COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M Aggies and LSU Tigers meet in a battle of teams who share the top spot in the SEC overall standings and SEC Western Division. Both squads enter the fray with 12-5 marks in league play and they sit one-half game ahead of three Eastern Division teams who own 12-6 marks, including Florida, Missouri and Vanderbilt. The Aggies and Tigers own the two most prolific offenses in the SEC with LSU sporting a league-best .320 batting average and A&M owning the conference's best on-base percentage (.411) and boasting a league-best 47 home runs.
#2 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (36-5, 12-5 SEC) at #1 LSU TIGERS (35-6, 12-5 SEC)
Alex Box Stadium (10,326) • Baton Rouge, Louisiana
SCHEDULE - Thursday, 6:30 pm • Friday, 7:00 pm • Saturday, 1:00 pm
TELEVISION - Thu - ESPN2; Fri - SEC Alternate; Sat - ESPN • Dave Neal (play-by-play), Chris Burke and Ben McDonald
RADIO - Sports Radio 1150 The Zone • Dave South (play-by-play)
LIVE VIDEO - SEC Network+ (WatchESPN credentials required through cable provider)
LIVE AUDIO - 12thMan.com • radioaggieland.com (free)
LIVE STATS - 12thMan.com
RANKINGS - Texas A&M - t-2 (USAT), 2 (D1B), 2 (BA), 3 (NCBWA); LSU - 1 (USAT), 1 (D1B), 1 (BA), 1 (NCBWA)
SERIES HISTORY - Texas A&M leads 18-15-1 and have won the last two meetings
* LSU has the series listed as 16-16-1 with the discrepancies coming in the early 20th century
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
• THURSDAY: #38 Grayson Long (Jr., RHP, 8-0, 2.73 ERA) vs. #16 Jared Poche' (So, LHP, 7-1, 2.90 ERA)
• FRIDAY: #27 Ryan Hendrix (So., RHP, 3-0, 1.40 ERA) vs. #35 Alex Lange (Fr., RHP, 7-0, 1.40 ERA)
• SATURDAY: TBA vs. #18 Austin Bain (Fr., RHP, 1-1, 3.07 ERA)
ACROSS THE BOARD IMPROVEMENT
The Aggies are hitting .028 higher than at the same time a season ago and the improvement can be seen sprinkled throughout the lineup. Below is a comparison of batting averages through 41 games from 2014 and 2015.
|
|
2014 |
2015 |
|
.298 |
.311 |
|
|
.328 |
.407 |
|
|
.237 |
.324 |
|
|
.253 |
.349 |
|
|
.291 |
.363 |
|
|
.276 |
.376 |
TEXAS A&M/LSU SERIES NOTABLES
Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 18-15-1. LSU has won 10 of the last 13. The series is even at 3-3 since A&M joined the SEC for the 2013 season with five of the six games decided by one run.
Last year, the Aggies came a Jared Foster SportsCenter Top 10 play away from sweeping the series. LSU won the series opener, 5-4, in 10 innings. In the bottom of the ninth, A&M erased a 4-0 deficit to knot the game at 4-4, but with bases loaded and two outs, Foster made a full-extension leaping grab with his back to the plate to snare a potential walk-off hit by BLAKE ALLEMAND. The Aggies won the second game of the series, 3-2, behind a complete-game performance by Daniel Mengden, who allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out five in 9.0 innings. Cole Lankford provided a walk-off single to secure the win. The Aggies claimed the series with the help of an eighth-inning home run by RONNIE GIDEON and two blank frames of relief by ANDREW VINSON.
MORE ON LSU
LSU enters the fray as the top-ranked team in the country with a 35-6 mark. The Tigers are tied with Texas A&M atop the SEC standings with a 12-5 mark. The Bayou Bengals have won 12 of their last 13 games, including a three-game sweep at Alabama and two wins in a rain-shortened series at Georgia.
