11/9/05 8:30 a.m.CT

Aggie Legacy Michael Heard Will Sign with the Aggies Today...

Fall 2005 Signing Day is Here…

The Aggies have 13 commitments heading into signing day today. 12 of the players that have public commitments are from the high school ranks and one is a junior college signee. There are five left handed pitchers in this class and several of these signees are legitimate two-way players even at the college level. This class is made up almost entirely from players from the greater Houston or DFW areas. Clayton Kershaw is the highest profile player and will be a likely high draft pick next spring. Brown is under the control of the Cincinnati Reds and could sign before next season's draft. I will add more photos as they become available. (Parents you can email them to me at scott@aggiebaseball.net)

1B Darby Brown, L-R, 6-3, 235, Jr-Tr, Lubbock, TX (Cooper HS/Midland College/Howard College)
2002 TSWA Second Team All-State

Brown, a freshman first baseman from Lubbock, was named the MVP of the WJCAC by a vote of the conference coaches after last season. Brown led the conference in most offensive categories with a .508 batting average, 97 hits, 27 doubles, 17 home runs and 87 runs batted in. Consensus Class 3A All-State Infielder in 2003 Drafted in the 46 Round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2005 Draft. Senior year stats- .409 (45-110), 38 RS, 14 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 2 HRs, 31 RBIs, 16 BBs, 3-time A-D, last year MVP. 3-time A-C, 2-time A-South Plains. .446 career (124-278), 114 RS, 24 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 10 HRs, 100 RBIs, 40 BBs. Junior year .534 (47-88), 42 RS, 8 2Bs, 5 HRs, 38 RBis, 8 SBs, 16 BBs, .655 OBA, .795 SL, .840 FA for 22-8 team.

Darby Brown Goes Deep

IF/RHP Jake Bussey, R-R, 6-1, 195, Fr-HS, La Porte, TX (High)

Junior stats - 7-2, 2.61 ERA, 75 IP, 106 Ks, 31 BBs, 50Hs, 34 R, 28 ER for 24-10 team. - .354 BA (35-99), 26 RS, 6 2Bs, 1 3B, 7 HRs, 30 RBIs, 1 ASB, 20 BBs, .472 OBA, .696 SL, .930 FA for 24-10 team..389 in postseason. Houston Class 5A Baseball All-Greater Houston Third Basemen, Unanimous first Team All-district

Houston 5A Baseball "Player Of The Week" #9-2005 Tuesday, April 26
Jake threw his third one-hitter, third shutout, and fifth complete game in district play. Jake's line against Sam Rayburn: CG-W-SHO 5IP 0R 0ER 1H 9K's 2BB. No runner advanced past first base and only two balls made it out of the infield. In addition, Jake drove in the winning run with a leadoff home run (his sixth of the year) in the second inning. Jake's hitting line for the week: 5-6 HR(6) 3B 3-1B BB 2R 2RBI. Jake's performance on Friday puts him at 6-0 in district play with a 0.37 ERA. In district, he has thrown 38 innings, has given up 18 hits, has walked 11, has struck out 58, and is hitting .412.

LHP Mitch Nelson, 6-1, 170, L-L, Tomball, TX (High) (bio from www.texasbaseballnews.com)

Nelson is a projectible lefty with three pitches he commands for strikes, including a fastball at 84-86 MPH and a nice changeup. He was a key cog in the Tomball wheel as a junior, and he and righthander Tyree Hayes should team up to make the Cougars a force to be reckoned with out of the Houston area again in 2006. Also First Team All District 17-5A

C Kevin Gonzales, 5-9, 170, R-R, Katy, TX (Mayde Creek) (bio from www.texasbaseballnews.com)

Gonzales is one of those valuable catchers who should give the Aggies a quality player both behind the plate and at the plate. He popped at 1.94 at the Area Code Tryouts and 2.0 at today's Texas Scouts Association All-Star Game - good receiver with good feet and some arm strength - and he shows good hand speed as a hitter, getting behind the ball and driving it to the gaps. He has the tools to hit for good power as well. Second Team All-District

INF Nick Papasan, 5-10, 180, R-R, Granbury, TX (High)

Lead area 5A players in batting average (.564), Papasan also led 5A players in base hits with 53 and tied for the lead in runs scored with 39. He tied for third in doubles with 11 and home runs with seven, and was tied for eighth in RBIs with 32. District 4-5A Offensive Player of the Year. Chose A&M over Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas State and Baylor.

Nick Papasan at the Plate

OF Matt Sulentic, , 5-10, 165, L/R, Dallas, TX (Hillcrest)

Junior Stats- .505 BA (46-91), 36 RS, 15 2Bs, 7 3Bs, 3 HRs, 34 RBIs, 20 SBs, 9 BBs, .550 OBA, .923 SL, .845 FA for 20-12 team.TSWA 2005 Class 4A Third Team All-State Baseball All-District 2005
Soph. Stats: .464, 27 RBIs, 16 SBs District 9-4A Player of the Year. Sulentic picked the Aggies over TCU, Virginia and Texas.

