Photo by Abigail Cook, TexAgs
Texas A&M Baseball
Series Preview: #2 Texas A&M vs. #7 Ole Miss
Who: Ole Miss Rebels (39-14, 17-10 SEC)
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park — College Station, Texas
When: Thursday 6:00 pm CT (SEC Network)
Friday 6:30 pm CT (SEC+)
Saturday 2:00 pm CT (SEC Network)
Pitching matchups
Still, this is a tough team with sparking team statistics.
The Rebels are hitting a respectable .281 as a team compared to Texas A&M's league-leading .314. While the overall offensive numbers don't blow you away, the middle of the order should.
The 3-4-5 spots in the order are as dangerous as any in the SEC, led by clean-up hitter J.P. Woodman (.327 with 13 home runs and one of the best slugging percentages in the league at .582). He's been red hot in recent weeks. In the five-hole, catcher Henri Lartigue leads the Rebels in batting average at .358, but is even better at .390 in SEC play. First baseman Tate Blackman hits in the three-spot with a .330 average. His numbers are solid across the board and he's been a consistent offensive presence all season.
On the mound, the Rebels retooled their starting rotation midway through the season and so far it's paid off. Brady Bramlett has been a mainstay in the Friday spot and has the numbers to prove it. The righty is 7-2 with a 2.91 ERA.
Lefty David Parkinson is a JUCO transfer lifted out of the bullpen who responded with a 4-2 record and a stingy 2.55 ERA. He's scheduled to throw on Friday in game two.
The Rebels will throw another JUCO transfer plucked from the bullpen when Chad Smith takes the mound on Saturday. Don't let his season numbers (4-4, 4.18 ERA) fool you — he's been very good of late. In his last three starts, he's thrown 17 innings, striking out 23 with a 1.03 ERA.
It's as simple as that.
On the bright side at the plate, Nick Banks is showing signs that he's awakening from his mid-season slumber. He was one of the few Aggies to get multiple base hits in the South Carolina series, hitting some hard balls up the middle and slicing some line drives to left field. It shows he's seeing the ball better and waiting on the pitch as opposed to guessing on the pitch and committing to what usually is a bad swing.
That's a good sign. A confident Banks in the order will take some pressure off Moss, White, and Melton.
Junior Ryne Birk also swung a good bat in Columbia with two home runs and a double to go with a couple of singles.
On the mound, Rob Childress will keep the same line-up with Brigham Hill on Thursday, Turner Larkins on Friday and Kyle Simonds on Saturday.
Abigail Cook, TexAgs
Another
key will be whether Turner Larkins can provide the
middle-of-the-rotation presence the Aggies have needed in the season's
second half.
Hill has been solid all season, but he's been struggling to finish off opposing hitters and he's been running up against a high pitch count by the fourth or fifth inning, forcing Childress to burn Mark Ecker or Andrew Vinson for an extended outing and taking them out of later spot assignments in the series. The team really needs Hill to work though the sixth or seventh inning to preserve the bullpen.
You never know what you'll get with Larkins. It just depends on his control and command because his stuff is electric.
Finally, Simonds needs to be in better command than he was on Sunday against the Gamecocks. Texas A&M simply can't expect to win this series against Ole Miss with Simonds struggling and getting pulled from the game in the third inning. He needs to give the Aggies a solid six innings at the very least.
For the Aggies, the path to the SEC Championship is pretty clear: sweep the Rebels and hope sizzling-hot LSU can take at least one game at home from the No. 1 Florida Gators.
The next order of business is winning the SEC West, which will guarantee no worse than a 2-seed in the conference tournament in Hoover next week. The Aggies are currently tied with Mississippi State at 18-9, but hold the tie-breaker due to A&M's sweep of the Bulldogs last month.
While the good guys have the inside track with the tie-breaker, MSU has the advantage in scheduling as it hosts last-place Arkansas in Starkville. If Texas A&M doesn't sweep Ole Miss, there's a realistic chance the Bulldogs could win the division and bump the Aggies down in the SEC standings.
Titles would be nice, but the ultimate goal is grabbing a national seed in the NCAA Tournament, which guarantees home-field advantage through to Omaha and the College World Series. If Texas A&M wins two games and the series from the Rebels, there is no doubt about it — the Aggies will be a national top-eight seed and sleep in their own beds in regional and super regional play.
Most pundits, including Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.com, feel Texas A&M will clinch a national seed with just one win against Ole Miss. That's the likely scenario, but at this point there is some uncertainty. Will the committee look at Ole Miss' road series win over Texas A&M as the deciding factor between two squads with top 10 RPI ratings? Will South Carolina's Ray Tanner use his presence on the NCAA Committee to sneak the Gamecocks into a national seed?
It doesn't seem likely at this point, but losing the series to Ole Miss opens the door for discussion.
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park — College Station, Texas
When: Thursday 6:00 pm CT (SEC Network)
Friday 6:30 pm CT (SEC+)
Saturday 2:00 pm CT (SEC Network)
Pitching matchups
- Friday: Brigham Hill (RHP, 6-1, 2.18) vs. Brady Bramlett (RHP, 7-2, 2.91)
- Saturday: Turner Larkins (RHP, 2-0, 2.08) vs. David Parkinson (LHP, 4-2, 2.55)
- Sunday: Kyle Simonds (RHP, 8-2, 2.88) vs. Chad Smith (RHP, 4-4, 4.18)
Ole Miss players to watch
Ole Miss has an impressive season resume with series wins over top-10 opponents Louisville and LSU. The Rebels are on a hot streak in SEC play, winning 10 of their last 12 conference games. They did miss both Florida and Vanderbilt in this year's schedule, playing Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia from the East division. So, their schedule hasn't been quite as daunting as the Aggies'.Still, this is a tough team with sparking team statistics.
