Blog Archives

You can keep up with the Blog Pages here as well as the old stories.  Just click the following link and go in the folder (07, 08, 09) to see all the 

http://www.aggiebaseball.net/old_blogs/

8/1/06

Greene and his North teammates fell to the South, 122-116, in the 62nd annual Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Basketball Game before 2,803 fans Monday at the Frank Erwin Center.

Greene hit for seven points for the North, while grabbing two rebounds and dishing out three assists. He also had two steals.

"You always want to go out a state champion, but this is at the top, too," said Greene, who will attend Texas A&M on a baseball scholarship. "It was nice to be able to play in this arena and a great honor to play in the state capital, the first time this game has been here in 56 years.

"There are a lot of great players in the state of Texas and it's an honor to be a part of this team."

In the first quarter, Greene deflected a pass that ended up in the hands of Howe's and North Texas' Collin Mangrum, who drained a 3-pointer. As the first period was winding down, Greene swished a 10-footer to bring the North within 31-26.

Later, Greene had a steal and then dished to Flower Mound's Shawn Schepel for a layup as the North pulled closer, 33-28. In the fourth quarter, the All-East Texas MVP added a shot in the lane and then drained three free throws when he was fouled on a three-point attempt.

7/27/06

Beatrice Bruins down Mudcats

http://www.beatricedailysun.com/articles/2006/07/26/sports/sports3.txt

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 11:39 AM CDT

CLARINDA, Iowa - Home runs by Kyle Colligan and Tyson Parks sparked the Beatrice Bruins baseball team to a second-round regional tournament win over the Chillicothe, Mo., Mudcats Tuesday night in Clarinda.

The Bruins downed the Mudcats, the tournament's top seed, 7-1.

With the win, the Bruins advance to face the winner of Tuesday's late game between the Topeka, Kan., Golden Giants and the Clarinda A's. The game will be played at 8:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday).

The regional tournament runs through Friday.

Along with their home runs, Colligan and Parks each contributed three RBI to the Bruins' cause. Parks added a single to his over-the-fence shot.

Also hitting for the Bruins were Jordan Danks, two doubles; Andrew Brown, a double; Darby Brown, a single; Landon Camp, a double and single; Kyle Lafrenz, a double; and Bo Merrell, a single.

On the mound for the Bruins, Kyle Thebeau scattered 10 hits over 7 2/3 innings and allowed just the one run. He struck out eight. (He is now 6-0 with a 1.26 ERA and 60 Ks in 57.2 IP)

Zach Herr threw the final 1 1/3 innings, striking out all four batters he faced.

With the win, the Bruins go to 22-15 overall.

7/7/06 12:45 p.m.CT

The Texas Collegiate League announced the rosters and starters for the Brookshire’s McCormick All-Star Game on Wednesday for Monday’s TCL all-star game at Roger Williams Ballpark in Weatherford.

The third annual TCL All-Star Game is scheduled to start at 7:35 p.m. and will be televised live by Fox Sports Net Southwest.

Aggie signee and Mineral Wells' outfielder/pitcher Kirkland Rivers is set to start for the Rogers Hornsby Division all-stars.

Rivers, who is among the fastest outfielders in the league, has five saves as a relief pitcher, a .269 batting average and 10 stolen bases.

Rivers, who leads the Steam with a 1.00 earned run average, has allowed just three hits and one earned run in nine innings on the mound.

The following is a division-by-division look at the 2006 TCL all-star teams:

Tris Speaker Division: All-Star Team Roster

PITCHERS

Randy Boone, Coppell; Taylor Cragin, Euless; Mark Doll, Plano; Dillon Farish, Euless; Seth Garrison, Duncanville; Allen Harrington, McKinney; Ty’Relle Harris, McKinney; Joseph Krebs, Coppell; Travis Starling, Euless; Jess Todd, Coppell; Jake Weghorst, Duncanville; Mark Wyner, Plano.

CATCHERS

Jeff Nutt, Coppell; •Tyler Weber, Euless; Hunt Woodruff, Coppell.

INFIELDERS

•Matt Carpenter (3B), Duncanville; •Matt Cavagnaro (2B), McKinney; Adam Ching (2B), Duncanville; •Brian Friday (SS), Duncanville; •Aaron Grijalva (1B), McKinney; Bryan Kervin (SS), Coppell; Brandon Moss (1B), Euless.

OUTFIELDERS

•Maurice Cole, Plano; •Jeremy Holzbach, Coppell; Aaron Luna, Euless; •Todd Sebek, Coppell; Collin DeLomme, McKinney.

Rogers Hornsby Division: All-Star Team Roster

PITCHERS

Tyson Bagley, Mineral Wells; Andrew Benedict, Mineral Wells; Blake Brannon, Denton; Donald Furrow, Weatherford; Kyle Gainley, Denton; Justin Garcia, Graham; Randall Linebaugh, Weatherford; Matt Lovelady, Weatherford; Wade Mackey, Mineral Wells; Gary Poynter, Weatherford; Justin Walker, Graham; Kyle Watson, Denton.

CATCHERS

•Brandon Bantz, Mineral Wells; Marc Hyndsman, Graham.

INFIELDERS

•Ryan Baker (SS), Graham; •Jess Buenger (2B), Graham; Matt Cline (2B), Denton; •Daniel Cox (3B), Weatherford; Aljay Davis (2B), Denton; •Trevor Head (1B), Denton; Jason Seefeld (SS), Mineral Wells; Brian Spear (3B), Denton.

OUTFIELDERS

•Evan Bigley, Denton; •Jose Hernandez, Denton; •Kirkland Rivers, Mineral Wells; Nick Santos, Mineral Wells.

• Denotes starters.

6/30/06 12:45 p.m.CT

Summer Baseball Stat Update...

Here is a look at the Aggie returning players and recruits that are playing summer baseball. Not every player that is returning for the fall of 2006 is playing this summer so there are several names missing from this list.

Returnees
Luke Anders Parkville Sluggers
No Stats
Kyle Colligan Beatrice, MINK
.328-3-18, 5-of-6 stolen bases
Evan Gerald Duncanville, TCL
Pitching 1-1, 1.76 ERA, 14 K in 15.1 IP
Spencer Jackson Weatherford, TCL
Hitting .214-1-3
Travis Starling Euless, TCL
Pitching 2-1, 2.13 ERA, 13 K in 12 IP
Craig Stinson McKinney, TCL
Hitting .233-0-7, .400 OBP
Blake Stouffer Athletes in Action, Alaska
.356-0-5, 9-of-11 stolen bases
Kyle Thebeau Beatrice, MINK
1-0, 0.93 ERA, 1 Save, 15 Ks in 19.1 IP
Anthony Vasquez Seguin, Zaragoza
.356-1-19, 2-0, 1.80 ERA, 13 Ks in 15 IP
Max Simon Beatrice, MINK
0-0, 10.80 ERA, 8 Ks in 5 IP

Recruits
Kirkland Rivers Mineral Wells, TCL
Hitting leadoff, batting .302-0-3, .604 OBP, 10-of-13 Stolen Bases, 0-0, 1.59 ERA, 3 saves.
Darby Brown Beatrice, MINK
.267-1-15, 1-of-2 stolen bases
Gary Campfield Coppell, TCL
0-0, 3.00 ERA, 8 K in 9 IP
Brandon Hicks Beatrice, MINK
.261-1-7, 2-of-2 stolen bases

6/26/06 3:45 p.m.CT

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060625&content_id=98048&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

Cory Patton Bust out with Record Tying Performance...