RHP/INF Kevin Cravey, 6-1, 185, R-R, Houston, TX (Klein Oak)

.321-1-12 as a junior, 1-3 with 4.67 ERA and one save. Cravey picked A&M over Baylor, Houston, Rice, TCU and Louisiana-Lafayette. At the Area Code Tryouts held at Baylor in June when he was consistently 88-89 MPH. He had an outstanding summer, hitting .453 in 46 games and going 6-1 with a save with the Houston Miracles.

LHP/OF Michael Heard, S-L, 6-1, 170, Fr-HS, Montgomery, TX (High)

2005 Louisville Slugger High School All-American Junior Stats 12-2, 1.54 ERA, 2 SV, 81.2 IP, 140
Ks, 53 BBs, 28 Hs, 22 R, 10 ER for 31-7 team. 18-4A MVP. Career: 26-3, 1.23 ERA, 182 IP, 289 Ks, 112 BBs, 76 Hs, 67 R, 32 ER. - .388 BA (47-129), 43 RS, 12 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 4 HRs, 27 RBIs, 7 SBs, 24 BBs, .504 OBA, .620 SL, .951 FA for 31-7 team. 2-time 18-4A MVP. Career: .369 (116-314), 86 RS, 20 2Bs, 7 3Bs, 4
HRs, 57 RBIs, 21 SBs, 50 BBs, .456 OBA, .515 SL, .970 FA. Heard picked A&M over UH, TCU, Alabama, Rice, and Sam Houston State, he is the son of former A&M baseball player Clint Heard, who lettered for the Aggies from 1981-83.

PG REPORT 2004: Michael Heard -- Heard is a very live bodied young sophomore prospect who reminds us a bit of top 2004 prospect LHP Troy Patton, who's from the same part of Texas. Heard projects out to about 6-1, 180 and although he has some skills as an outfielder, he looks like he has a great pitching future to us. Heard threw 88 mph from the outfield and his fastball was 84-86 mph during a 4 inning appearance with good arm side run. He has good tempo and presence to his delivery and uses his lower body and hips well to generate torque. Heard throws 2 different types of breaking balls and each showed the potential to become an average to plus big league pitch. His 78 mph slider had a big break and was very sharp at times, while Heard's 70-73 mph curveball also had good sharp biting action. He also threw a change up and had command of all his pitches. He's athletic and even switch hits. Does everything very well, big time potential, definite pro prospect. Could become a high pick.

Michael Heard toes the rubber at Olsen Field

LHP Zach Britton, 6-3, 180, L-L, Weatherford, TX (High) (bio from www.texasbaseballnews.com)

Saw Zach in action twice - once at the Midland Tournament of Champions and again at the Texas Scouts Association All-Star Game, and he has a chance to be a terrific college pitcher. Zach is 85-88 MPH with his fastball, and his hard breaking ball flashes as a plus strikeout pitch. He has good command of both, and he is an aggressive competitor. He's still a tall drink of water, too. As he matures, fills out and adds some strength, he has a chance to be a monster of a Division I lefthander.

RHP Shane Minks, 6-2, 190, R-R, Columbia, TX (High) (bio from www.texasbaseballnews.com)

Texas A&M got its ninth commitment of the early season when Columbia RHP Shane Minks said he would be an Aggie. Shane is a 6-2, 190-pound athlete with a live arm that produces fastballs at 86-88 MPH, up to 90 MPH, and a tight, hard breaking ball at 78-80 MPH that he commands for strikes in any count. Minks is also the starting quarterback for the Roughneck football team. He is a strong, physical, tough-minded ballplayer who brings a lot of upside and quality stuff to the A&M class. Columbia Angels, teammate with Michael Heard. All County First Team 2005, plays football as well.

Future Aggie Pitcher Shane Minks

RHP/INF Clayton Ehlert, 6-0, 185, R-R, Little Cypres, TX (Little Cypress-Mauriceville)

Chose A&M over Texas, LSU, UH and Louisiana-Lafayette. First Team All-District. 2003 Super Series Winter Nationals Offensive MVP for 16U S.E. Texas Sundevils. Teamed with Kevin Angelle for S.E. Texas Sundevils to beat the U.S. Youth National Team 3-1, their only loss until the Gold Medal game against Cuba in the 2005 IBAF "AA" World Youth Championships, Ehlert struck out six in four innings

PG 2005 REPORT: Clayton Ehlert is a 2006 right handed pitcher/outfielder from Orange, TX with an athletic build at 6-0, 180 lbs. good arm action, medium effort, 89 mph FB with good run, good CB with 10-4 break at 73 mph, nasty change at 74 mph with sink and fade, good command, 6.83 in the 60, solid contact, line drive plane, good power, good bat speed, very high level 2-way prospect, very good student, 2004 South Undergrad Top Prospect by Perfect Games

Clayton Ehlert brings the heat...

LHP Kevin Angelle, 6-2, 180, L/L, Bridge City, TX (High)

Second Team TSWA All-State Junior Stats - 11-1, 1.30 ERA, 1 SV, 70 IP, 144 Ks, 44 BBs, 12 Hs, 16 R, 13 ER for 33-5 team. 24-3A MVP. 3-0 in postseason, 2 no-hitters. At firstbase .373 BA (31-83), 30 RS, 7 2Bs, 2 HRs, 21 RBIs, 1 SB, 17 BBs, .480 OBA, .789 FA for 33-5 team. Teamed with Clayton Ehlert for S.E. Texas Sundevils to beat the U.S. U16 Youth National Team 3-1, their only loss until the Gold Medal game against Cuba in the 2005 IBAF "AA" World Youth Championships, struck out eight in five innings. Chose Texas A&M over UH, Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane.