The Rebels are hitting a respectable .281 as a team compared to Texas A&M's league-leading .314. While the overall offensive numbers don't blow you away, the middle of the order should.
The 3-4-5 spots in the order are as dangerous as any in the SEC, led by clean-up hitter J.P. Woodman (.327 with 13 home runs and one of the best slugging percentages in the league at .582). He's been red hot in recent weeks. In the five-hole, catcher Henri Lartigue leads the Rebels in batting average at .358, but is even better at .390 in SEC play. First baseman Tate Blackman hits in the three-spot with a .330 average. His numbers are solid across the board and he's been a consistent offensive presence all season.
On the mound, the Rebels retooled their starting rotation midway through the season and so far it's paid off. Brady Bramlett has been a mainstay in the Friday spot and has the numbers to prove it. The righty is 7-2 with a 2.91 ERA.
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Colby Bortles is hitting just .268, but he's a dangerous power hitter with six home runs. He roughed up Texas A&M pitching for a couple of long balls last year in Oxford.On the mound, the Rebels retooled their starting rotation midway through the season and so far it's paid off. Brady Bramlett has been a mainstay in the Friday spot and has the numbers to prove it. The righty is 7-2 with a 2.91 ERA.
Lefty David Parkinson is a JUCO transfer lifted out of the bullpen who responded with a 4-2 record and a stingy 2.55 ERA. He's scheduled to throw on Friday in game two.
The Rebels will throw another JUCO transfer plucked from the bullpen when Chad Smith takes the mound on Saturday. Don't let his season numbers (4-4, 4.18 ERA) fool you — he's been very good of late. In his last three starts, he's thrown 17 innings, striking out 23 with a 1.03 ERA.
Texas A&M players to watch
J.B. Moss, Hunter Melton and Joel Davis have lost a combined 200 points on their batting averages since the MSU weekend. Even Boomer White's average has dropped approximately 30 points in the last 10 days. For this team to live up to its potential, Moss, White, and Melton have to deliver and lead this team offensively.It's as simple as that.
On the bright side at the plate, Nick Banks is showing signs that he's awakening from his mid-season slumber. He was one of the few Aggies to get multiple base hits in the South Carolina series, hitting some hard balls up the middle and slicing some line drives to left field. It shows he's seeing the ball better and waiting on the pitch as opposed to guessing on the pitch and committing to what usually is a bad swing.
That's a good sign. A confident Banks in the order will take some pressure off Moss, White, and Melton.
Junior Ryne Birk also swung a good bat in Columbia with two home runs and a double to go with a couple of singles.
On the mound, Rob Childress will keep the same line-up with Brigham Hill on Thursday, Turner Larkins on Friday and Kyle Simonds on Saturday.
Abigail Cook, TexAgs
Another
key will be whether Turner Larkins can provide the
middle-of-the-rotation presence the Aggies have needed in the season's
second half.
You never know what you'll get with Larkins. It just depends on his control and command because his stuff is electric.
Finally, Simonds needs to be in better command than he was on Sunday against the Gamecocks. Texas A&M simply can't expect to win this series against Ole Miss with Simonds struggling and getting pulled from the game in the third inning. He needs to give the Aggies a solid six innings at the very least.
What's at stake this weekend...
The top of the SEC is bunched together after nine weeks, with six teams all within 1.5 games. In the West division, four teams are separated by one game. So, the last weekend of the regular season will be a wild ride with numerous possibilities.For the Aggies, the path to the SEC Championship is pretty clear: sweep the Rebels and hope sizzling-hot LSU can take at least one game at home from the No. 1 Florida Gators.
The next order of business is winning the SEC West, which will guarantee no worse than a 2-seed in the conference tournament in Hoover next week. The Aggies are currently tied with Mississippi State at 18-9, but hold the tie-breaker due to A&M's sweep of the Bulldogs last month.
While the good guys have the inside track with the tie-breaker, MSU has the advantage in scheduling as it hosts last-place Arkansas in Starkville. If Texas A&M doesn't sweep Ole Miss, there's a realistic chance the Bulldogs could win the division and bump the Aggies down in the SEC standings.
Titles would be nice, but the ultimate goal is grabbing a national seed in the NCAA Tournament, which guarantees home-field advantage through to Omaha and the College World Series. If Texas A&M wins two games and the series from the Rebels, there is no doubt about it — the Aggies will be a national top-eight seed and sleep in their own beds in regional and super regional play.
Most pundits, including Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.com, feel Texas A&M will clinch a national seed with just one win against Ole Miss. That's the likely scenario, but at this point there is some uncertainty. Will the committee look at Ole Miss' road series win over Texas A&M as the deciding factor between two squads with top 10 RPI ratings? Will South Carolina's Ray Tanner use his presence on the NCAA Committee to sneak the Gamecocks into a national seed?
It doesn't seem likely at this point, but losing the series to Ole Miss opens the door for discussion.
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