BAYLOR BASEBALL FACES OFF AGAINST # 19 TEXAS A&M

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

WACO, TEXAS (April 18, 2008) The Baylor Bears prepare for the annual Battle of the Brazos series against number 19 Texas A&M University. Friday, the Baylr Bears (23-14. 8-7) will face off against Texas A&M (30-7, 12-3) at 6:30pm CDT at Olsen Field in College Station.

They will retyurn to action on Saturday and Sunday at Baylor Ballpark in Waco with a 6:30pm CDT start and Saturday while Sunday's game will begin at 2:00pm CDT.

Saturday's game will be presented by H.E.B. while Sunday's game will be presented by Capstone Mechanical with free admission to all fans 12-years-old and under.

The Bears split a pair of midweek games against Dallas Baptist with the home team winning both games. Baylor took two of three at Kansas State last weekend and enters the Texas A&M series in a three-way tie for fourth in the Big 12 standings. The Bears are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have won six of their last seven conference games. Baylor is unranked in all four major polls but is among teams receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30. The Bears are 6-10 on the road this season, all coming on opponents’ home fields, with a 3-6 mark on the road in Big 12 play. Meanwhile, Baylor is 17-4 at home, including a 5-1 mark in conference action, and 17-7 in weekend games.

The Aggies enter the weekend in first place in the Big 12 standings after a sweep of Oklahoma at home last weekend. Texas A&M ended a 13-game winning streak at home Tuesday night with an 11-2 loss to Rice. The Aggies are ranked 19th in this week’s Baseball America Top 25. The Aggies also are ranked eighth nationally in each of the three other major polls. Texas A&M is 24-5 at home this season, including an 8-1 mark in Big 12 play. The Aggies are 6-2 on the road, all coming on opponents’ home fields; Texas A&M is 4-2 on the road in conference action.

Baylor and Texas A&M have played eight common opponents this season — Kansas, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, UT Arlington and UTSA. The Bears are 11-6 against those eight times, while the Aggies are 15-2.

All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on Waco’s 1660 ESPN Radio. Live streaming audio and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor baseball games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the CSTV Network. Live streaming video also is available for the Texas A&M series at www.AggieAthletics.com for the Friday game and at www.BaylorBears.com for the Saturday and Sunday games.