Photo by Lexie Hudson, TexAgs
Texas A&M Baseball
SEC Tournament Game Preview: Texas A&M vs. Missouri
Who: Missouri Tigers (35-21 14-16 SEC)
Where: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium — Hoover, Alabama
When: Tuesday 12:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Pitching matchup
Scouting Missouri
Judging by his decision to rest staff ace Tanner Houck last week, first-year Missouri head coach Steve Bieser feels his Tigers have work to do in Hoover to make the NCAA Tournament. He's probably right. Missouri jumped out to an incredible 20-1 start in 2017 and, in the process, found themselves in the national rankings. But a 15-20 finish to the regular season has put the Tigers just outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Most pundits feel Missouri needs at least three wins this weekend, and that probably means Houck must pitch twice.
It's truly a do-or-die scenario, and it could be the junior hurler's last collegiate start as he's projected to be a first-round pick in next month's MLB draft.
Houck has had an up-and-down, hard-luck season, with a 4-7 record and a 2.89 ERA. In his previous start against South Carolina on May 13, he threw a complete game, giving up five hits and three runs on 128 pitches.
Rest for a starting pitcher is a funny thing in baseball. Sometimes it helps, but sometimes a pitcher loses a little edge and accuracy when skipping a start. Starting pitchers are all about routine, and the Aggies are hoping the 10-day layoff means Houck won't be at his sharpest. Texas A&M did rough him up in April, pushing across four runs on nine hits in seven innings of work. In fact, the Aggies roughed up the entire Missouri squad in Columbia, sweeping the three-game series by a combined 25-4 score. Texas A&M pitching did not allow an earned run all weekend to a light-hitting Tiger team that hit .264 in the regular season.
Overall, Missouri's offensive production is slightly lower than the Aggies' in batting average (A&M .275), runs scored (A&M - 343, MU - 330) and slugging percentage (A&M - .413, MU - .403). The Tigers' most dangerous hitter is Brett Bond, who leads the team in hitting (.313), parked 10 home runs and drove in 44 runs this season. The other power bat in the lineup is Trey Harris (.272), who boasts a team-leading 12 homers and 46 RBI. The rest of the offensive lineup is pretty average. Take care of Bond and Harris, and the Tigers can be tamed at the plate.
Well, the ongoing storyline for this Aggie team is pitching and defense. When Texas A&M pitches well and avoids miscues in the field, it has a good chance to win. That will be the case again today, but the story within the story is freshman lefty John Doxakis, who gets his first big-time start. The Houston Lamar product is very talented, but he's struggled to throw strikes at times, which has gotten him into trouble this season.
Lexie Hudson, TexAgs
Texas A&M needs starter John Doxakis to come through in a big way to establish postseason momentum.
Doxakis has the second-highest walks-to-innings pitched ratio on the team, handing out 4.2 free passes per nine innings, and opposing batters hit him hard when he falls behind in the count. So we can talk about how guys like Logan Foster, Hunter Coleman and Blake Kopetsky need to have a good game in the middle of this Texas A&M batting order and Austin Homan needs to have a spotless effort at shortstop, but none of that matters if Doxakis can't throw strikes and is knocked around for five runs in the first couple of innings.
So the most powerful narrative for this game is the 2-3, 5.12 ERA freshman left-hander facing off with the junior preseason All-SEC pitcher that will be a first round draft pick in a couple of weeks. On paper, the matchup definitely favors Missouri, but games aren't played on paper.
The postseason creates some surprising heroes every season. Matt Kent went from solid middle reliever to staff ace late in the year a few years back. In what I consider one of the greatest surprise postseason performances in Texas Aggie Baseball history, little-used walk-on Tim Clarkson was given the start late in a six-team regional in Coral Gables against the nationally-ranked and top-seeded Miami Hurricanes in the regional final in 1995.
The Aggies had come through the loser's bracket and all reliable pitchers were unavailable. Coach Mark Johnson gave the ball to Clarkson, who had pitched a few meaningless mid-week innings in the regular season. The soft-tossing right-hander went out and threw a five-hit shutout against the heavily favored regional hosts. The Aggies don't need that kind of miracle start from Doxakis, but they need him to pitch his best game of the season and throw with control to win this play-in game in Hoover.
Most pundits feel the Aggies are in the NCAA Tournament even if the team loses today. In the modern era, no SEC team with a winning conference record has ever missed getting into the big dance. However, it's best if the Aggies don't put themselves in a position to set a new precedent. A win advances Texas A&M into the double elimination portion of the SEC Tournament, and another win or two should ensure a No. 2 seed in next week's regionals. Lose today, and the Aggies are likely headed out of town as a No. 3 seed. But the main purposes for playing well and winning today are momentum and eliminating the sour taste of the 2-5 finish to the regular season as the team prepares for the most important weekend of the year in the NCAA's.
