Photo by Bridgett Ledak, TexAgs
Texas A&M Baseball
Series Preview: Texas A&M vs. No. 11 Auburn
Who: Auburn Tigers (23-8, 7-2 in SEC)
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park — College Station, Texas
When: Friday 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC+)
Saturday 3:00 p.m. CT (none)
Sunday 1:00 p.m. CT (SEC+)
Pitching matchups
Scouting Auburn
By this time in SEC conference play, we're usually looking at the bottom of the standings to find Auburn. But with second year head coach Butch Thompson mentoring some veteran pitchers that have been downright dominant, the Tigers actually sit atop the SEC West tied with Arkansas at 7-2.
Bridgett Ledak, TexAgs
Aggie hitters will have to come with a plan and execute against Auburn, whose strength has been often dominant pitching.
Pitching has been the key for Auburn's early success. Friday night starter Casey Mize is near the top in every SEC pitching category. At 4-1 with a 1.58 ERA, the sophomore will present a real challenge for the Aggie offense. He's also a big strikeout pitcher, leading the conference in total punch-outs with 63. On the surface, that's not a good match-up for Texas A&M hitters, who have struck out a whopping 262 times so far through 30 games (8.7/gm). By comparison, Auburn has struck out 190 times in 31 contests (6.1/gm).
But the most dominant hurler for the Tigers this season will be Saturday starter Keegan Thompson, who comes into the weekend with a 4-0 record and a jaw-dropping ERA of 0.70. Thompson is a fourth year junior who redshirted last season due to injury. But in 2014 as a freshman, he shut down the Aggie offense and struck out 10 in earning the win. The issue for Thompson will be his health. He has missed a couple of starts this season with a tender arm, including last week's scheduled start against South Carolina. His last action was on March 24 against Georgia, and he left the game after the 4th inning. So while his numbers are dominant, there will be questions about performance on Saturday coming off a two-week hiatus.
Auburn will start right-handed freshman Davis Daniel on Sunday. While he's had some nice outings in 2017, he has typical Sunday starter statistics with a 2-1 record and a 4.83 ERA. He's been hit pretty hard, surrendering more hits than innings pitched and allowing nine extra base hits in 31 innings of work. But Auburn has a dynamic, experienced veteran in the closer role. Cole Lipscomb has had an eventful first three years: he earned all-conference and even all-American honors his sophomore season, but he struggled throughout his junior campaign. He was pummeled by Aggie hitting at Auburn last year. His unexpected poor performance in 2016 is what brought him back for his senior season, and he's back on track with five saves, a 3-0 record, and an impressive 2.35 ERA. The Tigers will be formidable on the mound this weekend.
On the flip side, Texas A&M hitters have to figure out a way to scratch out some run production against Mize and Thompson on Friday and Saturday. Both are right-handed throwers, so that plays well into the Aggies' predominantly left-handed lineup. Nick Choruby needs to remain hot and get on base, which is exactly what he's been doing over the past two weeks. Surprisingly, George Janca is Texas A&M's leading hitter in SEC play at .377 with three home runs and a team leading 10 RBI. He'll need to continue getting quality at-bats his weekend from the middle of the order. Freshman Braden Shewmake is in a bit of a mini-slump, although he still hit the ball hard several times last weekend, just right at fielders. Still, he's dropped about 40-50 points in the last two weeks, and he'll need to be a catalyst for the Aggie offense this weekend against two quality starters on Friday and Saturday.
Does Walker Pennington's big game-winning blast against LSU get him back on-track, and will he play against all of these right-handed pitchers? Finally, what will Rob Childress do with Logan Foster, who has been struggling in SEC play? He has the lowest conference batting average of any starter alongside the most strike outs.
On the mound, the starting pitching on Friday and Saturday must assume they won't have much run support and will be pressured to be sharp early in the games. Then again, Friday starter Brigham Hill and new Saturday starter Corbin Martin were both as sharp as they've been all season last weekend in two sparkling performances against LSU on the road. It was a big rebound for Hill who had scuffled in his two previous starts, but he looks like he's back to his stingy self. So expect a pitcher's duel on Friday.
Christina DeRuyter, TexAgs
A resurgent Corbin Martin has earned the trust of Rob Childress and a new role as the Aggies' Saturday starter.
