Aggies Visit SHSU's Don Sanders Stadium Tuesday night

By: SHSU Sports Information

Updated: Mon 11:36 PM, Apr 30, 2012

When the Aggies visit Don Sanders Stadium Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. the contest will mark a historic first for Sam Houston State.

For the first time in program's 26 years at NCAA Division I level, both the Bearkats and Texas A&M will come into the game nationally ranked.
With a 31-13 record the Aggies are No. 9 in the polls while Sam Houston enters Tuesday's action ranked No. 21 with a 31-23 record.

Last year, when the two teams played in College Station on April 26, Texas A&M was No. 6 nationally, but Sam Houston State won 8-5 in 12 innings.

The victory was the first for Sam Houston over the Aggies since a 4-3 win in Huntsville in 2001 . Only an 8-8 tie in 2005 when weather stopped the game interrupted a 15-game winning streak for Texas A&M over SHSU. Since the series began in 1950, Texas A&M holds a 84-37-2 record against the Bearkats.

Tuesday's game will see Michael Oros (6-0, 2.14 ERA) on the mound for the Bearkats going against Daniel Mengden (0-3, 4.84 ERA) for the Aggies.

Texas A&M brings a .297 team batting average into the fray. Outfielder Tyler Naquin (.395) and infielder Jacob House (.323) are the top two hitters for the Aggies.

Sam Houston State owns a .300 team batting average. Third baseman Kevin Miller, who went 7-for-12 with five RBIs in the Bearkats' Southland Conference series victory over A&M-Corpus Christi, has the hottest bat for SHSU.

The Bearkats lead the Southland Conference in hitting. Designated hitter Anthony Azar (.386), Miller (.349), Jake Arrington (.333) and Luke Plucheck (.327) all rank among the league's top hitters.

Sam Houston holds a four-game lead over second place Southeastern Louisiana in the current Southland Conference standings. The Bearkats own first place with a 19-5 league mark while the Lions stand 15-9 and UT-Arlington is in third place at 14-10.

The Mavericks and Southeastern Louisiana are Sam Houston's next two conference foes as the Bearkats travel to Arlington to face UTA this week and play host to the Lions Friday-Sunday, May 11-13.

Tickets for Sam Houston State home baseball games are now available online at www.gobearkats.com or at the Bearkat Athletic Ticket Office in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.

Bearkats Southland Champions Again

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