The Tigers are mashing at a rate of .320 with a .386 on-base percentage and .481 slugging percentage. LSU boasts seven players hitting over .300, led by Kade Scivicque with a .396 batting average, 22 runs, 13 doubles, five home runs and 32 RBI. Mark Laird is batting .354 with 40 runs and 17 stolen bases. Andrew Stevenson is hitting .351 with 34 runs, six doubles, five triples and 12 stolen bases. Alex Bregman is hitting .329 with 41 runs, 14 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 34 RBI and 24 stolen bases.
LSU's pitching staff owns a 2.86 ERA, .231 opponent batting average and 348 strikeouts in 390.0 innings. Thursday night starter Jared Poche' is 7-1 with a 2.90 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 10 starts. Friday night starter Alex Lange is 7-0 with a 1.40 ERA, 65 strikeouts and a .210 opponent batting average in nine starts. Closer Jesse Stallings is 1-1 with 11 saves and 19 strikeouts in 19 appearances.
The Tigers have made 16 College World Series appearances, including winning six titles, most recently in 2009.All six national championships have come since the 1991 season. They also won titles in 1993, '96, '97, 2000 and '09.
LSU boasts 68 former players who have gone on to play in the Major Leagues. The group is headlined by five-time Cleveland Indians All-Star Joey 'Albert' Belle, the only player in MLB history to log 50 doubles and 50 home runs in the same season, and 1948 MLB Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star Al Dark.
THURSDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER: #38 GRAYSON LONG
First pitcher to Aggie pitcher to start 8-0 since Michael Wacha in 2012... SEC Pitcher of the Week twice in 2015... five weeks ago, fanned 14 of the 23 batters he faced in 6.0 innings at Alabama... named Most Outstanding Player at the Houston College Classic in March, scattering three hits and striking out a then career-high 10 batters without a walk in a 6-0 win against No. 16 Houston... enters play as the Aggies' active leader in wins (18), innings pitched (191.1) and strikeouts (159)... started his sophomore campaign by allowing just one run in his first five starts, scattering 22 hits and 10 walks while striking out 22 batters in 34.0 innings... last season he earned SEC wins against Auburn, Florida, eventual national champion Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Mississippi State, posting a 5-2 record in league action.
LONG'S CAREER TOTALS
|
Year |
W-L |
ERA |
APP/GS |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
AVG |
|
2013 |
4-2 |
3.52 |
12/10 |
0 |
46.0 |
39 |
19 |
18 |
25 |
38 |
.235 |
|
2014 |
6-2 |
3.12 |
15/15 |
0 |
89.1 |
98 |
32 |
31 |
28 |
55 |
.284 |
|
2015 |
8-0 |
2.73 |
10/10 |
0 |
56.0 |
43 |
22 |
17 |
24 |
66 |
.206 |
|
Career |
18-4 |
3.10 |
37/35 |
0 |
191.1 |
180 |
73 |
66 |
77 |
159 |
.250 |
FRIDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER: #27 RYAN HENDRIX
Making his third career start and second start in 2015... in his first career SEC start, worked 4.1 innings, yielding three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five... stellar in the bullpen, logging a 3-0 record and five saves in 14 outings... worked 4.1 innings of relief in the Sunday game against Mississippi State two weeks ago, retiring the first 12 batters he faced before allowing a hit with two outs in the ninth inning... this season he has worked the ninth inning on 11 occasions logging a .220 opponent batting average and 0.82 ERA.
HENDRIX'S CAREER TOTALS
|
Year |
W-L |
ERA |
APP/GS |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
AVG |
|
2014 |
0-2 |
7.27 |
11/1 |
0 |
8.2 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
9 |
.242 |
|
2015 |
3-0 |
1.40 |
15/1 |
5 |
25.2 |
21 |
5 |
4 |
8 |
24 |
.226 |
|
Career |
3-2 |
2.88 |
26/2 |
5 |
34.1 |
29 |
13 |
11 |
14 |
33 |
.230 |
RECORD-BREAKING INNING
The Aggies posted a few records when they scored 13 runs on 13 hits in their 19-4 win over Sam Houston State. The Aggies started the inning by stringing together 11 consecutive hits. The mark equaled the NCAA Division I record set by Cal State-Los Angeles against UC Santa Barbara on May 21, 1977 and equaled by Oakland against Southern Utah on May 16, 2008. The 13 hits set an obscure mark for “most hits in a third inning” set by UNLV against Alliant International on May 2, 1981 and equaled by Clemson against Maryland on March 21, 1998 and Long Island against Mount St. Mary's on April 10, 2000. The Aggies hit a school-record four home runs during the frame.