Patton, Jays strong-arm Miracle: Dunedin newcomer ties FSL record with 10-RBI afternoon

Cory Patton tied a Florida State League record by driving in 10 runs to lead Dunedin in a 22-4 rout over visiting Fort Myers on Sunday. Patton, hitless in his first 12 at-bats since being called up from the Class A Lansing Lugnuts on Friday, finished the afternoon with two home runs, a double and a single in six at-bats. Only two players -- Richard Banse in 1957 and Steve Verduzzo in 1995 -- had equaled Patton's RBI feat in the league.

Ryan Patterson went 3-for-6 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs, Ryan Klosterman was 2-for-2 with two walks and scored five times and drove in a run and David Corrente homered twice on a 3-for-5 day to pace the offense for the Blue Jays (2-2).

Everyone in Dunedin's starting lineup recorded a hit. Scott Dragicevich and Jason Armstrong accounted for three runs apiece.

Blue Jays starter Jesse Litsch (6-6) backed up the strong offense with six shutout innings. Litsch scattered three hits and a walk, striking out six. He worked with a comfortable lead throughout as Dunedin scored two runs in the first inning and added five in the third.

Trailing in the eighth, 21-0, Kyle Geiger got Fort Myers (2-1) on the board with a grand slam to right field to prevent the shutout. But the 22 runs given up and the 18-run differential were franchise records for the Miracle.

Fort Myers starter Justin Jones (1-2) got tagged for seven runs on eight hits and two walks in two innings. Colby Miller and Jose Mijares also gave up six runs apiece.

6/20/06 10:15 a.m.CT

Hard throwing RHP Shane Minks

Shane Minks record might not have been impressive enough to garner All-State honors but the hard throwing right-hander was a hard luck loser in many of his defeats, including the one I witnessed in the playoffs. Here is a write-up on Minks from the Brazoria County Newspaper…

Minks and Williams lead all county picks

http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=f5653a1c80fe290f

By Joel Luna The Facts

Published June 17, 2006

Since they were 10 years old, Columbia's Shane Minks and Sweeny's Blake Williams have had confrontation after confrontation.

Linked on the mound because of each one's hard-throwing motions, they have battled through the Little League system, junior leagues and all the way into high school varsity games.

"We've been battling each other since all-stars. That was the first time we pitched against each other," Minks said. "It's always been a good game, and I know I have to bring my best stuff when I pitch against him, but its always fun."

Williams also has enjoyed the competition - and looks forward to it continuing beyond high school. Minks will suit up next year for Texas A&M, while Williams will be 113 miles to the south at the campus of the University of Texas.

"They've been fun, and they've remained a good, friendly rivalry," Williams said. "In the back of my mind, I always thought we had a chance to get into a major university, but I never imagined they'd be that big. Now we have the chance and we get to continue it on for the next few years."

Both Minks and Williams put up impressive numbers on the mound, on the field and at the plate for their high schools this past season, resulting in a tie in the latest matchup - they have been selected as the co-most valuable players on The Facts All-Brazoria County baseball squad.

Minks helped lead the Roughnecks to their second consecutive region semifinals. Though he only posted just a 5-5 mark on the mound, he had a sparkling 1.32 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 74 innings of work. When he wasn't on the mound, he played shortstop and recorded a hefty .316 batting average.

Williams was equally superb with a 7-5 record, 2.10 ERA and 127 strikeouts in just 80 innings this season for the Bulldogs. The thing about Williams was not whether he could strike out a batter, but how many times he could do it in a game. In helping lead Sweeny to the region quarterfinals, he also batted .442 with 22 RBI and played a strong shortstop position when not pitching.

For the rest of the summer, Minks will play with the Columbia Angels select team while Williams will be on the mound for the Houston Heat select team.

6/19/06 12:15 p.m.CT

Aggie Signee Caleb Shofner All-Star Game MVP

Caleb Shofner of Midway was named the Most Valuable Player at the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association 4A/5A All-Star Game on Sunday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.  I will have an interview with Shofner on KZNE this afternoon, follow the radio link above to listen sometime between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Shofner played catcher the last five innings of the nine-inning contest, which ended in a 3-3 tie. He went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI single that brought in the game's final run in the eighth inning.

Shofner, played for the North Squad while future Aggie teammates Michael Heard and Kevin Gonzalez played outfield and catcher respectively for the south. LHP Zach Britton was selected to play in the game but he did not make the trip. The smaller school game was rained out but it was to feature two players who signed this year to play baseball at Texas A&M, SS Brody Greene and LHP Kevin Angelle.

Kevin Gonzalez and Michael Heard at the THSBCA All-Star Game

6/16/06 2:15 p.m.CT

More Honors for Aggie Signees...

2006 Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State team

2006 5A All State Team
Catchers First Team- Kevin Gonzalez -Mayde Creek
Shortstop First Team- Nick Papasan -Granbury
Outfield First Team- Zach Britton -Weatherford

2006 4A All State Team
Pitchers First Team- Clayton Kershaw- Highland Park, Michael Heard -Montgomery Second Team- Clayton Ehlert- Little Cyp Mauriceville
Catchers First Team- Caleb Shofner- Midway
Outfield First Team- Matthew Sulentic- Dallas Hillcrest,

2006 3A All State Team
Pitchers First Team- Kevin Angelle- Bridge City,
Shortstop Second Team- Brody Greene- Bullard

2006 Sunbelt Team Texas

Player Pos High School
Kevin Gonzalez C Mayde Creek HS
Clayton Ehlert P/Of LC-Mauriceville HS

2006 THSBCA All-Star Game Rosters

2006 4A-5A South All-Stars
PITCHERS: Ryan Berry - Humble, Danny Grande III - CC Moody, Tyree Hayes - Tomball, Kendal Volz CATCHERS: Kevin Gonzalez - Mayde Creek, Christopher Wallace - Cy Fair FIRST BASE: Jonathan Cisneros - South San Antonio, Beau Warren - Cinco Ranch SECOND BASE: Colby Hensz - Harlingen South, Willie Uechi - San Antonio Marshall SHORTSTOP: Matt Flores - Robstown, Cody Stigall - Seguin THIRD BASE: Chris Andreas - Brenham, Trey Crain - CC Ray OUTFIELDERS: Brandon Cogan - Sugarland Hightower, Michael Heard - Montgomery, James Hipp - Uvalde, Ryan Nokelby - Santa Fe AT LARGE: Russell Moldenhoauer - Boerne, Scott Schafer - Pasadena Memorial

