From the first pitch in February, the College World Series is always the goal for the Texas A&M baseball team. For the Aggies to make a serious run at Omaha, five key pieces must fall into place as the season unfolds.

Turner Larkins has been the starter on the mound for both of Texas A&M's championships this season. The sophomore, who has rounded out the Aggie rotation in recent weeks, shared his thoughts on playing TCU in the College Station Super Regional.

An unparalleled logjam at the top of the SEC standings will settle out this weekend, and the possibilities are endless. For Texas A&M, the easiest answer is wrapping up a national seed with a series win against Ole Miss. Which under-performing group will be the Aggies' key?

Once again, Texas A&M has taken a series from a top-10 SEC opponent. In Saturday's 5-2 victory against South Carolina in Columbia, the Aggies did it by — once again — following what's become a consistent and truly intimidating formula.

In a meeting between two of the SEC's titans, pitching was the story of Game 1. Turner Larkins, Andrew Vinson and Mark Ecker combined to make a single first-inning run stand for Texas A&M, as the No. 2 Aggies shut out No. 8 Vanderbilt on Thursday night.

National seeds are set to be divvied up among no less than five SEC teams — and one contender may be eliminated this weekend. Another clash of the conference's titans features Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, whose strengths sit opposite on the spectrum. Whose will win out?

Rain forced Texas A&M and Arkansas to play two on Saturday, and concerns arose as the Aggies' pitching fell by the wayside. Still, A&M fought back in the second game to salvage a split — with Sunday's rubber match set to answer some pointed questions.

Another mid-week, another victory for No. 2 Texas A&M. In Tuesday's 7-3 defeat of visiting UT-Arlington the Jonathan Moroney-led Aggies were able to parade some of their lesser-used arms on and off the mound — and the results were (mostly) encouraging.

Playing far from its best against one of the SEC's better pitching staff, Texas A&M found a way to take another series. Now positioned solidly at the head of the West, the Aggies — led by Boomer White's greatness and surprising pitching depth — face their make-or-break stretch.

There are no kind ways to look back on Texas A&M's performance in a sweep at the hands of Florida. There are, however, plenty of ways to overreact. What does the forgettable weekend mean for the Aggies, and how can they undo the damage?

From the first inning onward, Sunday was all maroon and white. A&M scored in six of the first seven innings and Kyle Simonds gave the Aggies seven strong innings as they completed the sweep of visiting Bulldogs.

It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't easy. Yet, despite trailing entering the seventh inning and falling behind in the 13th, despite missing its best player, Texas A&M used a bit of Olsen Magic on Tuesday to defeat a regional team and its ace and improve to 8-1 on the season.

The quest for a national seed, despite all indications just a few weeks ago, may come down to the SEC Tournament for the Aggies. But the larger issue is one that will make or break all of A&M's postseason hopes.

The Aggies' stellar season continued in Knoxville with a meaningful milestone sidling up in the process. The stretch run to a national seed is officially underway; only a small collection of concerns remain unsolved.

On a cold evening that stretched into the night, A&M reached 25-0 in non conference games with a walk off single from Logan Nottebrok. Matt Kent pitched more than five perfect innings in relief along the way.

The bats were held in check on Wednesday, but it mattered little. Bolstered by pitching that shut ACU down from the fourth inning on, the Aggies got a late advantage and held it to improve to 34-3 on the season.

Mid-way through the season the Aggies have proven themselves worthy of being called the nation's best team. What will they do with it from here? The list of problems is small and recent developments are encouraging.

The Aggies finally taking a loss 25 games into the season hardly matters at this point. Fueled by deep and powerful pitching options and free of the pressure of the streak, the season's second half can begin to unfold.