allowing an earned run – Vinson is 2-0, allowing four hits while striking out 10 over 12.2 innings in 12 outings; Hendrix has five saves and has allowed one unearned run, scattering nine hits and four walks while striking out 10 over 11.1 innings in nine outings; Ecker has three saves and has allowed just two unearned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out 15 over 9.0 innings in nine outings.
SEEMS LIKE JUST LAST YEAR
Texas A&M is averaging 2.2 more runs per game and sporting a batting average .025 higher than the same point last season. Here's a comparison of the Aggies offensive numbers through 25 games in 2014 and 2015.
|
|
2014 |
2015 |
|
W-L |
17-8 |
24-1 |
|
SEC W-L |
3-3 |
5-1 |
|
Batting Average |
.280 |
.305 |
|
Runs Per Game |
5.16 |
7.36 |
|
Runs |
129 |
184 |
|
Home Runs |
9 |
21 |
|
RBI |
120 |
169 |
|
Slugging Percentage |
.373 |
.448 |
|
On-Base Percentage |
.359 |
.411 |
QUICK DRAW
The Aggies are outscoring opponents a combined 54-16 in the first two innings of games, including 28-13 in first innings and 26-3 in second innings.
In the first inning of games, the Aggies are batting .317 (32-for-101) with a .445 on-base percentage and .455 slugging percentage. The Maroon and White have drawn 23 walks and have been hit by two pitches. The extra-base hits include nine doubles, one triple and one home run.
In the first inning of games, the A&M pitching staff has held opponents to a .276 batting average (27-for-98) and have struck out 31 of the 109 batters they've faced (28.4%).
In the second inning of games, the Aggies are batting .323 (32-for-99) with a .425 on-base percentage and .545 slugging percentage. The Maroon and White have drawn 14 walks and have been hit by five pitches. The extra-base hits include five doubles, one triple and five home runs.
In the second inning of games, the A&M pitching staff has held opponents to a .229 batting average (22-for-96) and have struck out 29 of the 100 batters they've faced (29.0%).
NINTH-INNING CLAMPS
The Aggie pitching staff has yet to yielded just two earned runs in the ninth inning or extra innings, a body of work that includes 26.0 innings and both the earned runs came in the Saturday win against Auburn where A&M was leading 10-2 entering the frame. The bullpen, which has yielded just run (unearned) in the ninth inning and extra frames, has allowed just 15 hits and eight walks in the 25.2 innings, with 30 strikeouts. MARK ECKER has accounted for 9.0 innings, yielding only two hits and one walk while striking out 12. RYAN HENDRIX has worked 8.0 innings, allowing one unearned run, scattering seven hits and two walks while striking out nine.
FINISHING STRONG
Texas A&M has outscored opponents 69-16 combined in innings 7-9 plus extra innings, including 29-3 in the seventh inning and 36-10 in the eighth inning. The Aggies and their opponents are dead-locked in the ninth at 3-3, but A&M has batted in the ninth just five times while the foe has gotten their ninth-inning hacks in 24 of the 25 games. Texas A&M is outscoring opponents 1-0 in extra innings.
MORE PITCHING AND BULLPEN NOTES
In the last 19 games, the Aggie bullpen has allowed seven runs, just three earned, in 71.0 innings of work dating back to the Sunday contest against Penn State. The relief pitchers have scattered 39 hits and 20 walks while striking out 65 over the span. The run includes eight bullpen wins and eight saves. The stretch included a string of 23.0 consecutive innings without yielding a run and the current 32.0-inning string of not allowing an earned run. Aggie relievers own a 0.38 ERA and have held opponents to a .163 batting average over the span.
In the last 22 games, Texas A&M pitchers have held opponents to 160 hits and 49 walks while striking out 209 in 199.0 innings of work. The staff owns a 1.67 ERA, .219 opponent batting average and 1.05 WHIP during the span.
The Aggie pitching staff was the talk of the Houston College Classic. The staff combined to post a 0.67 ERA and hold opponents to a .156 batting average during the tournament. A&M allowed three runs, just two earned, in 27.0 innings of work. The Aggies came two botched pickoff attempts away from allowing just one run total for the three games. The staff sported a 7.5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (30/4) and a miniscule 0.67 WHIP.
MEATGRINDER
Starting with the three-game series at Alabama, 24 of Texas A&M's last 34 games will be against teams that advanced to the 2014 NCAA Championship. The gauntlet includes seven SEC weekend series against NCAA tournament teams, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and South Carolina, two games against Sam Houston State and one game against Rice. The Aggies are currently 2-1 in the stretch.
BALANCED ATTACK
Coach Childress has the potential to pencil in a lineup that can include eight players with 16 to 18 RBI. RYNE BIRK, HUNTER MELTON and MITCHELL NAU lead the squad with 18 RBI. BLAKE ALLEMAND, NICK BANKS, RONNIE GIDEON and LOGAN TAYLOR are one back with 17 RBI and JB MOSS has driven in 16 runs.
MIDWEEK PERFECTION
The Aggies are 7-0 in midweek action this season, outscoring opponents 43-12. The A&M offense has be highlighted by NICK BANKS, batting .652 (15-for-23) with three doubles and five RBI, and MITCHELL NAU, hitting .563 (9-for-16) with five RBI.
The pitching staff has a 1.38 ERA and the Aggies have 71 strikeouts in 65.0 innings. TURNER LARKINS has started four of the games, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.41 ERA. The bullpen is 5-0 with three saves and a 0.79 ERA in midweek action.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to SEC play on Friday when they host the Missouri Tigers in a three-game series on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. The series is slated for 6:35 pm on Friday and 1:05 pm on both Saturday and Sunday.