2006 4A-5A North All-Stars
PITCHERS: Chase Anderson - Wichita Falls Rider, Rusty Roberts - Pflugerville, Robert Young - Cleburne CATCHERS: Aaron Baker - Denton, Calen Shofner - Midway FIRST BASE: Caden Crawford - Mineral Wells, Matt Curry - Red Oak SECOND BASE: Scott Lawson - Colleyville Heritage, Josh Riley - Sulphur Springs SHORTSTOP: Ryan Goins - RR Stoney Point, Justin Whittenberg - Midland THIRD BASE: Michael Russo - Lewisville, Travis Sample - Lake Highlands OUTFIELDERS: Taylor Ashby - Lubbock Monterey, Jeremy Barfield - Klein, Zac Britton - Weatherford, Marc Gomez - Lubbock Coronado AT LARGE: Justin Howard - Ennis, Paul McCoy - Killeen Ellison

2006 1A-3A South All-Stars
PITCHERS: Kevin Angelle - Bridge City, Brandon Belt - Lufkin Hudson, Guillermo Cienfuegas - Valley View, Matthew King - East Benard CATCHERS: Ryan Besetzny - Schulenburg, Ricky Brooks - Elkhart FIRST BASE: Braeden DeFrees - Lorena, Michael Harrison - Axtell SECOND BASE: Eric Bosanko - Stockdale, Zach Marlow - Giddings SHORTSTOP: Sean Rainbird - Wimberley, Justin Reyes - Rice THIRD BASE: Joe Hibler - Rivera Kaufer, Jeff Kiesling - Thorndale OUTFIELDERS: Ryan Koesel - Shiner, Jeffrey McGee - Leon, Chris Morris - Huffman, Trevor Rainey - Woodville, AT LARGE: Taylor Janek - Columbus, Issac Rendon - Sinton

2006 1A-3A North All-Stars
PITCHERS: Kory Cleveland - Carthage, Bobby Garcia - Abernathy, Carson Middleton - Lindale, Tad White - Coahoma CATCHERS: Shawn Ablett - Van Alstyne, Ben Grard - Peaster FIRST BASE: David Lakeman - Celeste, Tyler Smith - Kennedale SECOND BASE: Sean Benton - Gladewater, Charlie Mann - Perryton SHORTSTOP: Brody Greene - Bullard, Travis Lee - Crane THIRD BASE: Tanner Jacobs - Crawford, Zachery Livingston - Palmer OUTFIELDERS: Cody DeArmond - Holliday, Drew Fulfer - Iowa Park, Stuart Slakey - Gunter, Caleb Truette - Archer City AT LARGE: Jake Petty - Cumby, Chase Reagan - Booker

6/15/06 9:00 a.m.CT

Honors Rolling in...

2006 All-Southeast Texas Co-MVP: http://www.setxsports.com/asetxbaseball.html

Kevin Angelle (Sr. – Bridge City)
Clayton Ehlert (Sr. – LCM)

This duo stood head and shoulders above the rest of a very talented group of Southeast Texas baseball players. Both excelled on the mound, led their team in hitting and were members of undefeated district champions. Both were MVPs of their respective districts.

Angelle, a left handed pitcher/first baseman, was a main reason for Bridge City’s season-long grip on the state’s #1 ranking in 3A and second consecutive trip to the State Tournament. Possessing a fastball that touches 90 mph, and a plus breaking pitch, Kevin had an ERA around 1.00 and averaged nearly 2 strikeouts per inning. On top of that, he led the Cardinals in hitting. An early Texas A & M signee, and 13th round draft choice by the Texas Rangers, Angelle will opt to attend San Jacinto Jr. College, keeping his MLB options open.

Ehlert, a pitcher/center fielder, was the only Bear to hit over .400 for the season. He also tied for the team lead in HR, was undefeated as a pitcher and his ERA also hovered around 1.00 all season long. Clayton played a vital role in the Bears’ school record 21 game winning streak and leaves LCM with his name written all over the school’s record books. Blending speed, power and an arm that can also gun a 90 mph fastball, Ehlert was a prime sign for Texas A & M during the off season. The Aggies’ biggest problem? Do you pitch him or play him in CF? Or both?

6/9/06 3:00 p.m.CT

2006 Draft Report, Aggies keep future stars...

First the bad news, only for A&M fans as two very talented young men improved their draft stock to the point where they will not attend Texas A&M. Clayton Kershaw and Zach Britton both fit a profile that kept them from attending A&M, tall left-handed pitchers that can throw in the nineties. Drafted in the first round as the first high school player selected, Kershaw will have financial security for life. Britton will likely sign for around $500K and have a chance to earn more as he develops as a pitcher. Both players will sign this summer and join a long list of players that wanted to be Aggies but were persuaded by the professional dollar to forgo college.

Matt Sulentic is the wild card for the Aggies. Arguably the most important recruit in the Aggie class, he will provide the punch needed in the Aggie lineup. Sulentic fits the profile of 'Horn outfielder Drew Stubbs and he could be well served to follow his example and invest 3 years in college in exchange for the possibility of moving to the top of the draft charts in 2009. Stubbs had an agreement with the Houston Astros to sign for $800K but after MLB suggested that the Astros only go as high as $400K, Stubbs went to school and turned that $400K into a probable $2.5 million dollar payday as well as the prestige that goes with moving into the first round. Sulentic may not be the five-tool player that Stubbs is but he can hit better than Stubbs did in high school as well as college. (Being selfish my advice to the family is), Sulentic can make the same kind of jump that Stubbs and Aggie Cliff Pennington did when they went to college and he can provide an offensive presence for the next three years that would help solve the hitting woes that have led to two straight season without even making the conference tournament. Now the A's will role out the red carpet for Sulentic, they will talk about how they will move him along in their organization but money aside, he would be better off going to A&M.

LHP Kevin Angelle decided this spring to sign with San Jacinto College and that ended his chances of pitching in Aggieland. The talented left-hander was drafted in the 13th round by the Texas Rangers and will likely sign instead of even attending college. Angelle will likely lead Bridge City to the state championship this week but signing with San Jacinto will keep him out of Aggieland.

