COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies travel to Houston to participate in their 30th NCAA Division I Championship. The Aggies play the Texas Longhorns on Friday at 3 pm Central at Rice’s Reckling Park. The Maroon and White are sharing a regional with Rice, Texas and George Mason.
Texas and Texas A&M have met on 363 prior occasions, but this marks the first meeting of the two squads since the Aggies joined the nation’s premier baseball conference in 2013. It also marks the first-ever game between the teams in NCAA Championship action.
AGGIES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Aggies are making their 30th NCAA Championship appearance overall and their eighth in a row. The Aggies are 66-66 all-time in NCAA Championship play, including 57-43 in regional action.
Texas A&M has won regionals in 1993, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2011. They also captured a district playoff in 1951 before regional play began.
The Aggies have advanced to the College World Series on five occasions, including 1951, ‘64, ‘93, ‘99 and 2011.
POSTSEASON STREAK CONTINUES IN 2014
Prior to the arrival of head coach Rob Childress, Texas A&M had never appeared in the NCAA Tournament more than four consecutive years. Advancing to the NCAA Houston Regional in 2014 extended the Aggies’ string to eight straight years, something that had never happened before in the program’s 112 year history.
Childress has led the Aggies to the postseason each of the last eight seasons, topping the previous-high water mark of four-straight trips, a feat that had happened only twice before at Texas A&M. Former head coach Tom Chandler led his squad to the NCAA Regionals each season from 1975 to 1978, and 11 years later the Aggies enjoyed a similar four-year run from 1986-89 under the direction of head coach Mark Johnson.
AGAINST THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
Texas A&M owns a 17-16 record against teams in the tournament field. The Maroon and White won series against Sacramento State (2-1), Florida (2-1), Vanderbilt (2-1), Mississippi State (2-1) and LSU (2-1). The Aggies also won midweek games against Columbia, Sam Houston State and Rice.
AGAINST REGIONAL HOSTS
Texas A&M boasts an 8-5 record against the teams selected to hosts NCAA Regional action. The Aggies tallied series wins against Florida (2-1), Vanderbilt (2-1) and LSU (2-1) and won a midweek game against Rice. The Maroon and White dropped a series against Ole Miss (2-1).
AGAINST TOP EIGHT SEEDS
The Aggies were 4-2 against teams selected among the best eight in the nation. Texas A&M won series against No. 2 seed Florida (2-1) and LSU (2-1).
AGGIE REGIONAL HISTORY
The Aggies are 57-43 all-time in regional play. The Maroon and White are in their eighth consecutive regional, going 17-11 over the span and claiming three regional titles.
REGIONAL HISTORY AT RECKLING PARK
This marks the Aggies’ second appearance at a regional hosted by Rice. In 2004 the Aggies won the Houston Regional hosted by Rice to advance to an NCAA Super Regional against LSU. Texas A&M opened the regional with wins over Lamar (14-3) and Texas Southern (12-1). The Aggies lost the first shot at a championship against Rice, 3-1, before claiming the title with a 7-5 victory against the Owls.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY AT RECKLING PARK
Texas A&M is 3-5 all-time in NCAA Championship play. The Maroon and White captured the 2004 NCAA Regional, going 3-1 en route to punching a ticket to a Super Regional at LSU. The Aggies went 0-2 in back-to-back Super Regionals against Rice in 2007 (3-2 & 5-2) and 2008 (9-7 & 6-5).
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (33-24, 14-16 SEC) vs. #20 TEXAS LONGHORNS (38-18, 13-11 Big 12)
2014 Houston Regional – Reckling Park • Houston, Texas
SCHEDULE – 3:00 PM Central
TELEVISION – ESPNU (Tom Hart – play-by-play; Ben McDonald – color)
RADIO – WTAW-AM 1620 (Dave South – play-by-play; Scott Clendenin – color)
LIVE STATS – NCAA.com
RANKINGS – Texas A&M – unranked; Texas – #20 (NCBWA), #20 (USAT), #21 (BA), #29 (CB)
SERIES HISTORY – Texas leads the series 235-123-5
SERIES STREAKS – Texas won the last game on April 29, 2012 (L, 1-2)
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
• FRIDAY: RHP Daniel Mengden (4-8, 3.55) vs RHP Nathan Thornhill (6-2, 1.51)
TEXAS A&M/TEXAS SERIES NOTABLES
Texas A&M and Texas have met on 363 occasions with the Longhorns owning a 235-123-5 edge. This marks the first time the teams have met in NCAA Championship play. The last time the squads met came in April 2012 when A&M claimed two of three. The Aggies won the Friday night game 6-5 in College Station and split the remainder of the series in Austin with a 12-4 Aggie win and a 2-1 Longhorn triumph. Current Aggies Troy Stein, Blake Allemand and Krey Bratsen started all three games of the series. Stein went 6-for-9 with three doubles and three RBI in the series. Allemand was 3-for-9 with four ribbies. A&M also owns a win in the most recent neutral site contest when the Aggies bested the Longhorns 9-3 at the 2010 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City one day before claiming the title with a 10-inning, 5-3 win against Baylor.