Series Preview: Sense of urgency heightened as A&M faces Kentucky

Also included above is a TexAgs Live segment with Ryan Brauninger, Richard Zane and Scott Clendenin from Friday morning, previewing this weekend’s series vs. Kentucky.

Who: Kentucky Wildcats (15-8, 2-4 in SEC)
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park - Bryan-College Station, TX
When:

Friday: 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network+/ESPN+)
Saturday: 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network+/ESPN+)
Sunday: 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network+/ESPN+)

Pitching matchups

Friday: LHP Ryan Prager (2-1, 2.17 ERA) vs. RHP Scott Rouse (3-0, 3.00 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Justin Lamkin (1-2, 2.52 ERA) vs. RHP Nic McCay (3-0, 2.20 ERA)
Sunday: LHP Myles Patton (2-2, 2.41 ERA) vs. LHP Ben Cleaver (2-1, 2.37 ERA)

Scouting Kentucky

A team that was in Omaha a year ago has stumbled out of the gate in SEC play. Sound familiar?

Except Nick Mingione’s Wildcats were unearned in D1Baseball’s preseason poll and were picked to finish 10th in the SEC in 2025, which is vastly different from the expectations the Maroon & White faced entering 2025.

Jamie Maury

Kentucky made its first-ever trip to the Men’s College World Series in 2024. The Wildcats went 1-2 in Omaha with losses to Texas A&M and Florida.

While obviously better than starting 0-6, Kentucky is currently 2-4 in SEC play after losing series to Georgia and Auburn. Further, Big Blue Nation has lost each of its last two midweek games, including a 9-3 loss to Xavier on Tuesday in Lexington. Angst is certainly rising in Aggieland, but those in the Blue Grass State likely haven’t noticed Mingione’s slow start, as BBN is certainly solely focused on Friday’s Sweet 16 showdown with Tennessee on the hardwood.

One storyline to watch is Kentucky’s starting rotation. Mingione elected to shuffle his arms as Friday night right-hander Nic McCay (3-0, 2.20 ERA) slots into the middle game of this weekend's set. Senior right-hander Scott Rouse (3-0, 3.00 ERA) will make his first start of the season in the opener. Rouse made 17 starts at Radford a year ago, and he has fanned 26 batters in 21.0 innings across six outings. Lefty Ben Cleaver (2-1, 2.37 ERA) will assume his usual Sunday spot, with LHP Ethan Walker (0-0, 6.23 ERA) falling out of the rotation.

College baseball fans are aware of the reputation surrounding the Wildcat offense. They will bunt. They will run. They will do whatever it takes to put pressure on the opposing defense. Kentucky is tops in the SEC with 18 sacrifices, and only Oklahoma (67) has stolen more bags than UK’s (59). Needless to say, taking the outs when Kentucky gives them up and managing the running game is paramount for A&M this week.

Only one qualified Wildcat owns an OPS north of 1.000, and that’s Columbia transfer Cole Hage. The senior outfielder leads Kentucky in average (.370), OPS (1.181), runs (28), home runs (6), total bases (54), slugging (.667) and on-base percentage (.514). Hage also leads the Wildcats in stolen bases, successfully swiping 10 of his 12 attempts. A former teammate of Hayden Schott, the three-time All-Ivy League first-teamer is the straw that stirs the mint julep.

Shortstop Tyler Bell is the team leader in RBIs with 24. Third baseman Patrick Herrera joins Hage and Bell (.307) as the only Wildcats above .300 in average at .348.

Texas A&M storylines to watch

Health. Earlier this week, Michael Earley told TexAgs Live that outfielder Caden Sorrell would “very likely” be available in some capacity this weekend. That prognostication appears to have trended in the right direction as the week went on, but whether Sorrell will be used as a pinch-hitter, a designated hitter or in the outfield remains to be seen. Additionally, first baseman Gavin Kash was held out of Tuesday’s win vs. Houston Christian due to a back issue, but Earley confirmed in his weekly press conference that the Texas Tech transfer was swinging a bat on Thursday.

Adding Sorrell back into the Aggie lineup will not immediately cure all of the offense’s shortcomings. However, over time, inserting a player of his caliber will not only lengthy the batting order but also solve the issues of A&M’s third outfield spot, which has plagued the Ags from time to time.

Last weekend, the strikeout accounted for 60.1 percent of the outs recorded by A&M in Nashville. The Aggies struck out 49 times in a three-game set, including a season-high 17 in Saturday’s 8-5 loss. Obviously, that’s unacceptable, and according to Earley, this week of practice has been focused on simplifying the offensive approach, returning to the fundamentals and getting back to moving the baseball. Albeit against a Southland opponent in a midweek contest, the strikeout number was reduced to just seven on Tuesday. That’s a sign of progress, but more progress is needed quickly.

Further, situational baseball has taken a noticeable hit vs. SEC opponents.

A&M has struggled mightily with runners in scoring position. As one might expect of a club averaging just 2.5 runs per contest in SEC games, the Aggies are hitting just .137 (7-for-51) with RISP. Before going 2-for-17 in last week’s finale vs. Vanderbilt, A&M had gone three straight SEC games without a hit with a man in scoring position (0-for-12). Additionally, the Aggies have not succeeded at a high enough clip in advancement opportunities. When given the chance, A&M moves a runner just 39.3 percent of the time in league play. The high strikeout numbers obviously play a huge role in handcuffing those categories.

The defense has been much improved in recent weeks. The starting rotation of Ryan Prager, Justin Lamkin and Myles Patton continues to be reliable enough to give the Aggies a chance in every game. It’s now time for the offense to uphold its end of the bargain if A&M will indeed fight for a spot in the field of 64 at the end of May.

That has to happen now.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

Jace LaViolette hit his sixth home run of the season (and 56th of his career) on Thursday at Vanderbilt.

Also, something that needs to happen now to free up space in these previews: Jace LaViolette is still one home run behind Daylan Holt’s 56 for the program record. Will this be the weekend No. 17 passes No. 17 to become No. 1? Please let it be.

What’s at stake this weekend

On June 17, 2024, these two clubs met on college baseball’s biggest stage, with A&M (aided by Prager’s greatness) beating Kentucky 5-1 in the Men’s College World Series.

Blue Bell Park is 826.7 miles from Charles Schwab Field Omaha, but America’s Heartland will be worlds away from the minds of the Aggies and Wildcats when they meet in College Station this weekend. After all, A&M and Kentucky are not currently on a trajectory to even be on the road to Omaha.

For A&M, something has to change, and it has to change now.

It is no longer “early” in the season, but the conference gauntlet is certainly “getting late early” for the Maroon & White. The Aggies have their backs against the wall. Whatever margin they had has been reduced significantly, if not exhausted entirely.

Currently tied with Florida and Missouri for last place in the SEC, A&M must take a giant leap in the right direction this weekend. That begins with sweeping a conference series from the league’s 11th-place club. That begins by simply winning an SEC series. And that begins by getting their first league victory of the year.

The path back to relevancy has to start when Prager takes the mound on Friday night. #BTHOkentucky