BIG INNINGS
The 2015 campaign has been spangled by big innings for the Aggies. Texas A&M has four innings in 2015 in which they've scored at least seven runs. Most recently, the Aggies put up nine runs in the sixth inning of their 14-6 rubber match win against Missouri and 13 runs in the third inning of a 19-4 pounding of Sam Houston State. For the year, the Aggies boast 22 innings in which they've produced four or more runs.
In the first 37 games of the season, A&M's pitching staff allowed four or more runs in an inning on just three occasions. Against Arkansas, Aggies allowed more than four runs in an inning in each of the three games in the series.
NINTH-INNING CLAMPS
The Aggie pitching staff has yielded just six earned runs in the ninth inning or extra innings, a body of work that includes 39.0 innings and all six of the earned runs have come with Texas A&M leading by four or more runs. The bullpen, which has yielded just five runs, four unearned, in the ninth inning and extra frames, has allowed just 24 hits and 17 walks in the 38.2 innings, with 44 strikeouts. MARK ECKER has accounted for 15.0 innings, yielding only five hits and four walks while striking out 17. RYAN HENDRIX has worked 11.0 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, scattering nine hits and three walks while striking out 12.
DINGER WATCH
The Aggies already have 47 home runs on the season. Last year, A&M hit just 25 home runs on the year. The Aggies had just 18 home runs at this point in the season in 2014. A&M has hit 15 of their 47 home runs in series openers. The Aggies have 25 home runs in their last 14 games, including five home runs in a 19-4 win against Sam Houston State. A&M added five more home runs in the doubleheader sweep at Kentucky and logged two in a 4-3 win over No. 13 Rice.
INHERITANCE TAX
In the Aggies' 3-2 win against Baylor, A&M's bullpen had a string of stranding 18 consecutive inherited runners snapped. The Aggie relievers have still been rather salty on the season, allowing just 21 of 94 (77.7 percent stranded) inherited runners to score. TY SCHLOTTMANN has been the most tested out of the bullpen and he has been up to the task, stranding 20 of his 25 inherited runners (80.0 percent). ANDREW VINSON has left 15 of the 20 ducks he inherited on the pond. KYLE SIMONDS has stranded eight of the nine runners he has inherited. Against Prairie View A&M, Aggie relievers entered the game with seven baserunners, including bases loaded on two occasions, and they didn't yield a run. In the doubleheader sweep of Kentucky, the Aggies allowed just one of six inherited runners to score. Two weeks ago against Rice, the bullpen stranded six of seven inherited runners.
COLLEGE STATION FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Aggie bullpen has been tested more frequently as the season has progressed and are stepping up to the challenge of putting out fires. Thirteen pitchers have combined to work 161.0 innings out of the bullpen, posting an 14-2 record, 16 saves, a 1.79 ERA, 119 hits and 46 walks while striking out 153. The bullpen sports a WHIP of 1.02, opponent batting average of .206 and a 3.32-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. At the Houston College Classic, the bullpen allowed just one hit in 7.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Texas A&M's bullpen has outstanding numbers in two key stats. The Aggie relievers have retired 73.1 percent (90-of-124) of the first batters they have faced. They've also stranded 77.7 percent (73-of-94) of the runners they have inherited.
In games decided four runs or less, the Aggie bullpen owns a 1.24 ERA and is holding opponents to a .208 batting average. ANDREW VINSON has 15 appearances in those games with a 3-0 record, allowing just one run, scattering 11 hits while striking out 15 in 19.2 scoreless innings. RYAN HENDRIX has appeared in 11 of the contests, allowing two runs, one earned, on 11 hits and six walks while striking out 11 in 15.0 innings. He has a 2-0 mark, five saves and a 0.60 ERA in the tight games. MARK ECKER was perfect in his duties until suffering the Aggies' lone blown save in last Sunday's loss at Arkansas. Ecker has eight saves and 1.17 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 15.1 innings in tightly contested games.