PG 2004 REPORT: Kevin Angelle is a 2006 LHP/OF from Orange, Texas, with a 6'2", 170 lb. frame. He has a very projectable body, good arm action, curveball is a strikeout pitch and is big with sharp break, solid delivery and is smooth, also an advanced hitter, very projectable as a pitcher and hitter, excellent student, must follow

LHP Clayton Kershaw, 6-3, 210, L-L, Highland Park, TX (High)

Junior stats, jr., L-L - 8-2, 1.17 ERA, 1 Save, 66 IP,110 Ks, 23 BBs, 29 Hs, 15 R, 11 ER Batting .338 BA (26-77), 10 RS, 5 2Bs, 3 HRs, 18 RBis, 6 BBs, .975 FA for 23-7 team.
2005 Third Team TSWA All-State
2005 Second Team All-Greater Metroplex
2005 District 11-4A MVP
2005 AABC Tournament of Stars All-Star Team

Chose Texas A&M over Oklahoma State and Stanford, and he was pursued by every major program in the region. Made USA Baseball's group of 34 players who will be considered for inclusion on its 2005 Junior National Team in the 18-and-under age category for international competition. The 34 players were selected exclusively from those who participated this past week in the 10th Annual Tournament of Stars.

Area Code Games Report: #6 Prospect from the Class of 2006 in attendance, as judged by Baseball America associate editor Alan Matthews. The ranking reflects the player's overall ceiling, with some consideration given to tournament performance. Clayton Kershaw, a live-armed lefty from Highland Park (Texas) High, flashed low-90s heat and earned the win with 5 2/3 innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts and three walks. Kershaw is considered one of the top five lefthanders in the rising senior class and he pitched with poise.

Clayton Kershaw on the mound

10/31/05 9:30 a.m.CT

Maroon and White Series, Game Three Wrap-up

Aggie Baseball Team's Last Huddle After the Maroon and White Series

Game Three Box Score and Play by Play
Maroon Team Series Stats for all three games
White Team Series Stats for all three games

It might have been played for steaks (for the winners) and hotdogs (for the losers) but it was really for much more than that. The Maroon and White series was the last chance to make a good impression on the new Texas A&M baseball coaching staff. With the coaching staff planning to only carry around 32 players on the active roster next spring, four or five players went to Olsen Field this weekend for the last time in the Aggie uniform. The coaches and the players knew it, and the edge it created this fall raised everyone's intensity. The Maroon team won the last two games of the three-game series but each team had a chance to win in the late innings and the close competition was just what the coaching staff would have asked for when dividing up the teams.

The Maroons struck first in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Small ball was the order of the day with RF Keith Stein reaching base after being hit by a Luke Anders pitch. He then stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by SS Jose Salazar. LF Kyle Colligan drove him home on a single to left that just eluded the White's fielders.

A one-out double down the line by 2B Blake Stouffer in the bottom of the third started another scoring spree. He scored on 3B Ryan Hill's single through the left side and when the throw went to the plate, Hill hustled into to second to keep the pressure on Anders. That hustle paid off when one out later DH Craig Stinson singled up the middle.

C Lee Harughty, who had walked and moved to second on groundout, scored when Hill laced a single to left through 3B Austin Boggs to make the score 4-0. Ben Brockman replaced Anders, who gave up four runs on five hits with two walks and three Ks, and ran into bad luck defensively right of the bat. Fighting the early morning sun in left, LF Todd Sebek misplayed consecutive fly balls by Keith Stein and Jose Salazar for two straight errors. Colligan brought Stein home with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0 in the sixth.

That offensive support looked to be more than enough as Maroon starter LHP Scooter Hicks cruised through his six innings of work. He allowed just three hits and struck out two while only walking one. After Salazar made a tremendous play to throw out C Richard O'Brien, on a ball that had careened off Hill, to end the second until CF John Infante singled up the middle with two outs in the sixth, Hicks had retired 12 straight hitters. Sebek followed Infante with another single in the top of the sixth but a grounder back to Hicks ended the scoring threat.

Travis Starling replaced Hicks on the mound in the seventh and the White team fought their way back into the game against the freshman right-hander. Boggs coaxed a full count walk from Starling to begin the inning and 1B Adam Hale hit a hustling double to right center behind Boggs. Starling nearly escaped the jam with a ground ball and a strikeout but DH Jake Vasquez' single to right scored Boggs and Hale. O'Brien followed with a single to left and RF Tyler Hohman walked to load the bases and chase Starling from the mound. RHP Hart Hering replaced Starling but a short single to left by CF John Infante on an 0-2 count scored O'Brien and Hohman to make the score 5-4 in favor of the Maroons.

