Series Preview: A&M hosts final non-conference series vs. New Mexico State

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

Who: New Mexico State Aggies (7-5, 0-0 in Conference USA)
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park – Bryan-College Station, Texas
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 (1-0, 0.55 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Turner (2-0, 1.59 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Justin Lamkin (0-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. RHP Hayden Lewis (0-0, 5.79 ERA)
Sunday: LHP Myles Patton (2-0, 2.12 ERA) vs. RHP Matthew Yarc (0-2, 9.75)

Scouting New Mexico State

Jake Angier’s club comes to Aggieland after dropping their last two to Oakland in Las Cruces last week. Splitting the four-game set with the Grizzlies, NMSU won the opener 5-4 and was run-ruled 16-3 at home on Sunday in seven innings. The New Mexico Aggies also lost an 11-10 decision to St. Thomas on Opening Weekend. A look at their results through 12 games shows that NMSU is capable of scoring a lot of runs, but they also give up their fair share.

The batting averages are pretty impressive, and NMSU is hitting an impressive .319 as a club. Two guys — utilityman Mitch Namie and first baseman Steve Solorzano — are hitting above .400 at .419 and .415, with third baseman Brandon Forrester not far behind at .396. Further, five players boast an OPS over 1.000, with centerfielder Jonatan Clough just under that benchmark at .964. Whether those numbers are legit or a byproduct of playing at altitude will be put to the test this weekend.

Meanwhile, the pitching numbers are rather bloated. Only two arms have pitched enough innings to qualify in right-handed ace Jack Turner and Sunday starter Matthew Yarc. Turner’s ERA sits at 1.59 through 17.0 innings, while Yarc’s is approaching 10.00 through 12.0 frames. Splitting those two is fellow righty Hayden Lewis, who owns a 5.79 ERA in just 9.1 innings across his three starts. The statistics point to this NMSU staff being one that is ripe for the taking by an A&M offense that needs to wake up before SEC play begins next week.

Texas A&M storylines to watch

Can the defense perform at the level they did on Wednesday night consistently? It better.

After making five errors in Tuesday’s sloppy loss to UTSA, A&M did not have a defensive miscue in a 6-2 win over Texas Southern. Polishing that phase of the game is of paramount importance, as it has been A&M’s greatest deficiency through a dozen games.

Will moving Gavin Kash to first base help shore up the infield defense? Time will tell, but in the meantime, that move allows A&M to get more athletic at the corner outfield spots, with Terrence Kiel II and Jamal George playing left and right, respectively. That also sets the stage for Caden Sorrell’s return to the lineup, which could be as early as next week. Further, the other infielders — Wyatt Henseler, Kaeden Kent and Sawyer Farr — must be more consistent on the diamond than they have been thus far, to varying degrees.

A&M’s starting rotation of Ryan Prager, Justin Lamkin and Myles Patton has been very good through three turns, and with the defense and offense lacking, the trio of lefties have been the one constant thus far. Behind them, the bullpen has also begun to round into form, even despite a couple of isolated unlucky outings from Clayton Freshcorn.

Pitching is certainly not a concern entering this weekend. That must remain true on the other side of a series with New Mexico State.

Offensively, A&M is close. Aside from the offensive explosion last Sunday vs. Rice, the Maroon & White haven’t run away from anybody. That’s not to say the offense is non-existent. While free swinging appeared to be an issue early, the “swing at strikes, take the balls” approach the 12th Man has grown accustomed to has started to take shape once again.

A&M walked eight times on Wednesday, and getting on base is critical to the offensive game plan. Now, they just need to cash in with men on base and runners in scoring position... In the five losses, A&M is 15-for-64 (.234) with runners on and 6-for-28 (.214) with RISP. The timely hitting simply hasn’t been good enough.

The bats haven’t all been bad, though. Henseler and Kent have both been hot. The former is on a nine-game hitting streak and homered twice last weekend, and the latter has hits in 10 of his 12 games played, including multi-hit nights in three of his last five. Also, Kent has homered three times in his last three games and leads the club with five round-trippers. Those two are the only Aggies north of 1.000 in OPS.

Jace LaViolette has not homered since Opening Weekend, but in the midweek, he had multiple balls leave his bat at over 104 mph...with nothing to show for it. It appears “Lord Tubbington” is very, very close to going on a vintage LaViolette tear...

...which leads us to our weekly reminder reminder: LaViolette is closing in on Daylan Holt’s program record for home runs in a career. Holt finished his tenure with 56, and LaViolette currently sits at 53. Will this be the weekend No. 17 passes No. 17 to become No. 1?

What’s at stake this weekend

Here’s the deal: We know life in the SEC is tougher than tough.

Understanding that each and every conference win will be hard-earned, A&M cannot suffer any further blows to an already lackluster non-conference resume.

Beyond needing three wins this weekend, the Maroon & White must play clean baseball. That means minimizing defensive miscues and free passes from the pitching staff (though the weekend rotation has already been elite at this). Most of A&M’s losses have been due to inflicted wounds and lesser opponents capitalizing on mistake after mistake. As they did on Wednesday, A&M must play fundamentally sound baseball to the point where NMSU’s only chance to win a ballgame is by actually earning it rather than Michael Earley’s club giving one away.

Make the plays on defense. Throw strikes and limit free passes. Find the timely hit.

Do all of that and do it consistently, and the Ags will find the success that has eluded them thus far.