The 12th Manchild :: Baseball

The 2008 Big 12 Championship at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City was dominated by Texas A&M.
The Aggies, regular season champs, were clearly the superior team in the tournament.

Aggies honored
On Friday, Aggie Senior Megan Gibson was named the Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the year, becoming the first
player to ever receive the both awards. Over the weekend in Oklahoma City Gibson showed why she was
named the conference's top player. Coach Jo Evans was also named the conference's Coach of the Year.

Quaterfinals
In the quarterfinals on Saturday, Gibson shut down the Cyclones from Iowa State. Gibson had dominating stuff
and gave up only two hits in the complete game shutout. With the win the Aggies advanced to play Texas in the
semifinals on Saturday night.

Semi-finals
Against the Longhorns, Gibson led the Aggies with her tenth double-digit strikeout game of the season. In the
bottom of the third, freshman Rhiannon Kliesing launched a pitch over the fence for a 2-run homer. That is all
Gibson would need as the Aggies came one step closer to their goal of winning both Big 12 titles this season.

The Ship
In Sunday's championship game the Aggies were pitted against the 10th seeded Cornhuskers from Nebraska.
The Aggies struck first in the home half of the first inning with a single by Illinois native Erin Glasco. The
Cornhuskers were over matched all day and couldn't ever find a way to solve Gibson.

Who's next
The Aggies will next play in the NCAA Tournament, where they are sure to be one of the all important top 8
seeds. Being one of the top 8 is important because it assures that team will not have to leave their home park
until the Women's College World Series.

Ft. Worth -- Scott Migl took the hill in a match-up of former SWC foes, as the No. 5 Aggies (38-7) visited the Horned Frogs of TCU (29-16). The Aggies entered the game winning 20 of their last 21 games, including five straight 3-game sweeps against Big XII opponents.

TCU has a pretty scrappy squad, that I would not want to play in a regional <--- watch out Rice/OSU, they will probably be in on of our brackets.

Tonight's game was a pitchers duel, which is slightly unusual for a mid-week game, in which teams start their 4th starter or even a reliever (See last week's Texas State game).

However, tonight Migl had good control and mowed through the TCU line-up. The only hiccup for the Aggies happened in the 5th when TCU scored both of its runs. The first on a misplayed ball by Kyle Colligan.

The Aggies plated Dane Carter on a triple by Jose Duran, Fort Worth native and brother of German Duran (Texas Rangers), in the top of the third. A sacrifice fly in the 5th gave the Aggies their second run of the game.

The Aggie bullpen was "lights out" tonight, Kyle Thebeau and Hank Robertson completely shut down the Frogs over the final four innings.

Andrew Cashner, aka Cash, the closer for the Frogs had electric stuff. His fastball topped out at 98mph and he had a wicked slider that buckled several Aggies coming in at about 85mph. I really liked this Cash kid, lets just say he will be "money in the bank" at the next level. <---lame.

As good as Cashner was on the night, the Aggies were able to scratch one out in the top of the ninth...without getting a hit. Brodie Greene walked and moved up to second after Colligan was pegged in the helmet. The runners moved up on a passed ball, putting men on second and third. Just like the Aggies seemingly have done all year, they found a way to put one across when they neeeded it. However, this time it wasnt so much what we did, as it was the WILD PITCH by Cashner. Greene scored on the wild pitch and gave the Aggies the lead for good.

In the bottom of the ninth, TCU got a man on first with 2 outs. Matt Vern crushed a ball to left-center that brought everyone to their feet. TCU's team was already coming out of the dugout to celebrate the walk-off, but the wind just held the ball in play, preserving the Aggies non-conference victory.

The Aggies head into this weekend's series against Dallas Baptist with incredible momentum. I would love to see the Ags not have to squeeze so many out late like this, but I'll take them anyway I can get them.

In the eighth inning, a little girl was struck behind her ear by a screaming line-drive foul ball. The girl was taken to a Ft. Worth hospital for some tests. Reports indicate that the little girl is doing well and is in good spirits. Nonetheless, anytime a child is taken from a baseball game in a stretcher, it is not a good situation. From all of us here at 12MC our prayers are with that little girl tonight.

The game was the first meeting of the two teams in Fort Worth since 1996 and the largest crowd ever (4,294) at TCU's Lupton Stadium, breaking the former record by over 1,000 fans. Maroon-clad fans littered their little sandlot field (actually a very nice stadium).

A&M has played TCU (247) more than any other school except Texas (346), Baylor (301) and Rice (266).