The best news of the draft comes in whom the Aggies will not lose, starting with 24th round pick Nick Papasan. Rated as the 157th best player available going into the draft, his size (5-9, 170) pushed him down far enough in the draft to keep him in Aggieland. Competing against Britton and Texas signee Jordan Walden in district play, he wore them and the DFW area pitchers out with a .506-9-38 season. He stroked 16 doubles and his numbers would have been even better if he had not missed the first eight games of the season due to an injury. Papasan was rated among the top five hitters in the state of Texas this season and his arrival will give the offense some needed pop in the freshman class. Brandon Hicks was projected as high as the fifth round for this draft as the top JUCO defensive shortstop in the state and maybe the nation. He has to endure questions about his bat only because his defense overshadows his offensive game. He still hit .315-4-26 for San Jac and he was second on the team with 20 stolen bases. Another junior college infielder that the Aggies were afraid could be drafted was Josey Parker from Panola. Name second team All-American after the season, he was his leagues most feared hitter, batting .439-16-73 in the middle of the Panola lineup. He may move to another infield spot to have him on the field the same time as Hicks but he will be in the lineup for sure.

Lets look at the class as it stands now.

Pitchers:

I have seen Kevin Cravey, Clayton Ehlert, Michael Heard, Shane Minks, Scott Migl and Mitch Nelson this spring. All have the ability to throw in the Big 12 and some of these arms are going to be special. Gary Campfield (4-1, 2.87 ERA, 43 Ks) was named first team pitcher in the Region 14 baseball team along with three other pitchers from Navarro, that's high company with the pitching prospects that in that league. Cravey (6-3, 1.82 ERA, 68 Ks) threw hard the night I saw him against LC-M and Clayton Ehlert and he reminds me of former Klein Oak pitcher Austin Creps. Ehlert (8-0, 1.11 ERA, 70K's) was outstanding against Brenham in a one game playoff, reaching the nineties and featuring three pitches for strikes. He is a gamer, the leader of that team and only allowed one infield hit in four innings against the Cubs. Minks is another hard thrower, and like another former Aggie pitcher from Columbia Brian Finch, playing at spacious Olsen Field will improve his numbers over the small field in West Columbia. He was working in the nineties late in the game I watched and has a fierce determination to win. Migl (7-3), drafted late in the second day, will bring a four-pitch arsenal and at one time this season he had 71 strikeouts and only one, that's right ONE walk against him. Coach Rob Childress preaches control and Migl already has it before coming to A&M. Heard (10-4, ERA under 1.25) and Nelson (1-1, 1 save, sub 2.00 ERA) wont throw with the speed that made Angelle, Britton and Kershaw higher draft prospects but they can still get hitters out in two districts that are always full of top hitters. Hurt much of this season at Tomball, Nelson would have been another player that would have caused the Aggie coaches to sweat on draft day. As soon as he is healthy, he will show the stuff that had him on the pre-season All-Greater Houston baseball team, he was going to be Tomball's #1 pitcher this year over Tyree Hayes (an eighth round pick) and Drake Britton (2007 star and certain Aggie target). Heard is a special story, following in his father's footsteps to play at Olsen Field. He was recently named to the Texas High School All-Star game as his father was before him. It is only the second time that a father-son combo would have been in the game and as a matter of fact, Clint Heard coached in the game two years ago so this baseball family has a tremendous tradition at the game. Heard had a rough outing to end his season but three of his four losses on the season were in games where no earned runs even crossed the plate against him. In his third loss (2-0 to Nederland), both unearned runs scored on infield hits.

Hitters:

The offense is coming, the offense is coming should be the mantra of the coaching staff. It was one of the main reasons that Jason Meyer decided to pitch another season; he knows that he has left too many victories on the field when the offense did not come through with clutch hitting the past two seasons. Besides Parker, Papasan and Hicks, 2005 second team All-American Darby Brown may be the first player that Aggie fans see in the new class that fills the needs and desires of the staff, he is big, strong and fast. Brown had 52 doubles and 20 homeruns, 144 RBI and 46 stolen bases in his two seasons at Howard JC. Kirkland Rivers took the Texarkana team to the JUCO World Series as a freshman and he continued to star as a junior. Batting leadoff and playing centerfield, Rivers hit .408-2-28 this year and he is a talented left-handed hitter. I was able to catch a game of his this spring and he looks like a player and his pedigree only confirms that. He was defensive player of the year for his region last year so he can play in the field as well as can hit. He is a top of the lineup kind of player for the Aggies. Kevin Gonzalez is a fine defensive catcher but this year the bat started coming around as well and he led his team to the playoffs with a .475-7-25 effort at the plate. I will see Gonzalez in the next couple of weeks and expect good things from him. Justin Walker at 6-3", 210 pounds already looks like a MLB third baseman, he hit over .365 this year for Highland Park along with leading them in homeruns and RBI. He battled through an injury that knocked his numbers down after he committed to the Aggies but after watching him swing the bat, he puts that size to his advantage. Caleb Shofner from Waco Midway signed with A&M on May 19 as a catcher. He out hit highly regarded 1B Dustin Dickerson (Baylor signee and 15th round pick of Washington) and broke the school record (set by Dickerson last season) in homeruns. Finished the year at .436-9-59. Playing at second base on the state finalist team as a junior, he was named All-State, hitting .415-5-27. Brody Greene, the Class 3A basketball Player of the Year from Bullard, will bring that athleticism to the diamond and make huge strides while only concentrating on baseball. He hit .527-3-21 after his season on the hard wood ended and in that limited time he stole 13 bases. Greene is another player I am excited to see in the next couple of weeks at the THSCA All-Star game along with Heard, Gonzalez, Britton and Shofner.

Two-way players:

The great thing about this class is that many of these player can and will be given the chance to play both ways at the major college level. Last year, freshman Anthony Vasquez showed the ability to pitch and hit and several of these players have the same makeup. Rivers was a tremendous pitcher for Henderson High and he may have never set foot at A&M if he had not been hurt and had arm surgery. He is recovering and already has one save this summer for the Mineral Wells Steam in the Texas Collegiate League while throwing in the nineties. Ehlert and Heard each play outfield when not pitching and lead their team in homeruns while both batting leadoff. Ehlert (.387-7-29) struggled against Cravey (and is one of the reasons why I am so excited about him on the mound) but stared against Angelle (a homerun) and Brenham (two doubles off the top of the fence in his first two at bats). Heard (.427-7-31) again and again set the table for his team and hit for the cycle the same day he threw a one-hitter against Hallsville in the playoffs. Hicks has hit the mid-nineties on the radar gun but San Jacinto was so deep on the mound that he never pitched for the Gators but Parker was the Panola closer. He was 2-3 with a 2.72 ERA and five saves; he had six saves as a freshman and will hopefully be a Scott Beerer type player for the Aggies. Justin Walker moved to the #1 spot in the Highland Park rotation when Kershaw suffered a minor injury and Highland Parks #2 pitcher had a season ending injury. I saw him strike out all three batters he faced in one game and can throw in the nineties. The ability to pitch and hit gives the coaches incredible flexibility with these players when they are limited in squad size in conference and post-season play. Rivers is good enough when healthy to start for the Aggies and Parker is more than capable to close for the Aggies and that is why they are so valuable.