Hering gave up a towering home run over the right field wall to Adam Hale with two outs in the top of the eighth that tied the game at five. It was the second blown save of the series for Hering. LHP Anthony Vasquez relieved Hering in the ninth and retired all three men he faced.

Brockman, who had settled down after the errors cost him that run in the sixth, had not allowed a hit entering the bottom of the ninth inning. He retired Salazar on a groundout to second but a hard hit ball up the middle by Colligan hit Brockman and was scored a single. Colligan stole second, but when DH Ben Maitland singled to right the defense had Hohman playing shallow enough that Colligan was held at third. RHP Evan Gerald was brought in to face C Josh Stinson, and the transfer lifted a sacrifice fly to right field on the first pitch from Gerald to score Kyle Colligan. That made a winner out of Vasquez and hard-luck Brockman was tagged with the loss.

Player of the game for the White was Jacob Vasquez, going 2-for-4 with the big two-out RBI that started the White's comeback. Player of the game for the Maroon was Kyle Colligan, he went 2-for-3 with two RBI, two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly.

10/29/05 12:30 a.m.CT

Maroon and White Series, Game Two Wrap-up

Box Score and Play by Play

It took late inning magic but the Maroon team scored in the eighth and ninth innings to even the series 1-1 with a 4-0 victory over the White Friday night.

Previewed as a probable pitching duel, hard throwing right-handers Chance Corgan and Kyle Thebeau dominated from the mound. Each carried shutouts into the seventh inning. Corgan allowed only four hits in his stint on the mound while Thebeau only allowed only a leadoff single to Brandon Glover in the top of the fourth inning. Neither pitcher showed great control, combining for nine walks but they worked out of jams without allowing runners to score.

Thebeau benefited from several outstanding plays at third base by Austin Boggs. He also picked 1B Spencer Jackson off second base in the seventh inning to erase a threat. Corgan would not break either, only allowing multiple hits in the second inning. Adam Hale doubled to start the inning but he was thrown out in a run down started after Corgan snared Luke Anders' drive up the middle. It would prove costly as Jess Buenger followed with another single up the middle.

Neither offense could scratch a run across until the eighth when Matt Ueckert drove a two-out solo blast over the right field wall to give the Maroons a 1-0 lead.

Corgan started the eighth inning after a one-out error and a walk put the tying run in scoring position but was replaced by Hart Hering. He struck out CF John Infante and retired pinch hitter Craig Bartosh on a foul ball to first.

Hale ran into trouble again in the top of the ninth. He hit Brandon Glover to start the inning and after a sacrifice bunt by RF Anthony Vazquez, Blake Stouffer was intentional walked to set up the force play. Spencer Jackson then drew a walk to load the bases. C Josh Stinson's full count single near the first base bag drove home Glover and Stouffer and it was followed by a sacrifice fly of the bat of Ryan Hill that scored Jackson to make it 4-0.

Hering returned to the mound for the home half of the ninth and watched Jose Salazar make a tremendous over the shoulder catch to record the first out before two groundouts ended the ballgame. Herring's inning and two-thirds earned him the save for Corgan. Hale was saddled with the loss allowing four runs in two inning, walking four and allowing Ueckert's homerun.

The starting pitchers were the players of the game; both showed Big 12 quality stuff in shutting down the batter's they faced. Just as impressive as their work in keeping runners off base was their bulldog mentality when runners were in scoring position.

10/28/05 8:30 a.m.CT

Maroon and White Series, Game One Wrap-up

Box Score and Play by Play

The Aggie Baseball team hit the field for the first game of their three game inter-squad series to end the fall practice season and a close game was decided in extra innings with the White team rallying for a 4-3 victory.

Senior Andy Howes' RBI single in the top of the 10th on a full count pitch from freshman left-hander Anthony Vasquez scored John Infante, who tripled to start the inning over a diving Keith Stein. Stein had the ball bounce out of his glove as he hit the new surface at Olsen Field for a near "Olympic Moment."

Two veteran pitchers started for the Aggies, Maroon starter Kyle Nicholson and White starter Jason Meyer were both very effective in their final fall outings. Nicholson allowed just one run on three hits while striking out six in eight innings of work. Meyer matched Nicholson with seven effective innings. He gave up three hits and two runs, with only one earned, while striking out two.

Maroon scored first in the bottom of the second. With one out in the inning, Craig Stinson, Keith Stein and Matt Ueckert walked on nine consecutive balls from Meyer to load the bases. Ahead 2-0 in the count, freshman outfielder Kyle Colligan drove the ball to right field and the sacrifice fly brought Stinson home to make the score 1-0.

The Maroons scored again in the bottom of the third. Myer hit Ben Maitland with a pitch and when Brandon Glover grounded a ball to second, an errant throw allowed Maitland to move to second. Meyer then coaxed Jose Salazar to ground into a double play allowing Maitland to move to third. Ryan Hill then delivered a clutch two-out RBI single to left.

With two outs in the top of the fourth, Nicholson walked Adam Hale, who promptly stole second. Jake Vasquez was hit by a pitch and Jess Buenger sharply singled to left scoring Hale and cutting the lead to 2-1. Buenger would be the last White batter to reach base against Nicholson as he retired the last 13 men he faced.

