Saturday February 18th, 2006
10:59amAgs Take Both in Doubleheader
2/17/06 G1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Northern Col. 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 3 9 1 TAMU 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 x - 6 9 0 We swept yesterday's double dip putting us at 6-0 on the season.
During the radio broadcast one of the guys looked up the temperature in Greeley, Colorado and I decided that low-40s and rainy isn't really that bad....it was -2 degrees with a -21 degree wind chill.
In game 1 Ryan Hill got his first start of the season, which I was happy about, and didn't disappoint going 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, and an RBI. Spencer Jackson also continued to swing the stick going 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs and a run scored.
Something I forgot to mention in my little weekend preview was that Todd Sebek broke his hand on Tuesday night when he was hit by a pitch. He had surgery on Wednesday and will miss 3-4 weeks. While injuries are never good, this might allow Todd some time to relax....I think he was pressing a bit hard at the plate (he was 1-for-10 with 7 SOs).
On the mound Kyle Nicholson got the start and had a so-so outing (4 IP, 3 ER). Matt Ueckert came in out of the pen and was excellent in his second appearance going 3.2 innings and allowing only 3 hits. Hart Hering came in with 2 on in the 8th, hit the first batter he faced, and then dominated striking out 3 of the remaining 4 outs in the ballgame. Hering has been simply incredible on the mound so far.
2/17/06 G2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Northern Col. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 4 TAMU 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 x - 5 12 0 The story of game two was true freshman Kyle Thebeau.
IP H R ER SO/BB HR GSc 6.0 1 0 0 9/2 0 77Yep, one hit. For the season he has gone 11.1 IP, allowed 3 hits, 1 R, K'ed 16, walked 5 and has a 0.79 ERA and a .081 BAA.
Anthony Vasquez and Max Simon both saw their debuts in Maroon & White. Anthony's motion really reminds of Tom Glavine up there on the mound.
Jordan Chambless came in to finish the 9th and K'ed the two batters he faced. In 2 IP on the season he has 4 Ks.
We had some more offense in game 2 led by John Infante who was 3-for-4, DH Jake Vasquez who was 2-for-2, and Parker Dalton, loving the 9-hole, going 2-for-2.
We ran quite a bit, especially in the second game. I have some mixed feelings about us being so aggressive. I do really like the idea of it but part of me thinks we're being a bit too aggressive.
Success on the Bases NwSt 12/13 NwSt 1/3 NwSt 2/3 SHS 3/5 NCol 2/3 NCol 5/7 =========== TOT 25/34 73.5%Those aren't bad numbers but if you just look at games 2-6 we're only 13/21 which is only 61.9%. That's kinda low.
Maybe Coach Deggs is doing a lot of experimenting early in the season to see who is capable of what.
I do love all the squeeze plays. We had another one yesterday in the second game giving us 4 in our first 6 games.
Today's game is still slated for 2pm out at Olsen. I, however, will be at Reckling Park watching #7 Rice take on #19 Long Beach State. I've wanted to see LBSU for several years so I'm not going to miss this rare chance. Don't worry; it's just as cold down in Houston as it is in College Station.
Friday February 17th, 2006
11:58amAgs Host Northern Colorado
D/L Northern Colorado's Media Guide
First of all, there has been changes made to this weekend's schedule. We will be playing a DHer today (starting at 3pm) and as of now Sunday's game is bumped up to tomorrow (2pm). The second game tonight will start 30 minutes following the end of the first game.
As for our opponent, Northern Colorado, I honestly hadn't heard of them until I got a copy of our schedule. As for our opponent, Northern Colorado, I honestly hadn't heard of them until I got a copy of our schedule. They are an independant D-I school of 12,300 students and are located in Greeley, Colorado which appears to be just south-east of Fort Collins.
The Bears are 2-2 on the season beating Lamar (11-7), and Air Force (13-5) while losing to UT-Pan America (2-1), and Gonzaga (12-5).
I always find it interesting to look at northern team's home schedules. The Bears play only 3 home games before April and only 12 on the entire season. Their first is a rematch with Air Force this coming Tuesday.
From what I can find, their best player is #8 Brennen Garr, who missed the first three games of the season with an injury but struck out the side in the 9th inning of the AF game hitting 94 on the gun. He hasn't had a plate appearance yet but is slated to DH for them this weekend against us.