Where: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium — Hoover, Alabama
When: Tuesday 12:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Pitching matchup
- John Doxakis (LHP, 2-3, 5.12) vs. Tanner Houck (RHP, 4-7, 2.89)
Scouting Missouri
Judging by his decision to rest staff ace Tanner Houck last week, first-year Missouri head coach Steve Bieser feels his Tigers have work to do in Hoover to make the NCAA Tournament. He's probably right. Missouri jumped out to an incredible 20-1 start in 2017 and, in the process, found themselves in the national rankings. But a 15-20 finish to the regular season has put the Tigers just outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Most pundits feel Missouri needs at least three wins this weekend, and that probably means Houck must pitch twice.
A loss means the Tigers' season is over. It's truly a do-or-die scenario, and it could be Houck's last collegiate start.
The first start comes today against the Aggies. A loss means the Tigers' season is over.It's truly a do-or-die scenario, and it could be the junior hurler's last collegiate start as he's projected to be a first-round pick in next month's MLB draft.
Houck has had an up-and-down, hard-luck season, with a 4-7 record and a 2.89 ERA. In his previous start against South Carolina on May 13, he threw a complete game, giving up five hits and three runs on 128 pitches.
Rest for a starting pitcher is a funny thing in baseball. Sometimes it helps, but sometimes a pitcher loses a little edge and accuracy when skipping a start. Starting pitchers are all about routine, and the Aggies are hoping the 10-day layoff means Houck won't be at his sharpest. Texas A&M did rough him up in April, pushing across four runs on nine hits in seven innings of work. In fact, the Aggies roughed up the entire Missouri squad in Columbia, sweeping the three-game series by a combined 25-4 score. Texas A&M pitching did not allow an earned run all weekend to a light-hitting Tiger team that hit .264 in the regular season.
Overall, Missouri's offensive production is slightly lower than the Aggies' in batting average (A&M .275), runs scored (A&M - 343, MU - 330) and slugging percentage (A&M - .413, MU - .403). The Tigers' most dangerous hitter is Brett Bond, who leads the team in hitting (.313), parked 10 home runs and drove in 44 runs this season. The other power bat in the lineup is Trey Harris (.272), who boasts a team-leading 12 homers and 46 RBI. The rest of the offensive lineup is pretty average. Take care of Bond and Harris, and the Tigers can be tamed at the plate.
Texas A&M storylines to watch
Well, the ongoing storyline for this Aggie team is pitching and defense. When Texas A&M pitches well and avoids miscues in the field, it has a good chance to win. That will be the case again today, but the story within the story is freshman lefty John Doxakis, who gets his first big-time start. The Houston Lamar product is very talented, but he's struggled to throw strikes at times, which has gotten him into trouble this season.
Lexie Hudson, TexAgs
Texas A&M needs starter John Doxakis to come through in a big way to establish postseason momentum.
So the most powerful narrative for this game is the 2-3, 5.12 ERA freshman left-hander facing off with the junior preseason All-SEC pitcher that will be a first round draft pick in a couple of weeks. On paper, the matchup definitely favors Missouri, but games aren't played on paper.
The postseason creates some surprising heroes every season. Matt Kent went from solid middle reliever to staff ace late in the year a few years back. In what I consider one of the greatest surprise postseason performances in Texas Aggie Baseball history, little-used walk-on Tim Clarkson was given the start late in a six-team regional in Coral Gables against the nationally-ranked and top-seeded Miami Hurricanes in the regional final in 1995.
The Aggies had come through the loser's bracket and all reliable pitchers were unavailable. Coach Mark Johnson gave the ball to Clarkson, who had pitched a few meaningless mid-week innings in the regular season. The soft-tossing right-hander went out and threw a five-hit shutout against the heavily favored regional hosts. The Aggies don't need that kind of miracle start from Doxakis, but they need him to pitch his best game of the season and throw with control to win this play-in game in Hoover.
What's at stake this weekend
Most pundits feel the Aggies are in the NCAA Tournament even if the team loses today. In the modern era, no SEC team with a winning conference record has ever missed getting into the big dance. However, it's best if the Aggies don't put themselves in a position to set a new precedent. A win advances Texas A&M into the double elimination portion of the SEC Tournament, and another win or two should ensure a No. 2 seed in next week's regionals. Lose today, and the Aggies are likely headed out of town as a No. 3 seed. But the main purposes for playing well and winning today are momentum and eliminating the sour taste of the 2-5 finish to the regular season as the team prepares for the most important weekend of the year in the NCAA's.
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