Trailing 2-1 and heading into the ninth, the White team scored a pair of runs off reliever Hart Herring to take its first lead of the game. Todd Sebek doubled to start the inning and after Parker Dalton lined out to first, Austin Boggs delivered a hustling RBI double just inside the third base line to tie the score. Vasquez relieved Herring but Adam Hale greeted him with an RBI single to score Boggs.

The Maroons would not go quietly in the bottom of the ninth against Austin Creps. After Ryan Hill, who had walked, was thrown out attempting to steal, Blake Stouffer was hit by a pitch. He moved to third on a single to right by DH Craig Stinson. Keith Stein's ground ball to short looked to end the ballgame but the hustling Stein beat the relay throw to first allowing Stouffer to tie the game at 3-3.

Josh Stinson tried to start a rally in the bottom of the tenth, singling to start the inning. After Ben Maitland popped a sacrifice bunt to first and Brandon Glover flew out left, Stinson moved to second on a passed ball. The inning ended with Salazar grounding out to second, giving Creps the win.

It was well played game on a cool night at Olsen. The two teams combined for one error and several fine plays defensively in the field. Blake Stouffer made fine stop in the whole and nearly started a double play with a feed behind his back to second. Meyer's bout of wildness in the second inning was the only point in his appearance that he struggled. Player of the game for the White was 3B Austin Boggs, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored and player of the game for the Maroon was P Kyle Nicholson, showing an excellent change up as well as a biting slider.

Sophomore Chance Corgan, a likely weekend starter next spring for the Aggies, will toe the rubber for the Maroons and hard throwing freshman Kyle Thebeau will get the start for the Whites.

Friday's game will be broadcast live locally on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone. Dave South will call the action with Childress and assistant coach Matt Deggs working color the first six innings between them to provide insight during the action. Airtime for the broadcast will be 6:50 p.m.

10/7/05 10:30 a.m.CT

Aggies Scrimmage Report...

The Aggie Baseball team scrimmaged for the first time on Thursday and nearly every position player on the fall roster participated. Speaking of the Fall Roster, you can keep track of the new team with the numbers on their practice shirts. Here is a link to a Fall Roster. It was also a typical early spring setting for the Ags, the wind was howling in from the north. With the team in only day four of fall practice, the pitchers were ahead of the hitters. The team gave the fans in attendance an example of the style of play that Childress will expect from his team. The hitters were aggressive on the basepaths, they hit the ball hard where it was pitched early in the count and they protected the plate when they had two strikes on them. The pitching staff kept the ball down, allowing the groundouts but staying away from the flyball. Wild pitches and passed balls hurt the pitching staff and Childress will tighten that up before they hit the field today. I interviewed Parker Dalton after the scrimmage and the interview will be on KZNE 1150 between 5:30 and 6 p.m. tonight. You can tune in on your radio or go to www.kzne.com to hear it tonight.

Transfer pitcher Ben Brockman, from Abilene Christian, hit the mound for the Maroon team and threw four quality innings. He struck out two and only allowed one unearned run and only one hit in those four innings. He was matched up against Jason Meyer and while Meyer allowed three runs, he was backed by some porous defense and a bout of wildness from the mound. In his four innings, he allowed one earned run and three hits while striking out two.

RHP Adam Hale, transfer pitcher/outfielder from Rice, moved from right field to the mound following Brockman. His first two innings were impressive, striking out two and only walking one batter. He struggled a bit in the seventh, allowing three runs but he did pick up two more strikeouts.

Freshman LHP Luke Anders followed Meyers to the mound and gave up three runs (two earned) while allowing five hits. He did have three strikeouts including Austin Boggs, Ryan Hill (back to back) and Todd Sebek. Hart Hering threw one inning and after giving up a leadoff triple, he got out of the jam with two groundouts sandwiched around a strikeout.

At the plate, both squads put the ball in play and took advantage of a couple of errors to jump-start the offensive attack. In the bottom of the first, Todd Sebek reached on an error before stealing second and third before scoring an Austin Boggs grounder to second.

Transfer Spencer Jackson, a physical specimen on the baseball diamond, scored the first run for the Gray team in the top of the second. He reached on an error, moved to third on a flyball to the outfield by Jacob Vasquez and scored on a groundball to the second baseman by Andy Howes.

Hale laced a double to the right field corner to start the bottom of the second inning for the Maroon and moved to third on a wild pitch before Craig Stinson walked. Stinson was caught stealing but Meyer could not escape the jam, with Hale scoring on another wild pitch.

Two bottom of the fourth saw Ryan Hill single to lead off the inning and he moved to second on a passed ball. Hale advance him to third with a ground ball to second and Hill scored on a Craig Stinson grounder to third. The next inning saw Jose Salazar reach on another error; he didn't stay at first very long, stealing second. Once again a quality at bat advanced a base runner on a ground ball, this time by Parker Dalton, moved Salazar up 90 feet and eventually scored on wild pitch/passed ball.