Wrap-up

The Aggies recruiting class has withstood the draft as well as could be expected. Even with Matt Sulentic still deciding between pro baseball and the Aggies, this class still has the firepower at the plate and the talented arms to be developed to move A&M back up the Big 12 ranks next season and the years to come.

It only takes one recruiting class to do it; UCLA was 14-41 in the 2005 season and last place in the Pac 10 with a 4-20 record. First year coach John Savage had a year to forget, mix in a 20 game losing streak, replacing a long time icon as head coach. Savage went out and recruited the best possible class he could find and even though two of their better recruits were lost to the draft, four premium recruits came to campus. The class was rated as one of the top ten in the nation when they arrived on campus and what an arrival it was. Savage is a coach of the year candidate after leading UCLA to a 33-25 record in 2006, an 18-win improvement. The Bruins posted a third-place finish in the Pac-10, and a NCAA Regional appearance. UCLA accomplished its impressive turnaround this season under Savage against the toughest schedule in the country. The Bruins went 15-12 during the regular season against 10 teams that were selected among the NCAA tournament field of 64. It was only their third appearance in the NCAA playoffs since going to the College World Series in 1997.

Now it is coach Childress turn to around the Aggies in a similar fashion. He knows that his offense must improve and he will continue to recruit players for next season so this class will grow over the summer. Adding in redshirt David Newmann to the pitching staff can have the same effect that David Huff had at UCLA, a front line, hard throwing, and left-handed starter to eat up innings during conference play. I heard the same things about Newmann's performance at the end of the season in scrimmages that I heard about Jason Meyer when he was redshirting as a freshman in 2004. Having Meyer and Jordan Chambless back, and hopefully working on baseball full time, keep the Aggies from having any fall off on the mound. Kyle Thebeau, who struggled with control as a freshman thrown into the fire as a weekend starter, will improve by leaps and bounds from last year after maturing in Beatrice this summer. Matt Ueckert, a year removed from his arm surgery, Kyle Nicholson, Evan Gerald and Vasquez all have performed in middle relief. This year's pitchers will not have nearly the same amount of pressure on them as the offense is primed for tremendous improvement with the competition between last year's returnees and this years newcomers giving the coaches their best lineup possible.

6/6/06 12:00 p.m.CT

Draft Day is Here!!! (I will update with draft round next two days)

And the near future of the Aggie baseball team will be shaped over the next two days. The Aggie coaches have done a tremendous job in recruiting this season and this class now must withstand the professional temptation that can change the class but A&M should still land a majority of their recruits.

Lets break down the class with three levels of player to talk about the certain signees, the players that will have to make a tough decision and those that should be on campus after telling the pro scouts they want to go to college.

Certain Loses:

LHP Kevin Angelle (18) L-L 6-3", 185, Fr-HS Bridge City, TX (Bridge City) 13th Round Texas #388
LHP Zack Britton (10) L-L 6-3", 180, Fr-HS Weatherford, TX (Weatherford) Third Round Baltimore #85
P/3B Jake Bussey R-R 6-0", 200, Fr-HS La Porte, TX (La Porte)
LHP Clayton Kershaw (2) L-L 6-4", 210, Fr-HS Dallas, TX (Highland Park) First Round LA Dodgers #7

Kershaw and Britton exploded up the draft charts this spring, moving up the list even higher than the Aggie coaches thought last year when they signed them. Kershaw moved from a second to third round pick to Gatorade National Player of the Year. Britton, out pitching Mansfield's Jordan Walden (the preseason #1 pitcher in the country) during district play and head to head competition moved into the first three rounds of the draft showing a mid-nineties fastball at times. Angelle and Bussey both signed with the Aggies in the fall and signed with San Jacinto JC in the spring, showing the pro scouts that they are more interested in going pro than attending college so neither player will be in Aggieland in the future.

Tough Decisions:

INF Brandon Hicks (43) R-R 6-2", 190, Jr-TR Pasadena, TX (Sam Rayburn/San Jacinto JC)
INF Nick Papasan (24) R-R 5-11", 175, Fr-HS Granbury, TX (Granbury) 24th Round Minnesota #726
OF Matt Sulentic (12) L-R 5-10", 175, Fr-HS Dallas, TX (Hillcrest)    Third Round Oakland #98

These three players will be drafted on the first day of the draft and how high they go, how much signing bonuses they demand and what team does the drafting will be keys to the Aggies getting these three difference makers. Size is going against Sulentic and Papasan and the Aggie coaches' hope that drives them down in the draft. Hicks has the size and tools but many scouts wonder about his bat, at the JUCO World Series, Hicks was unable to take advantage of the altitude and thankfully for Aggie fans he did not explode offensively.

Likely College Bound:

1B Darby Brown (94) L-R 6-3", 220, Jr-TR Lubbock, TX (Cooper/Howard JC)
RHP Gary Campfield (85) R-R 6-2", 200, Jr-TR Kerrville, TX (Tivy/Navarro JC)
RHP Kevin Cravey (70) R-R 6-1", 175, Fr-HS Spring, TX (Klein Oak)
P/OF Clayton Ehlert (77) R-R 6-1", 185, Fr-HS Orange, TX (Little Cypress-Mauriceville)
C Kevin Gonzalez (97) R-R 5-10", 180, Fr-HS Houston, TX (Mayde Creek)
INF Brody Greene (90) R-R 6-0", 180, Fr-HS Bullard, TX (High)
LHP Michael Heard L-L 5-11", 170, Fr-HS Montgomery, TX (Montgomery)
RHP Scott Migl (62) R-R 6-2", 175, Fr-HS Houston, TX (St. Pius) 42nd Round Baltimore #1225
RHP Shane Minks (75) R-R 6-3", 190, Fr-HS West Columbia, TX (Columbia)
LHP Mitch Nelson (92) L-L 6-2", 180, Fr-HS Magnolia, TX (Tomball)
SS/P Josey Parker (48) R-R 6-1", 200, Jr-Tr Jasper, TX (High/Panola JC)
OF Kirkland Rivers L-L 6-1", 185, Jr-TR Henderson, TX (Henderson/Texarkana JC)
3B Justin Walker (71) R-R 6-2", 210, Fr-HS Dallas, TX (Highland Park)

The Aggies have tremendous depth in the class and the 20 players listed are the known players but the coaches also have other players on the board that just have not been named in the media. Out of the 20 players listed, only Michael Heard, Kirkland Rivers and Jake Bussey were not among the top 100 draft prospects listed by Baseball America. Out of that list of 100 players only 57 could or would go to college so 17-of-57 is a tremendous job by the Aggie coaches. The # in parenthesis is where Baseball America rated each player. It also means that the players could still be drafted and go pro but they should be Aggies at the end of the summer. Rivers is recovering from injury and he could join Josey Parker and even Brandon Hicks on the mound next year for Rob Childress.

