Texas A&M
Cal
Aggies Battle California in NCAA Regional Action
May 30, 2015 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Aggies are looking for their 2-0 regional start since 2011 as they battle the California Golden Bears on Saturday evening. The game is slated to be televised on ESPNU. Texas A&M will roll out GRAYSON LONG as he looks to improve to 10-0 on the season.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (46-11) vs CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (35-19)
NCAA College Station Regional
Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park (6,100) • College Station, Texas
TELEVISION - ESPNU • Tom Hart (play-by-play); • Gabe Gross (color)
VIDEO - ESPN3 (WatchESPN credentials required through cable provider)
RADIO - Sports Radio 1150 and The Zone 102.7 FM • Dave South (play-by-play)
AUDIO - 12thMan.com • radioaggieland.com (free)
LIVE STATS - NCAA.com
RANKINGS - Texas A&M - 6 (USAT), 6 (NCBWA), 6 (D1B), 8 (BA); California - 25 (BA), 27 (NCBWA)
SERIES HISTORY - California leads 3-2
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Saturday - #38 Grayson Long (Jr., RHP, 9-0, 2.62 ERA) vs #42 Ryan Mason (Jr., RHP, 6-3, 3.18 ERA)
AGGIES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Aggies are making their 31st NCAA Championship appearance overall and their ninth in a row. The Aggies are 70-68 all-time in NCAA Championship play, including 61-45 in regional action. Texas A&M is 30-13 in NCAA tournament action on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
Texas A&M has won regionals in 1993, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2011. They also captured a district playoff in 1951 before regional play began.
The Aggies have advanced to the College World Series on five occasions, including 1951, '64, '93, '99 and 2011.
TEXAS A&M/CALIFORNIA SERIES NOTABLES
California owns a 3-2 edge in the all-time series against the Aggies. The teams have met three times in NCAA tournament play. The Golden Bears beat A&M, 7-3, at the 2011 College World Series. The teams also played twice at the 1992 East Regional in Gainesville with the Aggies winning the first game 15-6 and Cal won the regional with an 11-4 win in the championship game.
Texas A&M is 60-47-1 all-time against current members of the Pac 12 Conference. The Aggies have winning records against Arizona (23-22-1), UCLA (8-1), Washington (8-1) and Washington State (9-5). A&M is an even 4-4 against Utah and has never played Oregon. The Maroon and White have losing records against Arizona State (0-1), Cal (2-3), Oregon State (4-5), Stanford (0-1) and USC (2-4).
PROBABLE SATURDAY STARTER: #38 GRAYSON LONG
First Aggie pitcher to start 9-0 since Michael Wacha in 2012... looking to become first A&M pitcher to win 10 games since Ross Stripling in 2012... All-SEC Second Team pitcher... received no-decision against Alabama at SEC Tournament despite striking out 10 in 6.0 innings (6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB)... scattered two hits and three walks while strike out 12 in 7.0 scoreless innings at Ole Miss the last weekend of the regular-season.... didn't get a decision four week ago at No. 1 LSU despite a strong outing (6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K)... SEC Pitcher of the Week twice in 2015... eight weeks ago, fanned 14 of the 23 batters he faced in 6.0 innings at Alabama... named Most Outstanding Player at the Houston College Classic in March, scattering three hits and striking out a then career-high 10 batters without a walk in a 6-0 win against No. 16 Houston... enters play as the Aggies' active leader in wins (18), innings pitched (208.1) and strikeouts (171)... his .824 winning percentage (19-4) ranks ninth on Aggies' career list... 19 wins is tied for 15th on Aggie all-time list.
LONG'S CAREER TOTALS
Year | W-L | ERA | APP/GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AVG |
2013 | 4-2 | 3.52 | 12/10 | 0 | 46.0 | 39 | 19 | 18 | 25 | 38 | .235 |
2014 | 6-2 | 3.12 | 15/15 | 0 | 89.1 | 98 | 32 | 31 | 28 | 55 | .284 |
2015 | 9-0 | 2.62 | 15/15 | 0 | 86.0 | 68 | 35 | 25 | 37 | 10 | .214 |
Career | 19-4 | 3.01 | 42/40 | 0 | 221.1 | 205 | 86 | 74 | 90 | 193 | .247 |
STREAKS AND TRENDS
• The Aggies are 14-2 on the opening nights of series/tournaments in 2015. Last season, A&M was 3-13 on opening night in the regular season, including losing opening games at the SEC Tournament and NCAA Houston Regional.
• In the series finale at LSU, NICK BANKS had his 42-game streak of reaching base (via walk, HBP or hit) snapped. It was the longest stretch for an Aggie since Mikey Reynolds reached in 46 consecutive games in 2013. He had a pair of 13-game hit streaks during the stretch.
• The Aggies are on an 18-game win streak in midweek games, including a 13-0 mark in 2015. The string includes five games at the end of 2014, including wins over then-No. 16 Rice and then-No. 25 Sam Houston State.
• A&M has won their last 30 regular-season non-conference games, including 25 in a row this season.
• BLAKE ALLEMAND is the only Aggie to start all 57 games this season. He has started the last 100 games for A&M.
• BLAKE ALLEMAND has hit in the leadoff spot the last 47 games, batting .365 with a .452 on-base percentage, 47 runs, 13 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 29 RBI.
• LOGAN TAYLOR's 10 home runs are the most for an Aggie since 2010 when a trio hit the mark, led by Brodie Greene with 14.
• BLAKE ALLEMAND ranks seventh on A&M's career list for walks (117), seventh for at-bats (789), sixth for games played (224) and 14th for hits (235).
• The Aggies' current .307 batting average would rank as the highest since the Maroon and White batted .322 in 1999. A&M has not batted .300 since 2010.
SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE
The Texas A&M Aggies are one of only eight schools to appear in each of the last nine NCAA Division I Baseball Championships. The Maroon and White's nine-season NCAA postseason string is the third-longest in the SEC trailing only Arkansas (14 years) and Vanderbilt (10 years). It's also the second-longest active string among Texas schools, trailing only Rice (21 years).
Active Streaks of Consecutive NCAA Championship appearances
1. | Miami (Fla.) | 43 |
2. | Florida State | 38 |
3. | Cal State Fullerton | 24 |
4. | Rice | 21 |
5. | Arkansas | 14 |
6. | Virginia | 12 |
7. | Vanderbilt | 10 |
8 | TEXAS A&M | 9 |
UP NEXT
If the Aggies win they will advance to a regional championship game on Sunday night. If Texas A&M loses, they will play in an elimination game on Sunday afternoon.