The Gray rallied in he the seventh against Hale. Lee Harughty started the inning with a single and he moved third on an infield single by freshman outfielder Kyle Colligan and throwing error by Hale trying to get Colligan at first. The error would not matter after Hale plunked John Infante to load the bases. Hale struck out Blake Stouffer for the first out and a foul ball out from Jackson scored Harughty and moved Colligan and Infante up 90 feet. It gave Jacob Vasquez the chance for a big hit and he delivered with a two RBI single to right that tied the score at four. Hale punched out Andy Howes to end the threat.

The lead was short lived with transfer Josh Stinson leading off the bottom of the seventh inning with a hard hit double and he moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Salazar. Dalton broke the tie with a hard hit single to right and hustled to second on the throw. He moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Brandon Glover.

For the Gray, Colligan, Stouffer, Vasquez and Harughty all went 1-for-3, Vasquez had two RBI and both Jackson and Howes had one RBI. For the Maroon, Adam Hale went 2-for-3 then Josh Stinson, Dalton and Salazar each went 1-for-2, as well as Sebek going 1-for-4. Boggs, Craig Stinson, Dalton and Glover each had RBI.

Today the pitcher will be Austin Creps, Anthony Vazquez, Chance Corgan and Scooter Hicks. Throwing for the Aggies on Saturday should be Kyle Nicholson, Evan Gerald, Craig Bartosh, Kyle Thebeau, Travis Starling and Matt Ueckert. The Friday scrimmage will be at 4 p.m. and the Saturday tilt will be at 11 a.m. so head out to Olsen and take a look at the new team.

10/3/05 9:00 a.m.CT

The full Aggie squad hit the diamond at Olsen Field for the first time under new skipper Rob Childress. He and the team were very excited to practice after working very hard during the fall on conditioning and individual drills. Coach Childress told me, in an interview that will run today on KZNE.com, that no position is set in stone and all his infielders and outfielders would use the fall to work at multiple positions. Coach Childress spent most of his time with his new pitching staff as they stretched and threw before team defensive drills. He told me that he doesn't have any idea who his Friday night starter will be next spring and he will try and determine who that will but the likely candidates will be Chance Corgan, Austin Creps and Jason Meyer.  Coach Childress will have to wait for Jordan Chambless to complete football season before he reports to the baseball team.

Coach Childress and Chance Corgan work together during the first practice

Hitting coach Matt Deggs worked with the outfielders as well as hitting fungo during the team practice periods, he will have the same autonomy with the hitters that Jim Lawler had with the pitchers under Mark Johnson. The players are excited about his hitting approach and with his resume of excellence at Arkansas as well as the talent he has to work with, the Aggie offense looks to bounce back quickly after the struggles in the second half of the season that moved A&M out of the top ten and eventually costing them any chance at post-season play.  Coach Deggs worked the players hard in situational defense and base running during the first practice and this team will be very aggressive on the base paths this season.

Coach Matt Deggs will take control of the Aggie offense

Austin Boggs and Parker Dalton both worked at second base on Sunday and Ryan Hill worked at third and first with new infield assistant coach Will Bolt. Expect Dalton to end up the starter at shortstop but with the new coaches trying to get Boggs, Hill, and TCU transfer Spencer Jackson on the field at the same time to take advantage of their hitting prowess the could be at any position on the infield as practice continues this fall.  Even with an emphasis to put the best bats in the lineup, the Aggies will have a very solid infield defensively with every player except Cliff Pennington returning from last season.  Add in the talented group of newcomers and this infield will still be able to "pick it" with the Big 12's best.

Volunteer coach Will Bolt returns to Texas to work with the Aggie Infielders

Jeremy Talbot has a privilege that the past coaching staff did not have, six catchers to work with during practice. The lack of depth that the Aggies had the past two years behind the plate will not rear its ugly head this season.  Craig Stinson looked fully recovered from the shoulder injury that forced him to redshirt last year.  Add in Josh Stinson and Jacob Vasquez and the Aggies will have backstops with the ability to hit as well as control the game behind the plate.

Coach Jeremy Talbot instructs his catchers during practice

The team will scrimmage every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in October and Coach Childress encouraged fans to come out and support the new team. A good chance could be the Saturday of the Oklahoma State football weekend. Many will be in town and the practice will be scheduled around the game. I am sure that the "J-Lot" Aggies will be in the stands and creating a "game day" type atmosphere for the coaches and players.

New Aggie Pitcher on Campus

BTW, It came up in my interview with Coach Childress so let me post the information here. LHP Scooter Hicks is a new pitcher from Houston Christian. He has signed with Tulane but did not return to the team in Lubbock after Hurricane Katrina.

He was first team All-Greater Houston after his senior season and he was the #1 pitcher on the USA Today #4 Team in the nation Houston Christian (36-3) They won Texas' private-parochial Class 5A state championship with offense that outscored opponents 338-68 while hitting .356.

Notable: Hicks began his senior season with a reputation as one of the best pitchers in the area, and he more than lived up to it. He was No. 1 among sub-5A area pitchers with a 0.25 ERA and ranked second with a 9-0 record. Hicks helped Houston Christian to its second TAPPS state title and second consecutive regional crown. He was the winning pitcher in a state championship game against Aggie signee and Florida Marling first round pick Aaron Thompson. He went 9-0, 0.25 ERA, 81 strikeouts his senior season.