Garr in 2005 G/GS AB R H RBI HR XBH SO/BB SB/A BA OBP SLG 51/46 181 32 36 8 19 19/14 0/0 .365 .418 .558I just about died when I read this gem from his bio:
2003: Redshirted ... served as a scoreboard operator for home games, making him arguably one of the most talented scoreboard operators in the country.The Olsen faithful will have a ball with him.
I wasn't planning on driving up to College Station today but with a doubleheader on the table I just might brave out the weather and make the trip.
Gig'em Ags!
Thursday February 16th, 2006
12:44amsips Knock Off Rice
2/11/06 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Rice 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 - 4 7 1 texas 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 - 5 10 2 Yeah I know, I'm about 1/2 a week late but I've been busy and this was on the list of things to do but wasn't at the top of the list.
You probably heard about texas's dramatic 9th inning victory already so I won't really get too much into it. If you need to know more read the recap linked above.
From strictly a baseball fan standpoint it was a great game which featured two All-American starters, Rice's Joe Savery & texas's Kyle McCulloch. From my point of view it was not a great experience thanks to the group of sips who were sitting behind us on the Rice "side" of the stadium.
It was a group of 5 or 6 alum who were literally the most obnoxious fans I've ever dealt with at a sporting event. They started screaming and taunting Rice before the first pitch and the more $7 beers they got down their throats the less civil the taunting became. I'm shocked that they weren't tossed from the stadium, especially after the way Minute Maid Park's security reacted to our fans in last year's tournament. These guys were literally riiiiight in our ears all night and really made it difficult to simply enjoy the game.
In the third inning Rice drew blood first putting a run on the board. It, however, should have been two runs had there not been a really bad call by the third base umpire who called Bobby Bramhall out at third as he was trying to stretch a double into a triple. Even the obnoxious guys behind us agreed that Bramhall was clearly safe. This, obviously, came back to haunt the Owls in the 9th.
The horns answered in the bottom half of the inning with a run of their own and then took a 3-1 lead in the 5th inning. They led off with a single and when they went to sacrifice the runner to second base the 1st baseman, Travis Reagan, for absolutely no reason what-so-ever cut off the throw from the pitcher to the second baseman, who was covering first. Reagan was about 5 feet from the base when he intercepted the throw and everyone was safe. The runner who was now undeservingly on first was one of the scoring runs in the inning. It was scored as a hit and the run was charged to Savery as an earned run, albeit a very unfair one.
Both starters began to look like they lost their crispness in about the 6th inning. Savery was pulled in the 7th inning and McCulloch came out after 7.
IP H R ER SO/BB HR PC GSc Savery..... 6.2 9 3 3 4/1 0 100 47 McCulloch.. 7.0 5 1 1 9/3 0 111 69Kenn Kasperek, a Preseason All-American starter in some publication's eyes, came in out of the bullpen to relieve McCulloch. He was not greeted warmly in the 8th, allowing 2 runs to cross the plate tying the game before he was pulled.
My old man and I both found it was interesting that Rice's HC, Wayne Graham, was using the designated hitter for Savery who is hands down their best offensive threat. I'm sure that he does this with Joe in every start in order to keep him fresher on the mound for longer but it did cost them 3 ABs that they could have had him at the plate. He replaced the DH after he was pulled in the 7th and reached base in both of his plate appearances.
While Kasperek was getting hit it was interesting to notice how the gang o'fun was reacting behind us. This was about the time that their internal censor malfunctioned and they started to get out of hand....which was right about the time some liquid was spilled on me.
In the top of the 9th when Rice took a 4-3 lead the F-bomb was getting used at full volume and when the older gentleman with his young son a couple rows in front of them turned around and told them they needed to watch their mouth the response yelled was, "F%&* Him!" As classy of a group as they come. My old man and I were quietly loving the fact that they were losing more so because of how incredibly rude and obnoxious they were than the fact they were wearing orange.
After the first out in the bottom of the 9th the gang, not surprisingly, started to bring up the Rose Bowl in their yelling at Rice fans. I almost died when Kyle Russell hit that ball into the Crawford Boxes.
Interestingly, or not, my brother used to play select ball with Russell when they were younger. He went on to play at Tomball with my former Westfield HS coach, Rick Lynch.
That's all I've got on the game, I just wanted to share the evening with you all. This weekend Rice hosts the Coca Cola Classic which will feature them, Lamar, Oklahoma and #19 Long Beach State. The Owls face LBSU on Saturday afternoon at 1pm and there are still lots of tickets available for those of you who live in the Houston area. The game should feature several All-Americans from each side.