PITCHING WEDGE
Kyle Simonds marks the only player on the squad to not play high school baseball. Simonds spent his springs at Grand Island (Neb.) Central Catholic High School playing golf. Skilled on the links, Simonds qualified for the Nebraska Class C state tournament all four years, finishing 11th at the championship as a junior. He got his share of baseball in the summers staring for American Legion squad Home Federal. He went 2-for-2 with one double, one home run and three RBI at the Cornhusker League All-Star Game in July 2012.
Simonds honed his pitching skills at Hutchinson Community College where he blossomed last year. As a sophomore, he was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Pitcher of the Year, posting a 13-0 record (13 wins led the nation) and a 2.30 ERA. He broke single season school records for wins (13), complete-games (nine), shutouts (three) and strikeouts (103) in 2014.
The northpaw has been impressive in his 14 appearances this season. Simonds is 2-1 with a 0.96 ERA, one save and 26 strikeouts in 37.1 innings. He owns a WHIP of 0.99 and is holding opponents to a .185 batting average. In his first career outing, he retired 12 of 13 batters he faced with the only batter reaching base on a HBP, blanking Holy Cross for 4.0 innings with four strikeouts. Simonds earned his first career win working 2.1 innings, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out one in a 4-1 victory against UTPA. At Alabama (3/21), Simonds worked 5.0 innings of relief, allowing one unearned run to help the Aggies' secure their 24th consecutive win, setting an SEC record.
1,000 WINS AT OLSEN FIELD
With their win in the Saturday game against Auburn, the Aggies secured their 1,000th win at the friendly confines of Olsen Field. Playing their 38th season at the now-Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park, the Maroon and White are 1,011-328-4 (.754) at the corner of George Bush Drive and Olsen Boulevard.
SEEMS LIKE JUST LAST YEAR
Texas A&M is averaging 1.4 more runs per game and sporting a batting average .028 higher than the same point last season. Here's a comparison of the Aggies offensive numbers through 41 games in 2014 and 2015.
|
|
2014 |
2015 |
|
W-L |
24-17 |
36-5 |
|
SEC W-L |
8-10 |
12-5 |
|
Batting Average |
.288 |
.316 |
|
Runs Per Game |
5.9 |
7.3 |
|
Runs |
240 |
300 |
|
Home Runs |
18 |
47 |
|
RBI |
218 |
281 |
|
Slugging Percentage |
.385 |
.481 |
|
On-Base Percentage |
.365 |
.411 |
STREAKS AND TRENDS
• NICK BANKS has reached base (via walk, HBP or hit) in all 40 game he's played in 2015. He owns a .471 on-base percentage with 61 hits, 16 walks and three HBP over the span. It's the longest streak for an Aggie since Mikey Reynolds reached in 46 consecutive games in 2013. He has a pair of 13-game hit streaks during the stretch.
• The Aggies are on a 17-game win streak in midweek games, including a 12-0 mark in 2015. The string includes five games at the end of 2014, including wins over then-No. 16 Rice and then-No. 25 Sam Houston State.
• The Aggies have won their last 29 regular-season non-conference games, including 24 in a row this season.
• Texas A&M hasn't allowed a last-inning run (7th or 9th) in the last 10 games.
• The Aggies have 25 home runs in the last 14 games. A&M has hit multiple home runs in eight of the last 13 contests.
• BLAKE ALLEMAND has hit in the leadoff spot the last 31 games, batting .310 with a .414 on-base percentage, 27 runs, seven doubles, one triple, three home runs and 19 RBI.
• NICK BANKS has hit in the No. 2 spot the last six games, batting .348 with a .444 on-base percentage, six runs, one double, two home runs, 10 RBI and two stolen bases.
• LOGAN TAYLOR has hit cleanup the last six games, batting .524 with a .615 on-base percentage, two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.
QUICK DRAW
• The Aggies are outscoring opponents a combined 81-31 in the first two innings of games, including 46-26 in first innings and 35-5 in second innings.