More to come…

8/8/05 8:00 a.m.CT

DENTON WINS 2005 TEXAS COLLEGIATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Austin Creps Strikes Out League Record 15 Batters in Loss...

August 7, 2005 - The Denton Outlaws rode the pitching of Corey Kluber and timely hitting in the third inning Sunday night to beat the McKinney Marshals, 3-1 in the third and deciding game of the 2005 Texas Collegiate League Championship Series.

The Outlaws won Games 1 and 3 of the final series to earn the TCL Championship in just their first season in the league. In the two-year history of the TCL, the road team has now gone 6-0 in Championship Series play.

Denton scored all 3 of its runs in the third inning off loser Austin Creps. With one out, Brett Lewis singled and Kern Watts doubled. Kyle Jones followed with a double to left to score both runners and then came home on a Brian Spear groundout to complete the Outlaws scoring.

Creps, who will be a junior at Texas A&M in the fall, then blanked Denton on 3 singles over the final 6 innings. Overall, the TCL Pitcher of the Year allowed 7 hits and 3 runs in 9 innings with one walk and a league record 15 strikeouts, 2 more than the previous mark for an individual pitcher. The righthander struck out the side in both the 6th and 9th innings, fanning the final 4 batters he faced. The loss snapped Creps' 4-game winning streak and was his 1st defeat since July 1.

Kluber, who faced the minimum 15 batters through 5 innings, allowed a walk to Scott Gaffney and Hurlbutt's single with one out in the 6th. Matt Cavagnaro then forced Hurlbutt at 2nd base but the McKinney rightfielder was alos called for obstructing Denton 2nd baseman Brian McBryde, resulting in an inning ending double play.

Rachal's leadoff homer in the 7th made it 3-1 bit Kluber then retired 6 of the next 7 hitters he faced before Cavagnaro's single began the bottom of the 9th. Kurt Pessa relieved Kluber and got 3 fly ball outs to earn the save anbd preserve the TCL title.

Lewis and Spear each had two hits in the game for Denton. Lewis was also the only Outlaws player not to strikeout out at least once versus Creps. His Aggie teammates Jose Salazar (0-3) and Brandon Glover (0-2) struggled at the plate.

The previous TCL record for strikeouts in a game by an individual pitcher was 13, accomplished by both Euless' Chance Corgan and Denton's Eddie Degerman earlier this season.

Game Two Recap

Aggie Transfer Jose Salazar Drives Home winning Run

August 6, 2005.. The McKinney Marshals forced that deciding game with a 2-1 victory over the Denton Outlaws on Saturday night at The Ballpark on Bonnie Brae.

Jose Salazar's single scored pinch-runner Greg Erickson with one out in the top of the 9th to snap a 1-1 tie. The Marshals Bryce Cox, who blew the save and took the loss in Game 1 on Friday, then recorded the final 3 outs, 2 on strikeouts, to send the Series back to McKinney.

Saturday's game featured two outstanding pitching performances. McKinney righthander Kenn Kasparek and Denton righty Eddie Degerman each took shutouts into the 8th inning. The Marshals finally broke through in the 8th, when Matt Cavagnaro's homer to right made it 1-0. But the Outlaws tied the game in the bottom of that frame on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by TCL Player of the Year Andrew Brown.

Kasparek issued 5 hits and one run in 7.1 innings. The sophomore righty left after allowing a one-out single to Kyle Jones in the 8th. Scott Gaffney then walked the 1st 2 batters he faced before allowing Brown's game-tying sac fly.

Degerman permitted just 4 hits and one run in his 8 innings with 3 walks and 11 strikeouts. He has now fanned 23 in 2 playoff starts this summer. Juston Street came on in the 9th and walked C.J. Ebarb to lead off the inning. Kurt Pessa replaced Street and allowed the game-winning single to Salazar.

Cox, who permitted 2 runs and hit 4 batters in the loss on Friday night, came on after Gaffney allowed a leadoff walk in the 9th. The Rice senior fanned Elvis Herrera and Brett Lewis before walking Kern Watts with 2 out. He then retired Jones on a grounder for his 9th save overall of the summer.

Cavagnaro continued his torrid playoff hitting, going 2-4 with a double and a home
run. Marshals centerfielder Brandon Glover (0-3 at the plate) made 2 huge throws, nailing Brett Lewis at the plate in the 3rd and Kris Jenkins at 3rd base in the 7th. helping keep the game scoreless.

Jones was the only Outlaw with more than one hit, going 2-4.

Game One Recap 

August 5, 2005 - It was Kris Jenkins to the rescue for the Denton Outlaws on Friday night in the opener of the 2005 Texas Collegiate League Championship Series at McKinney.

The outfielder from Illinois State drove in the game-tying run with a single in the 9th inning, then had a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th to give the Outlaws a 5-4 victory over the McKinney Marshals.

Future Aggie teammates, CF Brandon Glover and SS Jose Salazar were both able to hit against the Denton pitching staff.  Glover was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk while Salazar was 1-for-4.

In both innings Jenkins' heroics came against McKinney closer Bryce Cox, who had converted all 8 of his save tries this summer before the blown opportunity on Friday. The righthander from Rice allowed 2 hits and 2 runs while walking 2 and hitting 4 batters in his 2.2 inning stint while taking the loss.