2006 Aggie Baseball Team and Aggie Coaches

5/18/06 2:30 p.m.CT

From Texags.com someone took the time to Work up the Aggies High School Signees Schedule.

Angelle, Kevin LHP Fr.-HS 6-3 185 L/L Bridge City, Texas (Bridge City) *Still in the playoffs: Next up Barbers Hill, Region III 3

Britton, Zack LHP Fr.-HS 6-3 180 L/L Weatherford, Texas (Weatherford) *Defeated by El Paso Sorroco in 2nd round, Region I 5A

Bussey, Jake RHP/INF Fr.-HS 6-0 200 R/R La Porte, Texas (La Porte) *Defeated by Clear Creek in 1st round, Region III 5A

Cravey, Kevin RHP Fr.-HS 6-1 175 R/R Spring, Texas (Klein Oak) *Defeated by Clayton Ehlert and LC-M in 2nd round, Region III 4A

Ehlert, Clayton RHP/OF Fr.-HS 6-1 185 R/R Orange, Texas (Little Cypress-Mauriceville)*Still in playoffs: Next up Brenham (1 game Thurs. @ Kingwood)

Gonzalez, Kevin C Fr.-HS 5-10 180 R/R Houston, Texas (Mayde Creek) *Defeated in 1st Round by Fort Bend Hightower, Region III 5A

Heard, Michael LHP Fr.-HS 5-11 170 L/L Montgomery, Texas (Montgomery) *Still in playoffs: Next up Nederland (3 game series, Thurs@Ned, Fri@Mont, Sat@North Shore) Region III 3A

Kershaw, Clayton LHP Fr.-HS 6-4 210 L/L Dallas, Texas (Highland Park) *Still in playoffs: Next up Justin Northwest (3 game series, Thurs@NW, Fri@HP, Sat??) Region II 4A

Minks, Shane RHP Fr.-HS 6-3 190 R/R West Columbia, Texas (Columbia) *Still in playoffs: Next up Liberty Hill (3 game series Fri, Sat @Bryan HS) Region IV 3A

Nelson, Mitch LHP Fr.-HS 6-2 180 L/L Magnolia, Texas (Tomball) *Still in playoffs: Next up Cy Fair (3 game series Thur@Tom, Fri@CF, Sat @Blinn JC) Region III 5A

Papasan, Nick INF Fr.-HS 5-11 175 R/R Granbury, Texas (Granbury) *Defeated by Midland in 1st Round by Midland, Region I 5A

Sulentic, Matt OF Fr.-HS 5-10 175 L/R Dallas, Texas (Hillcrest) *Defeated in 2nd Round by Highland Park, Region II, 4A

5/7/06 2:30 p.m.CT

Signee updates…

LHP Clayton Kershaw and 3B/P Justin Walker vs. OF Matt Sulentic
Hillcrest and Highland Park will play this weekend but Clayton Kershaw, recovering from a pulled muscle may not be available for the Scots. He did not pitch in their two game series win against Paris last weekend. Hilcrest was shut out on only one hit in a 8-0 lose against Palmer.

UIL AREA CHAMPIONSHIP, Game 1 - Friday, May 12, at Hillcrest HS, 5 PM, Game 2, Saturday, May 13, at Scotland Yard 5 PM, Game 3 (if necessary), Saturday, May 13, at Scotland Yard, 30 minutes after 2nd game. Tickets available at the gate, Adults, $5-Students $3.

LHP/OF Michael Heard
Montgomery's Michael Heard hit for the cycle and allowed one hit in five strong innings to lead the Bears to a 9-0 victory over the Hallsville Bobcats in a Region III-4A bi-district contest at Morris Frank Field in Lufkin on Saturday night.
Heard led off the game with an elephantine home run over the right-center field fence, his seventh blast of the season. Heard dominated in the early innings on the mound, striking out four in a row and finished with nine strikeouts on the day. Heard then picked up his third hit of the game with a fifth inning double to left-center. Heard led off the seventh and picked up his triple, to right field, to complete the cycle.
He is now 9-2 and his ERA will drop below 0.50 with the victory. The homerun was his seventh of the season.

Next: Montgomery at Galena Park, Friday, 7:30 p.m. in first game of best-of-three area playoff series; game 2 is Saturday at Montgomery at 1 p.m.; game three will follow if necessary

RHP/OF Clayton Elhert vs. LHP Kevin Angelle
Class 4A #4 Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears came out on top of Class 3A #1 Bridge City Cardinals 5-1 in a warm-up game between the two southeast Texas powers.

Aggie signee Kevin Angelle could not contain LC-M as they scored five runs in six innings against the hard hitting Bear lineup. Angelle struck out 12 strikeouts in six innings of work but walked seven and hit one but District MVP and Aggie two-way signee Clayton Ehlert overshadowed him.

Ehlert reached base safely in all four plate appearances, led off the game with a walk and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt that was mishandled, putting runners at second and third with no outs. Angelle was nearly out of the jam before a roller between third base and the mound was thrown away for an error, allowing Ehlert to score the game's first run. Ehlert again got the better of Angelle with a two-out home run blast in the second of an Angelle fastball.

A wild pitch by Angelle, after intentionally walking Ehlert, scored the third run of the game and another wild pitch allowed two runners to score in the fifth inning.
Ehlert did not start the game for LC-M but he came into pitch in the sixth inning and with a runner aboard, struck out Angelle and Sparks on swinging strikes to escape the inning with no further harm. After a lead-off single he struck out the side in the seventh to end the ballgame.

Ehlert had two homeruns in a warm up victory over Houston Christian earlier in the week.

Little Cypress-Mauriceville will face Klein Oak on Thursday in the first of a three game series that will likely match-up Ehlert against Aggie signee Kevin Cravey.

RHP/SS Kevin Cravey
In a 3-2 victory over Marshall to open the playoffs, Kevin Cravey worked five innings without allowing an earned run to pick up the win. His numbers on the day were 4 Ks, 2 BB, 1 hit by pitch, and 1 hit allowed. In game two of the series he moved to shortstop and had a RBI double in the 2-0 victory to move on to face Little Cypress-Mauriceville. Cravey is now 6-2 with a 1.12 ERA and opponents are hitting only .134 against him this season.

RHP/SS Shane Minks
Columbia and Bandera will play a best-of-three series in the Class 3A, area-round matchup. The first game will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Shiner Starplex, with the second game at 3 p.m. Saturday. A third game, if necessary, will follow 30 minutes after the end of Game 2. Minks and Columbia were the district champion and received a bye in the first round.

RHP/3B Jake Bussey
Clear Creek eliminated the La Porte Bulldogs from the first round of the Class 5A baseball playoffs with an 8-6 victory at Wildcat Field.

Creek jumped on Bulldog starter Jake Bussey for five runs, four earned, in the second inning. Overall, Bussey allowed three hits and four walks in the inning.