Martin had his best start of his three-year career against LSU. Has he finally figured out the mental aspects of being a weekend starter? Rob Childress is certainly banking on that, as he moved the junior fireballer up to the critical Saturday start against Thompson and his 0.70 ERA. This could be the pivotal game of the series. While Thompson has been dominant this season, he's battling some tenderness in his arm and has been on the shelf for two weeks. Martin has been sharp all of one week. Needless to say, anything can happen on the hill for the middle game of this series.
The Aggies should target Sunday as a game to win. Auburn's freshman has struggled and he will have to face a tough crowd at Olsen Field. Better, more experienced pitchers have wilted in this environment. However, Texas A&M has its own questions on the mound for Sunday. Stephen Kolek had been cruising as the Aggies' rock solid Saturday starter until conference started three weeks ago. In three SEC starts, Kolek is 0-2 with a bloated 9.82 ERA. He's given up 21 hits in 14 innings of action. Those are very concerning numbers to say the least. In fact, I'd expect a quick hook on Sunday, and if Kolek can't figure it out this weekend, he'll likely move to the bullpen.
But overall, the Aggies have been playing better baseball with good fielding, the resurgence of several veteran hitters like Choruby, Janca, and Homan, and the new-found effectiveness of veteran pitchers Hill, Martin, and sophomore Mitchell Kilkenny in the closer's role.
The series win at LSU kept Texas A&M in the discussion for post-season play. A series win at home against league-leading and No. 7 ranked Auburn could move the Aggies into the conversation for a possible regional host spot down the road. Sweep the Tigers and Texas A&M would jump back into the national polls with a bullet and the possibility of hosting a regional is suddenly very realistic. But while it's too early to start worrying about the NCAAs just yet, playing good, solid baseball and adding 2-3 quality wins to the RPI resume' is always the goal at this point in the season. The schedule gets a little easier after this weekend, but that also means there will be fewer opportunities to add those quality wins and RPI points. So winning this weekend against a Top 10 opponent is a big deal. Plus, the Aggies need to start winning SEC games at home.
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park — College Station, Texas
When: Friday 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC+)
Saturday 3:00 p.m. CT (none)
Sunday 1:00 p.m. CT (SEC+)
Pitching matchups
- Friday: Brigham Hill (RHP, 5-2, 2.60) vs. Casey Mize (RHP, 4-1, 1.58)
- Saturday: Corbin Martin (RHP, 3-2, 3.90) vs. Keegan Thompson (RHP, 4-0, 0.70)
- Sunday: Stephen Kolek (RHP, 1-2, 5.15) vs. Davis Daniels (RHP, 2-1, 4.83)
Scouting Auburn
By this time in SEC conference play, we're usually looking at the bottom of the standings to find Auburn. But with second year head coach Butch Thompson mentoring some veteran pitchers that have been downright dominant, the Tigers actually sit atop the SEC West tied with Arkansas at 7-2.
Bridgett Ledak, TexAgs
Aggie hitters will have to come with a plan and execute against Auburn, whose strength has been often dominant pitching.
But the most dominant hurler for the Tigers this season will be Saturday starter Keegan Thompson, who comes into the weekend with a 4-0 record and a jaw-dropping ERA of 0.70. Thompson is a fourth year junior who redshirted last season due to injury. But in 2014 as a freshman, he shut down the Aggie offense and struck out 10 in earning the win. The issue for Thompson will be his health. He has missed a couple of starts this season with a tender arm, including last week's scheduled start against South Carolina. His last action was on March 24 against Georgia, and he left the game after the 4th inning. So while his numbers are dominant, there will be questions about performance on Saturday coming off a two-week hiatus.
Auburn will start right-handed freshman Davis Daniel on Sunday. While he's had some nice outings in 2017, he has typical Sunday starter statistics with a 2-1 record and a 4.83 ERA. He's been hit pretty hard, surrendering more hits than innings pitched and allowing nine extra base hits in 31 innings of work. But Auburn has a dynamic, experienced veteran in the closer role. Cole Lipscomb has had an eventful first three years: he earned all-conference and even all-American honors his sophomore season, but he struggled throughout his junior campaign. He was pummeled by Aggie hitting at Auburn last year. His unexpected poor performance in 2016 is what brought him back for his senior season, and he's back on track with five saves, a 3-0 record, and an impressive 2.35 ERA. The Tigers will be formidable on the mound this weekend.
