Series Preview: Ags take on Virginia Tech, UCLA and Arizona State at Globe Life
Also included above is a radio segment with Ryan Brauninger, Richard Zane and Scott Clendenin from Friday morning, previewing this weekend’s Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington.
Who: Virginia Tech (7-1, 0-0 in ACC), No. 1 UCLA (6-2, 0-0 in Big Ten), Arizona State (8-1, 0-0 in Big 12)
Where: Amegy Bank College Baseball Series (Globe Life Field – Arlington, Texas)
When:
Friday vs. Virginia Tech: 7 p.m. CT (FloSports)
Saturday vs. No. 1 UCLA: 7 p.m. CT (FloSports)
Sunday vs. Arizona State: 6:30 p.m. CT (FloSports)
Pitching matchups
Friday: LHP Shane Sdao (1-0, 2.92 ERA) vs. RHP Brett Renfrow (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Weston Moss (1-0, 3.27 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Barnett (2-0, 1.80 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Aiden Sims (2-0, 1.38 ERA) vs. RHP Jaden Alba (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Scouting - Amegy Bank College Baseball Series
Comparison By the Numbers
| Hitting | Avg. | Runs/Game | Slugging % | On-Base % | K/Game |
| Texas A&M | .357 | 11.0 | .636 | .487 | 8.0 |
| Virginia Tech | .279 | 6.38 | .450 | .419 | 8.75 |
| UCLA | .293 | 8.5 | .557 | .405 | 5.75 |
| Arizona State | .347 | 9.67 | .604 | .442 | 5.44 |
| Pitching | ERA | WHIP | BB/Game | Opp. Avg. | K/Game | Fielding % |
| Texas A&M | 2.70 | 0.90 | 1.13 | .208 | 10.13 | .978 |
| Virginia Tech | 5.50 | 1.54 | 4.63 | .268 | 11.86 | .976 |
| UCLA | 3.80 | 1.30 | 3.86 | .228 | 9.38 | .993 |
| Arizona State | 3.46 | 1.29 | 4.44 | .216 | 9.78 | .984 |
Friday 7 p.m. CT - Virginia Tech
For the first time ever, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech will meet on the baseball diamond.
While John Szefc’s Hokies are off to a nice start, their lone loss was a 16-1 run-rule defeat vs. Rutgers last Friday night. In that laugher, right-hander Brett Renfrow allowed just one earned run across three innings as the contest didn’t get out of hand until reliever Preston Crowl coughed up six. An experienced starter, Friday will be Renfrow’s 33rd career start for Virginia Tech, but the All-SEC third-teamer’s three-inning outing last week is the longest stint of the year. Will he be stretched out and ready to cover more of the ballgame, or will Szefc roll many different arms out there to keep A&M off-balanced?
That’s a big question entering Friday’s matchup.
Picked to finish 11th in the 16-team ACC, Virginia Tech has simply taken care of business thus far. The Hokies have won series over William & Mary and Rutgers while going 2-0 in midweek action.
Offensively, first baseman Sam Grube currently paces the club with a .444 average, eight RBIs, 22 total bases and a .815 slugging percentage. Second baseman Ethan Ball (.379), shortstop Pete Daniel (.333), catcher Anderson French (.333), third baseman Owen Petrich (.296) and right fielder Sam Gates (.286) all join Grube with averages over .280.
The Hokies have the lowest club average (.279) and runs-per-game average (6.38) of all three clubs A&M will face this weekend, while also having the worst team ERA (5.50), WHIP (1.54) and opponent average (.268) on the pitching side. VT also averages 4.63 walks allowed per game, which means the consistently patient plate approach the Aggies have exhibited through six of their first eight games should pay dividends in the first-ever matchup between these two programs.
Saturday 7 p.m. CT - No. 1 UCLA
Roch Cholowsky. Learn the name as it’ll likely follow the “With the first overall pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft, the Chicago White Sox select...”
Indeed, the top overall prospect in July’s draft is off to an insane start with a .400 average, a 1.613 OPS, six home runs and 12 RBIs while fielding a perfect 1.000 at shortstop for John Savage’s top-ranked Bruins. Cholowski bats second, which is directly in front of first baseman Mulivai Levu and his team-leading .412 average. As a team, UCLA’s average is just under .300, and the group’s OPS is just under 1.000 as the Bruins are a highly offensive bunch.
Oh yeah, and old nemesis Will Gasparino transferred out of Austin and back to his home state during the offseason. All the 6-foot-6 centerfielder has done is mash six homers for a UCLA-best 15 runs driven in while slugging 1.154.
Savage hands the ball to senior right-hander Michael Barnett on Saturday night, and in two outings in 2026, last year’s second-team All-Big Ten pick has tossed a pair of five-inning starts. With a team-leading 0.90 WHIP, Barnett has minimized hits thus far (just five), but he has walked four and plunked another while fanning just eight. UCLA does open the weekend vs. No. 20 Tennessee, so more might be required of Barnett should the Vols do A&M a favor on Friday night.