Justin Ainsworth led off Creek's half of the second with a walk. He took second on a wild pitch and reached third on Brent Denny's single to left. Jeff Denny followed with a shot into the gap in right center. La Porte center fielder Taylor Fenner tried to make a diving catch, but came up empty and the triple scoring both runners. Bussey walked the next two batters, Christian Wooldridge and Jereme Brooks, to load the bases. Bussey was working his way out of the jam with a line drive out to short, before a ground ball to short that should have been a double play but a misplay by the shortstop allowed the runner to reach. A shaken Bussey issued a base-loaded walk to make it 4-0. A RBI single from the ninth batter in the inning drove Bussey.

Bussey hit solo homer in the seventh but LaPorte could not rally for a victory.

In a 6-0 loss in game one of the series, Bussey picked up the only hit for LaPorte. Bussey ends the 8-2 with a 2.24 ERA with 86 Ks in 56.1 innings. He hit .347-2-16 on the year. Bussey's only other loss came against district rival Pasadena Dobie on two unearned runs.

4/27/06 3:30 p.m.CT

Aggie Signee Update...

From Corsicana...
In Game 2 (7-1 Navarro victory), Davis hit his 16th home run of the year - a three-run blast - and McCrory went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to help complete the sweep.

Gary Campfield recorded the win in the nightcap, going seven innings and allowing no earned runs and five hits with one strikeout. Jason Adams relieved him in a save situation to get his second save of the year.

Every high school player the Aggies signed is on a team in the playoffs. I will be out to watch several of those games and will report back here.

Aggies to face each other in Warm-up action…
Clayton Elhert and his LCM team will play a warm up game against Bridge City and Kevin Angelle next week at Lamar U. with a possible second round game against Klein Oak and Kevin Cravey the next week if Cravey can pitch his team past Marshall in the first round of the playoffs.

From DMN...
Hillcrest's homer machine: Hillcrest's Matthew Sulentic had his third consecutive two-home run game Friday against Woodrow Wilson. The Texas A&M signee's 18 homers are the most by an area 5A or 4A player since Coppell's Jason Stokes hit 19 in 2000.

From Houston Chronicle...
Here are stats for Michael Heard and Kevin Gonzalez from Tuesday's Chronicle. Heard numbers: 7-2, 45.2 IP, 19 H, 19 BB, 80 SO, 0.77 ERA (listed as 5th best ERA in area 4A). Gonzalez .479(34-of-71)-6-23

From West Columbia...
With an opportunity to win the District 25-3A championship, the Columbia Roughnecks fell short Tuesday, falling to Needville 5-4 at Renfro Field.
With Columbia leading 4-3 and with a runner on first in the top of the seventh, Tomas Cardenas hit a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run home run to give Needville the one-run advantage that held up for the win.
Needville's Justin Carlisle held the 'Necks hitless for the next four innings, but Columbia, trailing 3-2, finally got something started in the bottom of the sixth. Gupton and Taylor Logsdon had back-to-back one-out singles before an intentional walk loaded the bases. Justin Perebo then singled to left field to tie the game 3-3 and Carlisle walked Minks to bring in the go-ahead run and put Columbia ahead 4-3.
Columbia's Shane Minks took the loss, pitching seven innings, striking out 10 and walking seven.

Mitch Nelson Update…
Nelson is back on the mound at Tomball and since March 30 he has pitched in four games and picked up his first victory of the season in a 4-2 victory over Cy Falls last week. He also has one save and has only allowed one run in eight innings while striking out eight.

Jake Bussey Update...
Bussey is 8-1 on the season with an ERA under 2.00 with 80+ Ks. He is 21-4 on the mound in his high school career at LaPorte. He is hitting .361-1-14 on the season as well.

Granbury tops Weatherford…
The Pirates had lost to the Kangaroos and ace lefthander Zack Britton 7-6 at Tidwell Field in the first round of district. They discovered in that game, however, they could hit Britton.
Just the same, Watson gave them a little extra preparation for the power thrower who is bound for Texas A&M to be Granbury shortstop Nick Papasan's roommate.
"We turned it up on them in practice. I was throwing from about 40-45 feet to get them used to seeing it quickly out of the hand," a sore Watson said. "I'm feeling it today."
In dropping Britton to 6-1, the Pirates tagged him for eight hits. Papasan was 2-for-3 with a double (his Fort Worth area-leading 14th of the season) and walk, and Jim Wren was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.

JUCO Update...
OF Kirkland Rivers is hitting .409-2-28.
INF Brandon Hicks is hitting .315-4-26 with 20 stolen bases.
1B Darby Brown is hitting .460-2-28 with 24 doubles and 24 stolen bases.
P Gary Campfield is 4-1 with a 3.06 ERA with 35Ks in 41 IP.

4/22/06 9:30 a.m.CT

Recruiting Update: Clayton Kershaw top high school prospect in the nation

Clayton Kershaw has zoomed to the top of the high school draft list and will likely go in the first 10 picks of the 2006 amateur draft and will not enroll at Texas A&M. Baseball America released their mid-season top 50 high school draft rankings and this have sign-ability built into the ranking so 95% of these players will be drafted in the first five rounds and only nine picks in the first 10 rounds of last years draft did not sign and not all of them went to a four-year school as well.

Kershaw's move to the top of this high school crop was surprising as he was rated as a second or third round pick before the season started. He has been working in the mid-nineties and when I saw him against Terrell the 40 scouts in attendance were a testimony to his skyrocketing ranking.

You can read more about Kershaw at www.BaseballAmerica.com. Another fast mover that signed with the Aggies is Zach Britton, he has moved to the #47 slot on their list after his tremendous spring. Britton has also pitched in the mid-nineties and was very impressive against Mansfield and Texas signee Jordan Walden in an early April match-up.

Texas lead the Big 12 in the number of signees on the list, they have five players including #8 Walden, #25 Nathan Karns, #28 Brandon Belt, #41 Carmine Giardina and #45 Marcus Lemon. Baylor (#22 Aaron Miller and #31 Dustin Dickerson), Oklahoma (#13 Matt Latos and #33 Devon Shepherd) and Oklahoma State (#5 Brett Anderson and #19 Andy Oliver) also had two signees on the list.

Baseball America said this about Kershaw: That he's left-handed, has a large, athletic frame and repeats his delivery well are more points in his favor. Another is that he has performed consistently well all spring. A Texas A&M recruit, Kershaw fanned 18 in Highland Park's district opener, then broke the school's career record for wins by picking up his 32nd in his next start.

"That's the best I've seen him," said a NL crosschecker on hand for the latter outing. "He was mid-90s with a good curveball and even hit a home run. He would have been good against anybody that night.