• In the first inning of games, the Aggies are batting .339 (58-for-171) with a .431 on-base percentage and .515 slugging percentage. The Maroon and White have drawn 28 walks and have been hit by two pitches. The extra-base hits include 13 doubles, one triple and five home runs.
• In the first inning of games, the A&M pitching staff has held opponents to a .270 batting average (43-for-159) and have struck out 45 of the 179 batters they've faced (25.1%).
• In the second inning of games, the Aggies are batting .291 (46-for-158) with a .386 on-base percentage and .487 slugging percentage. The Maroon and White have drawn 18 walks and have been hit by five pitches. The extra-base hits include five doubles, one triple and eight home runs.
• In the second inning of games, the A&M pitching staff has held opponents to a .229 batting average (35-for-153), own an 0.88 ERA and have struck out 44 of the 170 batters they've faced (25.9%).
MEN IN BLACK
The Aggies have a new black uniform in their wardrobe for the 2015 season. The squad is only permitted to wear the jerseys for games in which they are trying to complete a series sweep. They have had the opportunity to don the black unis on seven occasions this season, going 6-1. The uniforms have been especially friendly to the pitching staff that owns a 1.97 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 65 strikeouts in 64.0 innings of work in the look. The Aggies were unable to wear black jerseys in their series finale at Kentucky as the Wildcats elected to wear black in the second game of the doubleheader.
MEATGRINDER
Starting with the three-game series at Alabama, 23 of Texas A&M's last 33 games will be against teams that advanced to the 2014 NCAA Championship. The gauntlet includes seven SEC weekend series against NCAA tournament teams, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and South Carolina, two games against Sam Houston State and one game against Rice. The Aggies are currently 14-5 in the stretch.
BALANCE OF POWER
Coach Childress has the potential to pencil in a lineup that can include nine players with at least three home runs. LOGAN TAYLOR leads the team with 10 home runs, followed by RONNIE GIDEON with seven. JB MOSS and NICK BANKS checks in five home runs apiece, followed by BLAKE ALLEMAND, LOGAN NOTTEBROK and HUNTER MELTON with four. RYNE BIRK, and MITCHELL NAU both have three dingers.
CHILDRESS NEARING 400-WIN CLUB
At 395-213-2, ROB CHILDRESS is within striking distance of the 400-win plateau. He trails only Mark Johnson (876 - 1985-2005) and Tom Chandler (660 - 1959-84) in career wins for the Aggies.
AGGIES VS. NO. 1 TEAMS
Since 2000, the Aggies have had 14 run-ins with top-ranked teams. Texas A&M is 6-8 in the aforementioned contests. Most recently, the Aggies went 1-2 against No. 1 teams in 2013, losing to North Carolina 14-2 at the Minute Maid Classic in March and splitting two games against Vanderbilt (W, 5-0; L, 0-3) at the SEC Tournament. The last regular-season series against a top-ranked team came in 2001, when the Aggies won two of three against Nebraska in College Station.
The Aggies have played LSU four times when the Tigers were ranked No. 1. In 1991, A&M lost two of three at LSU in a February series. In 1995, a No. 1 LSU edged the Aggies 7-6 at the Winn-Dixie Showdown at the Louisiana Superdome.
AGGIES PERFECT IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Aggies are 24-0 in non-conference play this season. In non-league play, the Aggie pitching staff owns a 1.73 ERA and is holding opponents to a .223 batting average. The staff has a 1.08 WHIP and 3.82 K-to-BB ratio during the span. On offense, the Aggies are hitting .316 in non-conference action with MITCHELL NAU (.429) and NICK BANKS (.422) both hitting over .400. Texas A&M owns a 29-game win streak in regular-season non-conference play dating back to 2014.
HISTORIC START
The Aggies started the season 24-0. It marked the best start for the Maroon and White since the 1989 campaign when A&M set a 26-0 foundation. It also broke the SEC record for longest win streak, topping LSU's 23-game win streak in 2008.
UP NEXT
The play their last non-conference home game of the season Tuesday as the Aggies host the Texas State Bobcats in a 6:35 pm contest on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.