Monday February 12th, 2006
7:58pmOpening Weekend Pitching Numbers
IP H ER SO/BB HR G/F ERA BAA ============================================ Starters 17.2 12 3 22/6 1 24/5 1.53 .188 Bullpen 13.1 7 2 11/2 0 19/5 1.35 .163 Coach Childress's Goals ============================= 3:1 SO/BB 4.125 ---> Good 1:1 H/IP 0.613 ---> Good Low BB/9 2.323 ---> GoodAs you can see, the pitching was phenomenal.
I also wanted to point out that I have started my 2006 Aggie Pitching Report which will be updated after every couple of games. I am going to really enjoy following the staff this season.
Finally, Chance Corgan is getting the nod for tomorrow night's start at Sam Houston. Go get'em Chance!
11:10amAgs Finish the Sweep on Sunday
2/12/06 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E NWern State 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 4 0 TAMU 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 2 8 0 I won't get into too much detail today because I didn't get to see this one in person. I did get to watch it from about the 4th inning on thanks to AUA. Austin Creps picked up right where he left off in the summer, when he was an All-American, completely shutting down Northwestern State.
IP H R ER SO/BB HR PC G/F GSc 7.0 3 1 1 8/1 1 83 8/4 74The lone run came on the lone HR of the series and even though it just went over by inches it was quite remarkable considering the winds.
Jason Meyer relieved Creps and faced 3 batters giving up a single before getting easy outs before making way for Jordan Chambless.
Frankly, I'm amazed that Jordan, who only 4 months ago had ACL surgery, has recovered. He did nothing but amaze on Sunday striking out the first batter he faced on 4 breaking balls to get out of the inning. His curve ball is devastating. He pitched the 9th inning as well getting two groundouts before k'ing the last batter.
The game was tied 1-1 at this point and our aggressive offense was able to pull this one out and limit the free baseball to just Saturday's game. Adam Hale walked to start it off and then stole second. Jake Vasquez flied out and with John Infante at the plate Hale took third on a wild pitch. Johnny then put down a beautiful bunt with Hale on the move to squeeze home the game winner. Three squeeze bunts in three games....that's fun baseball.
I love the aggressive style of fundamental baseball that Coach Deggs has brought to the offense. It has been proven that since the "Gorilla Ball-era" ended the majority of the teams that are successful are the ones who play solid fundamental baseball and pitch well.
We play Sam Houston tomorrow night at 7pm at their new Bearkat Baseball Complex.
Gig'em Ags!
Sunday February 12th, 2006
3:32pmAgs Start 2-0 in '06
2/10/06 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E NWern State 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 9 3 TAMU 0 2 7 0 0 1 0 0 x - 10 7 3 It was cold but the pitching staff held their own not only having to fight off hitters but errors as well.
Kyle Nicholson threw very well and was saddled with a pitcher's nightmare in the third inning when we had a few miscues in addition to a couple balls that fell in the outfield that really should have been caught. Luckily for him only 1 of the 4 runs that came in were charged to him.
IP H R ER SO/BB HR PC GSc 5.1 7 4 1 7/1 0 100 50Childress said in the pregame interview that he was going to keep pitchers right at 100 pitches but would let them go slightly above that in warmer weather. Matt Ueckert relieved Kyle and made his debut in Maroon & White a very impressive one, giving up only 2 hits and holding the Demons at bay in his 2.2 innings. Hart Hering came in for the 9th and was very impressive striking out the side on 10 pitches.
That third inning was a nightmare for both teams. We put up a 7 spot in the bottom half of the inning.
Offensively we were led by Austin Boggs who was 2-for-5 with 2 runs and an RBI. There was a VERY strong wind blowing straight in from CF killing several very well hit balls that could very well have left the yard in a normal situation. Blake Stouffer had a nice game at the plate going 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs.
Stouffer also led the charge on the base paths (3 SBs) as we set the school record for stolen bases in a game with 12, including 4 thefts of 3rd base. Brandon Glover, Josh Stinson, Parker Dalton, & John Infante all added 2 steals each with Jess Buenger picking up his first of the year. Glover was thrown out stealing once so we were 12-for-13 on the bases. It sure was fun watching the guys running all night. Something that I noticed was that when our runners took their lead from the base they opened up their right side to the next base by dropping their right foot a step back towards the OF. It would seem that this would help with the first step towards the next base.