I interviewed both Kershaw and 3B Justin Walker after the Terrell game and here is the audio of those interviews

Clayton Kershaw Interview (Click to Listen)

3B/P Justin Walker has Signed with the Aggies

Justin Walker Interview (Click to listen)

I interviewed Walker the evening after he signed his letter of intent with the Aggies and even though he did not play third base that night he closed out the game by striking out the three batters he faced in the fifth inning of the run-ruled contest. He is a big strong player with the skills to play in the field but with the struggles that the Aggies have had at the plate, he may be one of the recruits that will be in the lineup for his bat next season.

Matt Sulentic continues to destroy the baseball and if the Hillcrest senior can quickly translate his hitting skills to the college level then the Aggies will have the top freshman hitter in the Big 12 next season.

He is now hitting .672-16-48 with 17 stolen bases but unless Highland Park defeats Mesquite Poteet next week the match-up of the Ages between Kershaw and Sulentic will happen in the second round of the playoffs instead of happening with a trip to Austin and the final four on the line. Sulentic has a near 100 point advantage in batting average, a six homerun lead on the next player in DFW and a four RBI lead for a chance to win the Class 4A triple crown this season.

Nick Papasan continues to stroke the ball as well, hitting .541-9-33 for Granbury and those numbers are second in hitting, second in homeruns and tied for first in RBI.

4/21/06 9:30 a.m.CT

4/7/06 9:30 a.m.CT

Head Coach Rob Childress will look to Jason Meyer to end a losing streak against OU

4/6/06 10:30 a.m.CT

Season Update: Aggies look to bounce back...

Sorry I have been away. We have a new addition to the Clendenin Clan and little Marjorie Bryce has taken up a lot of my time as you can imagine. But with the grumbling starting about what has happened since the Aggies hot start and what they need to do to fix it, I am back and ready to answer the questions that are swirling around the diamond.

OU coach, player to be suspended? (from Austin American Statesman)

There were apparent repercussions from Sunday's Texas-Oklahoma baseball game. At least there will be if the NCAA rule book has a say.

Oklahoma Coach Sunny Golloway and pitcher/DH Ryan Mottern apparently violated NCAA rules by coaching and playing in Tuesday's 4-3 win over UT-Arlington, two days after both were ejected in the ninth inning of a 12-7 win over Texas.

In Sunday's game, Golloway and reliever Ryan Mottern were ejected in the ninth inning by home plate umpire Ken McQueen after Mottern hit Texas' Hunter Harris with a pitch.

The ejections came after McQueen warned each bench after Texas' Drew Stubbs and OU's Kevin Smith were hit by pitches in the eighth after each had homered in the seventh.

NCAA rules stipulate that a coach who is ejected after being warned for his team throwing at batters is to be automatically suspended for the team's next game while the offending pitcher is to be suspended for the next four games.

In Mottern's case, a suspension would make him unavailable for this weekend's three-game series against Texas A&M.

The Big 12 did not return a call made to its offices Wednesday but a person close to the situation said the league is expected to make an announcement regarding the situation today.

— Cedric Golden http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/04/6sptmakers.html

What has happened to the Aggies since their 13-2 start had them in the top 25?

This Aggie team has not been able to put all three phases of the game together for any consistent stretch this season. When the pitching was carrying the team, the offense struggled. When the pitching started to falter and the offense was still starting to come around, a couple of games were lost when defensive lapses cost the Aggies winnable games against UTSA and Missouri. Now that the offense has finally oiled up, the pitching staff has struggled.

What caused the current slide?

The Aggie offense had to adjust to a totally new batting system this year much more than the pitching staff had to adjust to Rob Childress. Coach Matt Deggs told me before the year that it took about half his first season at Arkansas to adjust to his coaching style. Having his player react and execute with instinct would make them much better players than those that were trying to think about what to do on the base paths. Coach Childress philosophy of throwing strike and working ahead in the count was already in place when he arrived. Now the offense is taking the turn that the coaches expected but the pitching staff has not pitched really well since the Houston game. A&M's struggles in the bullpen have been magnified during this stretch, as several of the starters have not even pitched into the middle innings. The Aggies have had solid relief work from Jason Meyer but he was moved to the starting rotation right before the troubles in the bullpen showed themselves. Meyer is adept at either role but throwing three straight right handed pitchers at any Big 12 team when you have a quality left handed option is a hard choice to make. Jordan Chambless and Hart Herring had been lights out for opponents this season. Mix in Matt Ueckert, in long and short relief, and this bullpen should have been able to absorb Meyer going into the rotation. It hasn't worked that way and it is frustrating to Childress more than anyone. Meyer is 0-0, with a 2.57 ERA and 14 strikeouts, in two starts and left the Lamar game with a 3-1 lead in the seventh and the second Oklahoma State game with a 3-2 lead in the seventh. Combine those three relievers with Kyle Nicholson, who Meyer replaced in the rotation, and their stats in relief are frightening. Those four pitcher have gone 1-5 with a 13.16 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched. They have given up 38 hits, 28 runs as well as walking 14 and only striking out 13 batters. This is the reason why A&M is 3-5 on a stretch where the Aggies have finally started hitting the baseball. The Aggies have an above average bullpen that has just faltered during this stretch and I think this a short-term problem for the Aggies.

"It's much more frustrating when you feel like you're giving them runs," Childress said. "Not to say that they didn't swing the bat hard and hit balls hard and drive them in, but when we give them free base runners and you don't make them earn everything they get, it's frustrating."

What happened to cause the slump at the plate and how did the Aggies work through it?

A&M returned multiple veteran players that have had success last season or during the 2004 season but injuries set several back and severely changed the lineup (Spencer Jackson, John Infante, Todd Sebek and Jess Buenger). Other players have just not clicked at the plate this year (Brandon Glover, Ryan Hill and Craig Stinson) and those players have all had success for the Aggies in the past. Combine that with a slow start for good hitters (Adam Hale, Blake Stouffer and Jake Vasquez) and it was not surprising that the Aggie offense started slow but has picked up steam. Only Austin Boggs and Jose Salazar have been consistent at the plate and that has made for some uneven performances on game day.

When the Aggie finally had some players healthy, those good hitters get enough at bats to get in a groove and keep Boggs and Salazar rolling, the offensive production picked up and the offense started to perform in the clutch. In the first 20 games of the season, only two batters that had started half the games were hitting over .300 (Parker Dalton at .321 and John Infante at .303), the team was batting .256-3-78 and were hitting only .240 with runners in scoring position. That last number is the most important number in baseball and if you cannot perform in those situations then you are hurting any chance you have to win. Now in the last 14 games the numbers are much better. The team is hitting .275-11-65 and is hitting .311 with RISP. Six batters that have started at least half of those 14 games are hitting over .300 and Jake Vasquez has eight two-out RBI. It also didn't hurt that the Aggies have seen some right-handed pitchers to hit against during this stretch. Buenger, Boggs and Stouffer all hit much better from the left side and Vasquez, Salazar and Hale all bat from that side anyway. Those six players are all batting above .400 against right-handers during this stretch.

Aggie Hitting Stats since 3/13/06