Meanwhile the Denton bullpen threw 5.1 scoreless innings versus the Marshals. Jordon Street worked 3.1 shutout frames before Jordan Davis blanked McKinney over the final 2 innings to earn the victory.

8/5/05 11:00 a.m.CT

Austin Creps named 2005 D-Bat Texas Collegiate League Pitcher of the Year

August 4, 2005 - First baseman Andrew Brown of the Denton Outlaws and righthander Austin Creps of the McKinney Marshals have been selected as the 2005 D-Bat Texas Collegiate League Player and Pitcher of the Year, it was announced Thursday.

Derek Matlock, who guided the first-year Denton Outlaws to the Rogers Hornsby Division title, was named as the Coach of the Year in voting by the eight TCL head coaches. The other awards and the all-league team were selected by Texas Collegiate League officials.

Brown, who will enter his sophomore year at the University of Nebraska, batted .311 (41-132) and led the TCL with 13 homers and 39 rbi in 42 regular season games for Denton. His home run total was the highest for any player in the two-year history of the league. The righthanded batter from Carrollton, Texas was the TCL Player of the Month for July, when he hit .389 with 12 homers and 31 rbi in 26 games.

Creps, who will be a junior at Texas A&M University, had a 5-1 record and 1.72 era in 10 games/9 starts for the Marshals this summer. The righthander from Spring, Texas, tied for second in the league in wins, posted the third lowest era among pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched, and ranked fourth in the TCL with 54 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. Creps went 3-0, 1.29 in his final four regular season starts and earned TCL Pitcher of the Month honors for July (3-1, 2.35).

Matlock, an assistant coach at Texas Christian University, led Denton to a 26-22 regular season record, winning the Hornsby Division by six games. The Outlaws then swept the Weatherford Wranglers in two games to advance to this weekend's Texas Collegiate League Championship Series against McKinney.

Righthanded pitcher Aaron Brown of the Coppell Copperheads was the recipient of Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors. Brown, who is entering his sophomore year at the University of Houston, was 3-0, 1.43 with 42 strikeouts in 44 innings in his 8 games/6 starts for the Copperheads.

Andrew Brown, Creps, Matlock, and Aaron Brown will receive their awards at the second annual Texas Collegiate League Legends Dinner on Wednesday, November 9 at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth.

The 2005 TCL All-League Team includes three players each from Denton and McKinney and two apiece from Graham and Mineral Wells.

2005 TEXAS COLLEGIATE LEAGUE ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
1B-Andrew Brown, Denton (Univ. of Nebraska), .311, 13 hr, 39 rbi
2B-Parker Dalton, Mineral Wells (Texas A&M Univ.), .284, 52 h, 4 hr, 28 rbi
SS-Justin Colbert, Graham (Oklahoma St. Univ.), .301, 43 h, 12 rbi, 17 sb
3B-Brian Spear, Denton (Wichita St. Univ.), .324, 7 hr, 36 rbi
OF-Louie Alamia, McKinney (UT-Pan American), .316, 50 h, 20 rbi
OF-Spencer Jackson, Weatherford (Texas A&M Univ.), .340, 48 h, 5 hr, 18 rbi
OF-Keanon Simon, Graham (Oklahoma St. Univ.), .311, 48 r, 59 h, 5 hr, 27 rbi, 23 sb
C-Josh Banda, Denton (California Baptist Univ.), .408, 51 h, 14 2b, 9 hr, 30 rbi
DH-Ben Burum, Mineral Wells (UT-Arlington), .305, 50 h, 12 hr, 38 rbi
RH Starter-Austin Creps, McKinney (Texas A&M University), 5-1, 1.72, 54 so
LH Starter-Jacob Ramos, Coppell (Lubbock Christian Univ.), 4-2, 1.96, 58 so
Reliever-Bryce Cox, McKinney (Rice Univ.), 2-0, 0.44, 7 sv, 20.2 ip, 20 so

Player of the Year-Andrew Brown, Denton
Pitcher of the Year-Austin Creps, McKinney
Coach of the Year-Derek Matlock, Denton
Freshman Pitcher of the Year-Aaron Brown, Coppell (Univ. of Houston), 3-0, 1.43, 42 so)

Aggies in the TCL

Here is a rundown of how the Aggie baseball players did this summer in the Texas Collegiate League batting and pitching in several major categories (ranking in the top 10). On the pitching side, Austin Creps was third in wins with five. Chance Corgan was tied for second with 56 k's and Creps was third with 54 k's. Creps was seventh in ERA at 1.72. Kyle Nicholson was tied for first with 23 appearances and Hart Hering was fourth with 21. Nicholson and Hering were tied for fourth with three saves as well. At the plate, transfer Spencer Jackson was second in batting average at .340. Todd Sebek was third in the league with ten doubles and John Infante as seventh with nine. Parker Dalton and Brandon Glover were tied for third with two triples. Dalton was tenth in the league with 28 RBI. Sebek and Jackson were eighth in the TCL with five homeruns. Sebek and Blake Stouffer were second and third respectively with 31 and 27 stolen bases for Mineral Wells.