The most dominant hurler for the Tigers this season will be Saturday starter Keegan Thompson, who comes into the weekend with a 4-0 record and a jaw-dropping ERA of 0.70. ...in 2014 as a freshman, he shut down the Aggie offense and struck out 10 in earning the win.
At the plate, Aggie pitchers must deal with the team's leading hitter, Jonah Todd. He leads the team in batting average (.357), slugging percentage (.461), and on-base percentage (.437). First baseman Daniel Robert is hitting .325 and leads the team in RBI (26) and home runs (2). No other starter is hitting above .300, and nobody on the roster has more than two long balls. So Auburn's offense is not intimidating by any stretch, but it is capable of production. Still, the Tigers have scored 27 fewer runs (214-187) than Texas A&M this season while playing an extra game. Clearly the Tigers would prefer low-scoring ball games that rely on their starting pitching to control the weekend because they don't have the firepower to get into an offensive shoot-out with the Aggies. To that end, Auburn also fields the ball well with a .982 fielding percentage in SEC play.Texas A&M storylines to watch
On the flip side, Texas A&M hitters have to figure out a way to scratch out some run production against Mize and Thompson on Friday and Saturday. Both are right-handed throwers, so that plays well into the Aggies' predominantly left-handed lineup. Nick Choruby needs to remain hot and get on base, which is exactly what he's been doing over the past two weeks. Surprisingly, George Janca is Texas A&M's leading hitter in SEC play at .377 with three home runs and a team leading 10 RBI. He'll need to continue getting quality at-bats his weekend from the middle of the order. Freshman Braden Shewmake is in a bit of a mini-slump, although he still hit the ball hard several times last weekend, just right at fielders. Still, he's dropped about 40-50 points in the last two weeks, and he'll need to be a catalyst for the Aggie offense this weekend against two quality starters on Friday and Saturday.
Does Walker Pennington's big game-winning blast against LSU get him back on-track, and will he play against all of these right-handed pitchers? Finally, what will Rob Childress do with Logan Foster, who has been struggling in SEC play? He has the lowest conference batting average of any starter alongside the most strike outs.
On the mound, the starting pitching on Friday and Saturday must assume they won't have much run support and will be pressured to be sharp early in the games. Then again, Friday starter Brigham Hill and new Saturday starter Corbin Martin were both as sharp as they've been all season last weekend in two sparkling performances against LSU on the road. It was a big rebound for Hill who had scuffled in his two previous starts, but he looks like he's back to his stingy self. So expect a pitcher's duel on Friday.
Christina DeRuyter, TexAgs
A resurgent Corbin Martin has earned the trust of Rob Childress and a new role as the Aggies' Saturday starter.
The Aggies should target Sunday as a game to win. Auburn's freshman has struggled and he will have to face a tough crowd at Olsen Field. Better, more experienced pitchers have wilted in this environment. However, Texas A&M has its own questions on the mound for Sunday. Stephen Kolek had been cruising as the Aggies' rock solid Saturday starter until conference started three weeks ago. In three SEC starts, Kolek is 0-2 with a bloated 9.82 ERA. He's given up 21 hits in 14 innings of action. Those are very concerning numbers to say the least. In fact, I'd expect a quick hook on Sunday, and if Kolek can't figure it out this weekend, he'll likely move to the bullpen.
But overall, the Aggies have been playing better baseball with good fielding, the resurgence of several veteran hitters like Choruby, Janca, and Homan, and the new-found effectiveness of veteran pitchers Hill, Martin, and sophomore Mitchell Kilkenny in the closer's role.
What's at stake this weekend
The series win at LSU kept Texas A&M in the discussion for post-season play. A series win at home against league-leading and No. 7 ranked Auburn could move the Aggies into the conversation for a possible regional host spot down the road. Sweep the Tigers and Texas A&M would jump back into the national polls with a bullet and the possibility of hosting a regional is suddenly very realistic. But while it's too early to start worrying about the NCAAs just yet, playing good, solid baseball and adding 2-3 quality wins to the RPI resume' is always the goal at this point in the season. The schedule gets a little easier after this weekend, but that also means there will be fewer opportunities to add those quality wins and RPI points. So winning this weekend against a Top 10 opponent is a big deal. Plus, the Aggies need to start winning SEC games at home.
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