Aggies looking to Kliesing's leadership as they face Texas

Senior first baseman Rhiannon Kliesing made sure the Texas A&M softball team did more than survive when All-American Meagan May was hurt. Kliesing helped the Aggies improve, guiding a lineup that often included four freshmen.

"The way she handles herself is always in the best interest of the team, which is why I'm sure they voted her team captain, because she honestly will always put the team first," A&M head softball coach Jo Evans said. "In four years, I've never seen her put herself first."

That was put to the test when May fractured the middle finger in her throwing hand, sidelining the catcher for 11 games. May and Kliesing formed one of the nation's best 1-2 duos last season, combining for 35 home runs and 113 RBIs.

"I knew [Kliesing] was the one kid who was going to feel it," Evans said. "She knew what that meant, not just to the team, but to her."

It meant opposing teams didn't have to pitch to the left-handed hitting Kliesing, who at the time of May's injury was batting almost .400.

"Every team picks a kid they're not going to let them beat them and she's the one," Evans said.

Without May, Kliesing batted less than .200 in the nine Big 12 games, but kept her uncanny ability to draw walks and helped the Aggies go 5-4 in a brutal stretch that included all but two games coming against ranked teams.

"That was challenging and I think for awhile she felt that she had to take the responsibility of Meagan's RBIs and ," Evans said. "The main thing for her is to recognize you just have to take what they give you. She settled in and did a good job."

May returned to the hitting lineup as a designated player to help the Aggies earn a split at Oklahoma, followed by a sweep at Kansas last weekend.

The 22nd-ranked Aggies (36-13, 8-5 tied for third) will end the regular season at home, taking on third-ranked Texas (44-5, 13-1) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in a nationally televised game at the Aggie Softball Complex, then face 16th-ranked Oklahoma State (37-12, 8-3) this weekend and Texas Tech (40-12, 5-11) next weekend.

"I think we feel pretty good, coming home from Kansas with two wins, which was a big deal for us," Kliesing said. "Having the rest of these games at home gives us a huge advantage being on our home field with the 12th Man out there."

Kliesing has given fans plenty to cheer about. She leads the team in home runs (15), runs batted in (46), slugging percentage (.766), on-base percentage (.517) and walks (36). Kliesing is batting .352, a point off the team lead by second baseman Natalie Villarreal.

"The key this year has been I've really been focusing on my swing and working on my mechanics in practice, just trying to perfect it every single day," Kliesing said.

She's watched hours of film and put extra time in before and after practice hitting off a tee along with extra swings off associate head coach Mary Jo Firnbach.

"That's really helped me be comfortable at the plate during the game," Kliesing said.

The big difference in Kliesing has been power. She had 11 homers last season, but wasn't considered a home-run hitter.

"I mean, you could count on one hand how many I had in high school, if even that," said the former Pearland prep All-American. "But I've gotten so much better as a hitter since I came here."

She had averaged a home run every 18.5 at-bats in the three previous seasons, but is now homering every 8.5 at-bats.

"I came into the year feeling really confident and comfortable," Kliesing said. "I wasn't going to get cheated at the plate. I've been struggling a little bit lately since we got into conference, but I'm not going up there trying to hit a home run every time."

She is making sure to cherish every at-bat as her career winds down.

"We made individual goals at the beginning of the season, and mine was to be more committed and more dedicated than I ever have," said Kliesing, who earned first-team All-Big 12 honors last season. "I've really tried to stick to that."

That included tutoring the newcomers.

"I do feel like the senior class has taken the freshmen under our wings and tried to show them the way, to be there and help them out any way we can," she said. "We know how special they are to this team."

Those youngsters also realize no one is more valuable than the person they call "Rhi Money" or just "Money."

"She's just like money in the bank, you know you can count on her," Evans said. "She's stepped up and done great things for our program. She's the backbone. She is someone who kinda flies underneath the radar, but with her numbers, she doesn't. She's pretty soft-spoken, a great leader. I like the way she's able to take a step back and really process what's going on. And she has a wisdom about her and a maturity that a lot of people don't ever get. I really love the kid. I like her maturity. You can count on her on a daily basis. She's consistent."

Evans said it would have been easy for Kliesing to develop an attitude. She came from a highly successful high school program and started 53 games as a freshman, becoming a fixture.

"[Yet] there is no one on our team who is more of a team player than she is," Evans said. "As good as she is, I don't think she realizes she's all that good. She's too humble. I wish she was a little more cocky. She never detracts, she never takes away. Some people can suck you dry; she's never going to do that."

Kliesing plans to give back to the program after her playing career.

"Softball has been my life here," she said. "I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's going to be sad when it's over, but I'm still going to be with the team next year as a fifth-year grad assistant."

Coaching might be an option, which is why she wants to examine the program from behind the scenes.

She's already done a little coaching, helping the team through that trying stretch, which included a 4-3 loss at Texas. The Aggies didn't trail in the game until the Longhorns scored to win in the seventh.

"That was a tough loss, because we kinda felt like it got away from us," Kliesing said. "We had the lead pretty much the whole game, but we just couldn't hold on to it. I think knowing that we were so close to beating them last time gives us a whole lot of confidence going into tomorrow night's game."

It also helps everyone's confidence -- especially Kliesing's -- that May is back. Batman was good, but he was much better with Robin, just as Mulder needed Scully.

NOTES -- A&M has won 19 straight home games. ... Wednesday's game will be televised on FSN (Ch. 25) and on radio via KZNE (1150 AM). ... Tickets can also be purchased at the gate an hour before first pitch. ... UT won the first game on a wild pitch. ... Missouri (40-8, 11-2) is one game back of UT in the loss column. ... A&M senior left fielder Kelsey Spittler, who is from Caldwell, went 6 for 7 in conference play last weekend to be named Big 12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career.