Baseball Notes in PDF

The Big 12 has five teams ranked among the four national polls with Texas A&M and Oklahoma included in all four. The Aggies hold down the No. 5 spot in all but one poll for the second straight week, while Oklahoma is ranked as high as 16th (NCBWA). The Bears are 25th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll with Texas holding the same spot on the NCBWA list. Texas Tech dropped to 26th in the Collegiate Baseball list.

Texas A&M, the Big 12 preseason favorite, sits atop the conference standings at 11-1. The Aggies will face No. 11 Cal State Fullerton this weekend in College Station. TAMU follows that series with five more home games before its first road trip of the season on March 20 at Houston. A&M leads the league in batting (.302) and ERA (2.43).

In addition, Oklahoma will also face its first ranked competition of the season, taking on No. 10 Oregon and No. 22 Oregon State as part of the Nike Showcase this weekend.

The Big 12 Conference schedule begins next weekend, March 16, with the following matchups: Texas Tech at Baylor, Kansas State at Texas A&M and Texas at Oklahoma.

Texas Tech's Jamodrick McGruder needs four stolen bases to enter the Big 12 career top 10 list. The junior has totaled 62 thefts since 2010. He is also the league's active career leader for triples with nine, five shy from cracking the Big 12's alltime career list. Baylor's Logan Vick is 22 walks away from entering the Big 12 career top 10 list. He has totaled 100 in his career as a Bear.

On the pitching mound, Ross Stripling (Texas A&M) is three wins shy of the league's top 10 career list. Stripling's 23 victories ties him with Chris Russ (1998-01) and Ronnie Allen (1989-91) for ninth place in Texas A&M history. Corey Knebel (Texas) needs just two saves to enter the career top 10 list in that category.

Over eight appearances, Oklahoma State's Chase Stevens and Andrew Heaney lead the Big 12 in strikeouts. Stevens has fanned 33 in five games, while Heaney has totaled 31, giving the Cowboys pitchers the current No. 1 and No. 2 spots this season.

Jonathan Walsh (Texas), Jordan John (Oklahoma), Ross Stripling (Texas A&M) and Brooks Marlow (Texas) have been named Phillips 66 Big 12 baseball weekly award recipients for games of February 27-March 4. Walsh claims the Player of the Week honor, while fellow Longhorn Marlow earns his second Newcomer of the Week accolade this season. John and Stripling share the Pitcher of the Week distinction. This is the fourth career honor for Stripling, while Walsh and John earn their first weekly conference honors.