Rice 11 A&M 2

WHAT'S UP NEXT? This weekend the Ag's host Baylor on Friday, then head over to Waco for 2 games (more on this later in the week).

13 IN A ROW

Ag's Sweep OU

Saturday - The Ag's took Saturday's game 10-3 behind an incredible pitching performance by freshan Barrett Loux. The Ag's fed off Olsen's largest crowd of the season (7,092). Jose Duran led the Ag's with 3 RBIs, while Darby Brown had 2.

Sunday Afternoon - A&M completed the sweep Sunday with a dominating 12-2 victory on national television. Tempers started to flare Sunday when Luke Anders was beaned twice and eventually 3 Aggie coaches and an OU player were tossed. Clayton Ehlert tossed a complete game and Jose Duran continued his strong play with 3 more RBIs.

Big 12 Standings:

WHAT'S UP NEXT? The # 8 ranked Ag's host a huge game tonight against # 7 Rice. In order to extend the streak to 14, the Ag's will have to continue to get strong mid-week pitching. This weekend the Ag's host Baylor on Friday, then head over to Waco for 2 games (more on this later in the week).

BRING OUT THE BROOMS BABY

Ag's Sweep K-State

Saturday - The Ag's fell behind 7-1 early but came back behind a great offensive performance to win 13-8. Dane Carter lead the way once again offensively with 3 hits and 4 timely RBIs. True-freshman Brian Ruggiano also added 3 hits and an RBI.

Sunday Afternoon - A&M completed the sweep Sunday with a dominating 14-4 victory. The Ag's Sunday pitching finally came through yesterday with a great performance by Clayton Ehlert. Ehlert pitched great and only gave up three runs. Luke Anders was once again amazing, hitting two, two-run homers in the win.

WHERE WE STAND - The Aggie baseball team has put together a nice 9 game winning streak, and they play 4 winnable games this week. Point blank, the Ag's can hit the freaking ball. Our offensive numbers are sick and if we keep this up and shore up some pitching, the Ag's could make a nice run. Good luck to the Ag's this week against the Cougars (shock em), and also against OU this weekend in College Station.

Big 12 Standings:

WHAT'S UP NEXT? The Ag's head down to Houston to play U of H Tuesday night and then follow it up w/ a 3 game homestand this weekend against OU. The Ag's have another chance to put some distance b/w themselves and others in the Big 12 standings. OU has not played great in conference play so far so I feel it would be a dissapointment if we don't go 2-1 this weekend.

AGGIE BASEBALL ON FIRE

Ag's Sweep KU

Saturday Afternoon - Trailing 6-3 in the 8th inning, the Ag's rallied to beat KU 9-6 in 10 innings. Luke Anders continued to be clutch hitting a game-tying 3 run homerun in the top of the 8th, and Brooks Raley singled in the game winner in the 10th to seal the win for the Ag's.

Sunday Afternoon - Sunday pitching for the Ag's has been problematic all year, and nothing was different here. After falling behind, the Ag's came back to score a 10-8 win, completing the sweep against the Jayhawks. Darby Brown was incredible again, hitting 2 home runs and driving in 6! I think the Sunday pitching has to improve but I love seeing the Ag's come from behind to steal an important victory.

Ag's Take Two Mid-Week Games from SFA

Tuesday Night - The Ag's relied on their bats and an explosive 5 run first inning to beat SFA 8-1 on April Fool's Day. Kyle Colligan had 3 hits and 1 RBI, while Dane Carter had 2 hits and 4 RBIs. On the mound, Clayton Ehlert pitched awesome, going 6 innings and only allowing 1 earned run.

Wednesday Night - Once again....whwen the Ag's needed a clutch hit, Luke Anders delivered. Anders had a two out, walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Ag's a 5-4 win. The Ag's didn't play pretty but they gutted it out for a win.

WHERE WE STAND - The Aggie baseball team has put together a nice 6 game winning streak going into this weekend's series versus K-State. They are playing great and we really have some great and clutch hitters, which is what we have lacked the past couple seasons. However, I would like to see our Sunday and Mid-Week pitching improve before the tournament starts. Overall, I couldn't ask for more with the Aggies sitting at 23-6 and 2nd place in the Big 12.

Big 12 Standings:

WHAT'S UP NEXT? The Ag's have a 3 game home series this weekend against K-State, playing Friday night, Saturday night, and at noon on Sunday. The Ag's need to distance themselves in the Big 12 standings this weekend facing a below average K-State squad. The Wildcats have been looking better as of late, taking their series against OSU last weekend. It would be a dissapointment if we don't go at least 2-1 this weekend.

