By RICHARD CROOME

Eagle Staff Writer

The real fun hasn't even started for Blake Stouffer, and he's happy to have put it off.

Stouffer was drafted in the fourth round last year by the Cincinnati Reds, but he elected, after some agonizing moments, to return for his senior season at Texas A&M.

"It was a stressful summer overall, a tough decision, but when I started weighing all the pros and cons to it, there were so many pros to coming back to school, getting closer to finishing my degree, getting one more chance to win a national championship," said Stouffer, who was one of only four fourth-round picks not to go pro. "It was such a relief just to have that over with, and it was so exciting at the same time because I knew what I was coming back to, a great coaching staff, great program and guys that I love to play with."

Stouffer likes what he's seen so far from the No. 8 Aggies (30-7, 12-3 Big 12), who are leading the Big 12 heading into this weekend's series against Baylor.

Game 1 is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday at Olsen Field, with Games 2 and 3 shifting to Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

"It's fun to play that split series, one here and two at Baylor or visa-versa," Stouffer said. " It's developed into a a little bit of rivalry over the years, with last year meeting them in the championship game of the Big 12 tournament."

Beating Baylor 14-6 in the Big 12 tournament final, then making it to an NCAA Super Regional played a big part in Stouffer not turning pro.

"Last year really opened my eyes to what we were capable of," he said. "We were two games away from going to Omaha, and with guys coming back and with the guys coming in, I knew we were going to be as physically talented. The only question was how were we going to jell as a team, and we've jelled as well as any team since I've been here."

Stouffer hit .398 last season, leading the nation with 85 RBIs, the third-best season total in A&M history. Stouffer's 102 hits also is third on A&M's single-season charts, while his 171 total bases is fifth.

Numbers like those led the Reds to draft Stouffer 139th overall last season. When he didn't sign by the Aug. 15 deadline, Stouffer put his name back in the draft knowing it might take another standout season to get selected in the first five rounds.

"It be hard to say I didn't think about that," Stouffer said. "Coming in after having a great year last year, you want to prove everybody wrong and say, 'Yeah, I can do that again.' I haven't put too much pressure on myself to get back to those numbers. I'm just worried about being a better baseball player, and I feel like this year, I've really developed into a better baseball player than I was last year."

Stouffer can definitely say he's more well-rounded, taking on a new position at second base. After starting at third base and finishing at first base and right field last season, Stouffer has found a home at second, where he's committed only six errors.

With Stouffer contributing with his glove, A&M head coach Rob Childress has been able to keep his bat in the lineup. That's helped A&M averaged 7.8 runs per game, tied for first in the Big 12.

Stouffer, however, wasn't a big part of the run production early. He didn't get a hit in A&M's first four games and was batting just .213 after 18. The switch-hitter is now on a 13-game hitting streak, his longest at A&M, and his average is up to .262.

"You just keep writing his name in the lineup and know that he's going to get it going at some point," Childress said. "It's easy to have patience with a guy that had 85 RBIs and 45 extra-base hits."

Over Stouffer's hitting streak, he's hit .340 with two doubles, three home runs, six steals and 20 runs scored.

"The younger guys can really draw from his strength and the way he's kept his nose down, kept working and been positive, because at some point everyone is going to have to deal with failure individually in the game of baseball," Childress said. "Blake's been a positive impact in that respect the way he's gone about his business."

A&M sophomore pitcher Travis Starling was among 45 relievers named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association "Stopper of the Year Award." Starling is second in the Big 12 and 15th nationally in saves with seven. He is 5-0 with a 1.54 earned run average in 23 1/3 innings.

Other Big 12 pitchers nominated were Baylor's Nick Cassavechia, Kansas State's Daniel Edwards and Oklahoma's Jake McCarter.

Former Texas high school pitchers nominated were Texarkana's Scott Bittle at Mississippi, Spring's Zach Calhoon at Texas-San Antonio, Hardin-Jefferson's Tim Erickson at Lamar and Lorena's Tommy Rafferty at Arizona State.

April is Parkinson Disease Awareness Month and A&M has asked fans to help "Strike Out Parkinson Disease."

The Brazos Valley Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association has been collecting pledges for every strikeout recorded by Aggies this month.

Former A&M baseball coach Tom Chandler died of the disease in 2001 at the age of 75.

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.