Series Preview: No. 7 A&M welcomes Rhode Island for tune-up weekend
Also included above is a radio segment with Ryan Brauninger, Richard Zane and Scott Clendenin from Friday morning, previewing this weekend’s series with Rhode Island.
Who: Rhode Island Rams (2-7, 0-0 A10)
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park – College Station, Texas
When:
Friday: 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Saturday: 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Sunday: 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Pitching matchups
Friday: LHP Ryan Prager (3-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Connor Grotyohann (0-2, 9.26 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Tanner Jones (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. RHP Evan Maloney (0-0, 7.84 ERA)
Sunday: LHP Justin Lamkin (1-0, 0.71 ERA) vs. TBA
Scouting Rhode Island
The Rams have been road warriors so far in 2024, but that’s nothing new for a school located in the northeast portion of the country. With trips to Edinburg (TX), Blacksburg (VA) and Pullman (WA) already in the books, Rhode Island is on another cross-country journey for a fourth straight weekend to face its biggest test yet against the No. 7 ranked Texas Aggies.
Frankly, the road-weary Rams have not started off well, winning just two contests in nine starts against the likes of UTRGV, Virginia Tech and Washington State. With a team ERA of 9.88 and a team batting average of just .212, Rhode Island will have a hard time competing against the undefeated Aggies.
On the mound, the Rams are scheduled to start Connor Grotyohann on Friday. He’s gotten off to a slow start in three games at 0-2 with a bloated ERA of 9.26. In his last outing against Washington State, the sophomore right-hander allowed five hits, two walks and five earned runs in a brief 2.2-inning stint. That doesn’t bode well with Texas A&M’s explosive lineup waiting in the wings tonight.
Redshirt freshman righty Evan Maloney is slated to take the ball Saturday, and after getting hit hard in his first couple of outings in 2024, his latest effort against the Cougars last weekend was solid allowing three runs in five innings with no walks.
Tommy Hughes has been impressive so far out of the bullpen striking out seven batters in 4.1 innings with no earned runs. However, the staff numbers tail off significantly once you get past the graduate transfer from Southern Connecticut State.
At the plate, the Rams are struggling nine games into the season with a team batting average of .212 and averaging a mere 3.5 runs a contest. The Texas A&M pitching staff is only allowing 1.8 runs a game, so you can see the challenges ahead for Rhode Island in this three-game set.
The Rams are led offensively by Anthony DePino, who had a monster game last Saturday in Pullman, going 3-of-4 with two home runs and four RBI. Overall, he’s swinging the bat at a .323 clip with a team-high slugging percentage of .581 and the top on-base percentage at .417. Reece Moroney ranks second on the team with a.306 average with three multi-hit performances. All 11 hits this season have been singles. The offensive production goes down from there with several starters hitting below the dreaded Mendoza Line (.200). Unless Rhode Island can locate some untapped offensive production in the dugout, this could be a long weekend for the Rams based on the statistical comparisons.
| Hitting | Avg. | Runs/Game | Slugging % | On-Base % | Strikeouts/Game |
| Texas A&M | .321 | 10.2 | .583 | .468 | 8.1 |
| Rhode Island | .212 | 3.6 | .308 | .298 | 10.0 |
| Pitching | ERA | WHIP | Walks/Game | Opp. Avg. | K/Game | Fielding |
| Texas A&M | 1.62 | 0.96 | 2.6 | .184 | 11.8 | .982 |
| Rhode Island | 9.88 | 2.25 | 5.3 | .357 | 7.9 | .954 |
Texas A&M storylines to watch
Well, the first thing for Aggie fans to watch is the best 1-2 offensive punch in college baseball. That would be preseason All-Americans Braden Montgomery and Jace LaViolette. They have lived up to that billing and then some through the first 13 games of the 2024 season. Just how dominant have these two been so far? Well, they’ve combined for 13 home runs, 47 RBI and 20 extra base hits. The pair of Montgomery and LaViolette accounts for roughly 40 percent of the entire Aggies’ offensive production.
Montgomery has been everything and more after his highly-anticipated transfer from Stanford in the offseason. He currently leads the team in hits (19), home runs (7), RBI (26), total bases (44) and walks (12). LaViolette isn’t far behind, leading the squad in runs scored (19), walks (12) and stolen bases (2). You might have to go back to 1989 with Chuck Knoblauch and John Byington to find a better 1-2 punch in a Texas A&M lineup. It’s been truly amazing to watch so far.
Yet, there’s more to be excited about offensively for A&M. Graduate transfer Jackson Appel has been on fire in recent weeks, leading the team with a .423 batting average and a team-high on-base percentage of .571. He’s also flashed some power with two homers and four extra-base hits. Freshman Gavin Grahovac is proving that the transition from high school to college is not a big deal, hitting .320 with five extra-base hits, 13 RBI and 18 runs scored out of the lead-off spot. Michigan transfer Ted Burton is having a solid start to the 2024 campaign hitting .324 with two homers and nine RBI. Hayden Schott ignited the flame this week with a critical late-game three-run bomb to shake off a pesky Texas Southern squad, and he had a big hit in the win over Texas in Austin on Tuesday.
It would be nice to see Ali Camarillo break out of his recent slump. After a hot first weekend, the transfer shortstop has slipped to .273, which is the lowest among the regular starters. Now, his play in the field has been spotless, but getting him back on track at the bottom of the lineup will give the likes of Grahovac, LaViolette and Montgomery more opportunities to drive in runs.
On the mound, what can you say when your Friday night starter, Ryan Prager, is 3-0 and hasn’t allowed an earned run all season? In fact, the pitching staff as a whole has been close to perfect with a sparkling team ERA of 1.62 with a WHIP of 0.96, while allowing just 2.6 walks per game. Those are historic numbers. Granted, the competition hasn’t been the greatest, but there are 13 other teams in the SEC that would love to have that stat line three weeks into the season regardless of the opponents.
Saturday starter Tanner Jones is still rounding into shape as he slowly comes back from a preseason injury. He’s been on a strict pitch count so far, but the SEC race is just one week away, so it will be interesting to see how far head coach Jim Schlossnagle will stretch his pitch count. Justin Lamkin has been inconsistent at times, but in the end, he’s getting the job done and not allowing the opposition to score. That’s an understatement when you see his 1-0 record and minuscule 0.71 ERA.
Evan Aschenbeck and Shane Sdao have emerged early in the season as the go-to bullpen relievers so far. In 25.2 innings of action, the pair have allowed a combined two earned runs with 36 strikeouts and only five walks. That is pure dominance out of the bullpen. After those two, the roles are still up for grabs. Brad Rudis and Josh Stewart haven’t allowed an earned run in 12.1 innings of work. Stewart entered the game in Austin against his old team and was very good. He’s making a strong bid to claim a spot high in the pecking order. There are several others who will get a chance this weekend to stake their claim in the bullpen. It’s a very deep stable of arms and the competition is stiff, and that’s a good thing for Aggie fans.
What’s at stake this weekend
Really, there’s not much to say. Just keep the momentum going against an inferior, road-weary opponent who has yet to play a home game in Rhode Island due to the weather. This weekend isn’t about the opponent or the results on the scoreboard. It’s about getting everything fine-tuned and ready to go because the SEC is coming quickly.
A&M kicks off the SEC slate with a very tough road trip to face the always-elite Florida Gators. The best way to prepare for that huge weekend is to take care of business this weekend and hopefully define everybody’s role.