Jayhawks Host No. 5 Texas A&M for a Weekend Tilt
April 13, 2007
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
First Pitch
Kansas (27-14-1, 3-4 Big 12) will begin a four game home stand by playing host to the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies (32-6, 5-3 Big 12) for a weekend series. The Aggies will be the highest ranked team Kansas has faced this season. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14 and noon on Sunday, April 15. Live Gametracker will be available for all games on kuathletics.com.
Jayhawks Back in Lawrence for Important Home Stand
Kansas has only six home games remaining, four of which will be played in the next five days. KU is 7-5 at home on the year, but has dropped four out of its last five at Arrocha Ballpark. The Jayhawks will try to turn around their home field troubles this week against two teams near the top of the Big 12 Standings.
No. 5 Texas A&M has won four out of their last five ballgames including a series sweep of Nebraska and a victory over No. 2/3 Oklahoma. Lately, Texas A&M has been a tough out for Kansas, as the Aggies own a 10 game win streak against the Jayhawks going back to April 6, 2002.
Missouri, although unranked, is undefeated in conference play and has been playing their best softball recently. The Mizzou double-header is the result of a postponement from a game scheduled for April 11 in Columbia, Mo. The April 18 double-dip is the first double-header between the rivals since April 21, 2003.
About Texas A&M
No. 5 Texas A&M boasts one of the Big 12’s most balanced teams. A&M is second in the conference with an overall ERA of 1.31, while having the fourth highest batting average (.283). Texas A&M owns five victories over teams that were ranked or are currently ranked in the Top Five including Northwestern, UCLA, Arizona (twice) and Oklahoma.
Leading the Aggie pitching staff is junior Amanda Scarborough (16-4). She ranks third in the Big 12 with an overall ERA of 1.13, and has been especially tough in conference play giving up only .65 earned runs per game. The Jayhawks are also likely to see dual-threat junior Megan Gibson (13-2) in the circle. As a batter, Gibson leads the team in batting average (.405) and is sixth in the Big 12 with 10 home runs. As a pitcher, Gibson has an ERA of 1.58 and allows other teams to bat a paltry .219.
Texas A&M’s depth in the batting order is impressive, as seven Aggies hit .270 or better. Included in that mix is ace pitcher Scarborough, who has a .298 batting average–good for fourth-best on the team. Leading the Aggies with nine doubles is freshman Macie Morrow. Senior Sharronda McDonald’s 36 runs are best on the team, and tied for the third most in the conference.
Texas Leftovers
The series split with the No. 11/16 Texas Longhorns was the highest ranked team KU has defeated since their victory over No. 2 Texas last year 1-0 on April 23 and the second ranked opponent they have beaten this year. The seven Jayhawk hits were the most in a game since the March 31 loss to Baylor. It was the first time in six games that KU shut out its opponent, the last being on March 28 at Missouri State. KU received a strong performance from Kassie Humphreys, both in the circle and at bat. The senior pitched over 10 innings and was an integral part in helping the Jayhawks pick up their second win this season over a ranked opponent.
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