UCLA is a complete ballclub that doesn’t beat themselves. The Bruins are ranked No. 1 and picked to win the Big Ten for a reason. Indeed, the safe money is on Savage & Co. getting back to Omaha this June. However, they are not invincible. While a dominant sweep of then-No. 7 TCU made headlines, UCLA dropped its Opening Weekend finale to UC San Diego before falling to San Diego State on Tuesday.
Sunday 6:30 p.m. CT - Arizona State
By the time the Aggies and Sun Devils meet on Sunday night, Arizona State will have four games vs. SEC opponents already in the books. During the midweek, ASU split a two-game set in Norman, bludgeoning Oklahoma on Tuesday night, 15-3. Additionally, Sparky will face No. 4 Mississippi State and No. 20 Tennessee earlier in the weekend.
Former big leaguer Willie Bloomquist brings an offense to Arlington that has seven qualified hitters with averages over .330. Further, six Sun Devils boast an OPS over 1.000. Designated hitter Garrett Michel is hitting .450, while leadoff man and left-handed hitting left fielder Landon Hairston, who hails from the very same family that has produced five big leaguers, has a team-best 1.311 OPS and 16 RBIs. Capable of doing damage at a moment’s notice with any part of their lineup, ASU’s offense must be respected as the Devils very much look the part of a group that could slug its way to a Big 12 title.
Don’t be too overwhelmed by junior right-hander Jaden Alba’s perfect 0.00 ERA. In two games this season, he has not thrown more than 60 pitches against either Omaha or St. John’s, and last year he owned a 5.58 ERA with a 1.71 WHIP. Behind Alba, Bloomquist appears to have a number of bullpen options that are off to solid starts in 2026, but which arms are available depends on if the Devils get burned vs. the Bulldogs and Vols.
The last time these two squads met in Arlington, the Aggies took both games from ASU, but those ballgames were not without some fireworks. There’s no reason to expect any carryover retribution will be sought for a couple of booboos Braden Montgomery received at Globe Life in 2024.
Texas A&M storylines to watch
It’s not necessarily Jekyll and Hyde, but the Aggies have exhibited some signs of being a split-personality ball club. Against Tennessee Tech, the offense carried a pitching staff that left something to be desired. Last weekend, the A&M arms dominated Penn while the offense angered Michael Earley and everyone else watching. The true version of this team likely lies somewhere in the middle, but imagine the possibilities if the best of both phases are clicking consistently.
Of course, scoring at a clip seen on Opening Weekend (or even Tuesday vs. Lamar) and suffocating opposing offense as the Aggies did vs. Penn will be much harder against power conference opponents inside a big league ballpark.
The path to success in Arlington also gets harder if A&M is not at full strength. All-American Chris Hacopian has missed six straight games with back stiffness, while a “lower body injury” has kept designated hitter Wesley Jordan out of back-to-back contests. Getting those two veterans back will only lengthen a lineup that already ranks 13th nationally in runs per game (11.0).
Following frustrations last Friday and Saturday, the Aggies have gotten back to the old adage of “swinging at strikes and taking the balls.” Through eight games, A&M has worked 56 walks and has the nation’s seventh-best on-base percentage (.487), but they’re also doing damage when pitches are in the zone, ranking eighth with a .636 slugging percentage. Right now, the offense is led by Flower Mound native Caden Sorrell, who homered five times and drove in 16 as he heads back to the metroplex. Additionally, without Hacopian and Jordan, Terrence Kiel II has slid up to the leadoff spot in each of the last two games. All the speedster has done is get on base in seven of his nine plate appearances, as Kiel is the straw that stirs the potent drink.
A powerful offense has been the yin to the pitching staff’s yang as Jason Kelly’s bunch has been very stingy of late. Last weekend, A&M did not walk a single batter as the Aggies went 47.1 consecutive innings without issuing a base on balls. Being around the strike zone, limiting the free passes and inducing free passes will be required this weekend vs. better hitting. At the very least, a spacious Globe Life plays to A&M’s pitching strength.
Beyond a weekend rotation of Shane Sdao, Weston Moss and Aiden Sims that has quelled any preseason concerns, the Aggies quietly have a number of talented bullpen options to turn to. In his return from a knee injury, Josh Stewart has returned to form. Clayton Freshcorn picked up where he left off late in 2025. Clemson transfer Ethan Darden is Earley’s No. 1 left-handed option, and Panamanian right-hander Juan Vargas has impressed in his two outings.
What's at stake this weekend
With the uptick in competition comes an uptick in pressure, and what we think we know vs. what we really know about this Texas A&M team will become a little clearer this weekend.
Instead of flip-flopping great offense for great pitching in back-to-back weeks, can the Aggies flip the switch to where both the bats and arms are left “on” for the entire three-day stay in Arlington?
If the lightbulb goes on and stays on, the Aggies will return to Blue Bell Park looking every bit the club their talent suggests they are. But if they’re dimmed under the bright lights of Globe Life Field, they’ll come home with more questions than answers.