We were very aggressive offensively and played lots of small ball. In the 3rd inning we had Infante on third and Josh Stinson on second with Parker Dalton at the plate. Infante broke towards home on the pitch but Parker couldn't get the bunt down....Johnny scored anyways on a steal of home. On the next pitch Parker put down the suicide squeeze again with Stinson charging in from third and no one covered 1st base so he ended up with an RBI bunt single.
Something else that I noticed was that Josh Stinson hit left-handed against Northwestern State's lefty reliever even though he is listed as a switch hitter. I thought that was interesting as well.
2/11/06 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 R H E NWern St 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 6 3 TAMU 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 - 4 10 2 As cold as it was on Friday night the wind Saturday afternoon made it feel even colder. Going 13 innings didn't make it any more comfortable for the fans. I think I've lost the top 3 layers of skin off my lips.
I need to extend a special thanks to the Dixie Chicken for allowing me to keep my first foul ball I've ever grabbed. It's crazy to think of how many hundreds upon hundreds of games (pro and college) that I've been to and this is was still my first. I never even got a HR ball in my 3 years out in Aggie Alley, although I will say I probably could have if I really, really wanted one. It was about the 10th inning and I was on row 9 (and thanks to the chill combined with the basketball game I was one of two people in my section sitting above row 6) and I was the only person to make a move for the ball. After picking it up I hoisted it over my head to officially claim my prize. See, I'm of the belief that any ball hit into the stands is fair game until the owner hoists it above his head in celebration. So now it sits on my desk. Thanks Dixie Chicken.
We got to see Kyle Thebeau make his collegiate debut and he was particularly impressive.
IP H R ER SO/BB HR PC GSc 5.1 2 1 1 7/3 0 96 64He was very sharp until just before he came out in the 6th. He walked the first hitter, k'ed the second hitter, walked the third hitter, and then hit the fourth hitter. Chance Corgan came in out of the bullpen and struck out the next two batters to get us out of the bases loaded jam unscathed. Chance threw very well again in the 7th but got touched up very slightly in the 8th giving up a couple of singles. Hart Hering came in and for the second consecutive night was very impressive going 2.1 innings striking out 2 and allowing only 1 hit. Luke Anders relieved Hart in the 10th with 2 outs and a runner on third and got out of the inning on 1 pitch. RS-F Evan Gerald threw the last 3 innings giving up only a single.
Overall, an excellent first two games out of the pitching staff. Childress has said that the thing he focuses on the most is keeping walks to a minimum. He likes 3 strikeouts per walk (on Friday we had 11:2 & on Saturday we had 12:4) and 1-to-1 inning:hits ratio (Fri 9:9; Sat 13:6). He also said that our goal is to lead the league in the fewest walks per 9 innings pitched so we're at 2.45 BB/9IP.
Speaking of Coach Childress he has really enjoyed the atmosphere thus far, even though we've been a bit below par as a result of the weather:
We were down 3-2 going into the 9th but thanks to the Rally Rooster (who definitely seems to enjoy Sawing Varsity's Horn's Off during the War Hymn), we were able to squeak across a run after getting into their pitcher's head as he threw the ball to the backstop a couple of times allowing a walk to Ryan Hill (who was PR for by Jason Meyer) to come home. Who would have guessed our first look at Jason Meyer in 2006 would be as a pinch runner? We won it in the 13th after Austin Boggs singled advanced to 2nd on an error by the 2nd baseman and scored from third on a one out, bases loaded single by Josh Stinson."I kinda felt it," Childress said of the stadium's atmosphere. "The fans were into it. I can't say enough about the student section above the first-base dugout. They are into it every pitch, and when the game is on the line, they really dial it up."Someone whose name won't be listed in the wrap-up but had a nice afternoon was Jose Salazar, who came into the game in the 7th inning to play 2nd base. He was 0-for-1 but reached base 4 times thanks to an error by the first baseman and 3 walks....he also made a very nice play defensively. Kind of on the other end of the spectrum is Todd Sebek, who DHed in both of the first two games. He picked up a single yesterday but finished the first two games 1-for-7 with 4 SOs. I'm sure things will turn around quickly....he plays good defense and can get around the bases for us.
I also wanted to point out that I was VERY skeptical of our new Nike jerseys but I've really liked what I've seen so far. The guys look sharp....but I'm always going to miss the old maroon Texas Aggies pullover jersey.
Internal Navigation Aids Click HERE to go back to main page of "Texas A&M & Baseball In No Particular Order"
To Top of Page