Thanks to COACH DALE for posting this diary, we appreciate his great insight into women's basketball and baseball

The Good Guys have their conference opener tonight against the Classless Clowns from Lubbock. Tech has struggled up to this point, but as always the Tech Tards are a tough match-up for the Aggies.

The primary difference between the two teams comes on the mound. The Tech team ERA is 4.91 while the A&M team ERA is 2.73. Every Aggie weekend starter (Raley, Loux, Migl) have an ERA under 5.00 while only the Sunday starter for Tech is under 5.00. The Aggies will also bring Thebeau (0.57 ERA) and Starling (1.08 ERA) out of the bullpen. Bottom line is our pitching staff is much better than theirs.

They will probably have the best individual player on the field. Kieschnick has spent the last two summers playing for Team USA and is currently hitting .417 on the season. More than likely he will be a first round draft pick and possibly Big 12 POY.

Kyle Colligan is still coming back from a hamstring injury. He saw his first action in a while on Wednesday against Centenary as the DH. Luke Anders missed both mid-week games with a wrist injury. Not sure how this is going to affect him today, but if he is out we will see the .182 batting average of Darby Brown in the lineup.

With all things considered, the Ags should take at least 2 out of 3 from Tech if they want to be contenders for the Big 12 title.

Any win in conference is big, a win against the Tech Tards makes it that much sweeter.

note: non-satellite viewers outside of Texas will receive mixed coverage, juggling between A&M/Rice and UNC/USC.

This isn't A&M's first trip to Reckling this season, the Ags have shown twice (once at Minute Maid, the other in an eternally long struggle at Reckling) this season that they can play with and even beat Rice, the perennial baseball power.

While A&M is 2-0 against Rice this season, it's a completely different situation now. The previous matches were single games, not a best-of-3 series.

David Newmann is projected to be today's starting pitcher

Rice wields a much better, deeper arsenal of pitchers than A&M, if the Ags are to have any chance of upsetting Rice in their home stadium they must take the first game. If the Aggies can take the first game, the Aggie bullpen hopefully won't have to be stretched too far.

Starting Pitching

Texas A&M's two guaranteed starting pitchers this weekend should be David Newmann and Kyle Nicholson. Rice has a quartet to choose from, with Ryan Berry, Ryne Tacker, Matt Langwell, and Joe Savery. Newmann and Nicholson are two outstanding arms, but Rice has the advantage with their four All-American quality arms.

Advantage: Rice

Hitting

A&M is hitting .317 as a team, and has produced solid power numbers with 65 homers. The Aggies have five players with double-digit homers, and are led at the plate by Blake Stouffer, who is hitting .402 and is tied for the nation's lead in RBI (84). Rice's numbers have improved as the year has gone on, and the Owls are currently hitting .311 as a team with 56 homers. Both teams are capable of putting up a bunch of runs at the plate, and have balance from top to bottom. Neither was extremely impressive at the plate in the regionals, but don`t be surprised to see fireworks this weekend.

Advantage: Even

FINAL THOUGHTS

It's going to be a tall task for Texas A&M to go into Reckling Park and take two off of the Owls. The last time Rice lost two in a row at home was last March against Cal State-Fullerton and Texas. But the Aggies won't be a pushover, and they'll give the Owls their best shot and then some.

With a clear advantage overall and the home field in their favor, there's no reason why Rice shouldn't advance to their third CWS appearance in the last five seasons. They and Arizona State are the two best teams left in the field. But as Vanderbilt and four other national seeds proved, talent and home field advantage don't always mean a win. Rob Childress is going to have his team ready to play, and they'll go in with an attitude that they can win the series, and send A&M back to Omaha for the first time since '99. While the team hasn't been there, Childress was a part of several successful Nebraska teams, and his experience no doubt rubs off on his players, which is a big reason why Texas A&M is where they are now. It won't be a surprise if they do pull off the upset, but it's going to take a lot to overcome the Owls, who are one of the hottest teams in the land.

The Ags will face the Owls for a 3rd time this season, this time in a 3-game series to determine who will advance to play in the CWS.

Preview tomorrow, but lets be honest, we're all waiting for TAMABINPO's assesment first.

Aggie Softball wins Big XII Tournament

Rice 11 A&M 2

Rice 11 A&M 2

13 IN A ROW

Ag's Sweep OU

Big 12 Standings:

BRING OUT THE BROOMS BABY

Ag's Sweep K-State

Big 12 Standings:

AGGIE BASEBALL ON FIRE

Ag's Sweep KU

Ag's Take Two Mid-Week Games from SFA

Big 12 Standings:

Texas Tech v. Texas A&M

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