No. 6 Texas A&M Baseball Hosts No. 15 OSU in Pivotal Big 12 Series
No. 6 Texas A&M Baseball Hosts No. 15 OSU in Pivotal Big 12 Series
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Olsen Field will be the site of a pivotal Big 12 Conference match-up this weekend as the No. 6 Texas A&M baseball team hosts No. 15 Oklahoma State in a three-game series. Game times are set for 6:35 p.m. Friday, 2:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. for the series finale on Sunday, which will be televised live on Cox Sports.
The Aggies (26-11) enter the weekend as the co-Big 12 leaders, sharing an 11-4 league mark with Texas, but sit just a game up on the Cowboys (28-9, 10-5 Big 12).
Prior to Saturday’s game, Texas A&M baseball will honor former Aggie baseball player and major league great Wally Moon. Saturday’s game will also be KBTX Family Day at Olsen Field visit KBTX.com for a special deal on tickets for the game.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY (APRIL 22)
Texas A&M - #12 John Stilson (Jr., RHP, 3-1, 1.28)
Oklahoma State - #23 Mike Strong (Sr., LHP, 3-0, 3.27)
SATURDAY (APRIL 23)
Texas A&M - #38 Michael Wacha (So., RHP, 4-2, 1.81)
Oklahoma State - #5 Brad Propst (Sr., RHP, 6-2, 2.01)
SUNDAY (APRIL 24)
Texas A&M - #36 Ross Stripling (Jr., RHP, 7-2, 2.62)
Oklahoma State - TBA
FOLLOWING THE ACTION
• RADIO — Fans can listen locally on WTAW-AM 1620 ... Dave South (play-by-play) and Scott Clendenin (commentary) will call the action ... pregame show begins 30 minutes prior to first pitch.
• TELEVISION — Sunday’s contest will be broadcast live on Cox Sports with (play-by-play) and Alan Cannon (commentary) calling the action from Olsen Field.
• INTERNET — aggieathletics.com will offer live play-by-play and statistics ... fans can watch the game free of charge on aggieathletics.com.
• MOBILE PHONE — listen to the game on your iPhone, Blackberry or PDA free of charge - log on to radioaggieland.com for more information.
A&M/OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES NOTABLES
Oklahoma State holds a 34-27 all-time edge in the series, including a 24-22 advantage over Texas A&M since the two schools became conference mates in 1997. The Aggies, however, have won five straight meetings with the Cowboys dating back to 2009.
UP NEXT
A familiar face returns to Aggieland on Tuesday as former Texas A&M skipper and current Sam Houston State head coach Mark Johnson brings his Bearkats to Olsen Field for a 6:35 p.m. contest.
Johnson, who owns the most coaching victories in Aggie baseball history with 876 from 1985-2005, is retiring at the end of the 2011 season and will be honored by Texas A&M prior the beginning of the contest.
NOTES AND NOTABLES
• On Monday it was announced that sophomore pitcher Michael Wacha was named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team for the upcoming summer. He becomes the first Aggie to represent the red, white and blue on the baseball diamond since Daylon Holt in 1999.
• Senior shortstop Kenny Jackson and junior first baseman Jacob House have been mainstays in the Aggie line-up this season as they are the only two players to have played every game this season.
• Junior pitcher Ross Stripling was selected as Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on Monday for the second time this season. Stripling becomes the eighth Aggie pitcher to earn the award more than once in a single season. He was also recognized as the league’s Pitcher of the Week on March 21 after earning a pair of victories over nationally-ranked opponents Cal State Fullerton and Oklahoma.
• Sophomore outfielder Tyler Naquin brings a career-long 13 game hitting streak into the Oklahoma State series. The run is the longest hitting streak by an Aggie this season and is Naquin’s third separate run of eight or more consecutive games with a hit this season.
• Texas A&M has won five straight series to begin Big 12 Conference play for the first time in school history. Overall, the Aggies have not been on the losing side of any three-game weekend series this season.
• The Aggies sit in a tie atop the Big 12 standings despite having played more road games during conference play than any other league school. Texas A&M has played 10 Big 12 games on the road and is 7-3 in those contests while no other Big 12 squad has played more than nine games away from its home ballpark.
• For the season, the Aggies lead the Big 12 and rank among the national leaders in team earned run average with a 2.29 ERA as a pitching staff.
• The Aggies are 25-5 this season when scoring two or more runs and 20-1 when scoring four or more runs. A&M has lost 10 games this season with six of the setbacks being of the one-run variety.
• Texas A&M has held its opponent to two runs or less in 21 of 36 games this season.
• The Aggies have been a model of consistency this season, having enjoyed six different multi-game winning streaks, including a season-long nine-game run in late March-early April. Only twice this season has Texas A&M lost consecutive games, the longest skid being just three games.
AGGIES ON THE TUBE (UPDATED)
No stranger to the national spotlight, the Aggies have had 41 of their games televised either regionally or nationally over the last four years.
Texas A&M is scheduled to make 11 regular-season TV appearances during the 2011 regular season.
FOX Sports Net will broadcast the final game of the annual Texas/Texas A&M showdown, scheduled for May 21 in Austin First pitch has been moved to 6 p.m.
COX Sports Television will again broadcast two games from Olsen Field - Sunday (April 24) vs. Oklahoma State and Thursday (May 5) vs Dallas Baptist. CST is available in most of Louisiana, parts of Texas and in Florida, northwest Arkansas, central Georgia and northern Virginia. CST was scheduled to broadcast the Friday game (April 22) of the OSU series but the televised coverage was rescheduled to May 5 when the Aggies host Dallas Baptist due to scheduling conflicts.
As always, fans can get complete and up-to-date television broadcast information on aggieathletics.com as well as see all the Aggies’ home games, which are streamed live.
UPCOMING TELEVISED GAMES
Date Opponent Network
April 24 (Sun) vs. Oklahoma State -- Cox Sports TV
May 5 (Thu) vs. Nebraska -- Cox Sports TV
May 15 (Sun) vs. Nebraska -- Fox College Sports
May 20 (Fri) at Texas -- Fox College Sports
May 21 (Sat) at Texas – FOX Sports Net
