COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies open up their fourth year of the SEC play on Friday with a three-game series at Auburn. The Maroon and White enter the weekend with an 11-game win streak in tow and have battled to one-run wins in four of their last five games, including a walk-off dinger by Michael Barash in Tuesday’s 5-4 win against Texas.
Texas A&M enters the fray with a team ERA of 2.12 and .195 opponent batting average. They’ve yielded just 25 extra-base hits in 157.0 innings. The Maroon and White rank fourth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (10.5), fifth in K-to-BB ratio (3.83), seventh in WHIP (1.01) and eighth in ERA (2.12). The Aggies lead the nation with five shutouts on the year.
J.B. Moss has been the straw that stirs the drink thus far on the season. He’s reached base in all 16 games he’s played in. The senior leads the team in batting average (.406), slugging percentage (.656), runs (20), doubles (6) and stolen bases (4). Moss leads an offense that ranks sixth in the nation with a .336 batting average.
Opening weekend of conference play has been a mixed bag for the Aggies in their first three seasons in the SEC. Texas A&M swept Georgia in 2013 and Auburn in 2015, both played in College Station. The Aggies dropped two of three at Auburn to start league play 2014.
SEC Network presents a Bases Loaded special Friday, March 18, the opening night of Southeastern Conference baseball, featuring every baseball team in the SEC, eight of which are ranked in the Top 25. The show is a live compilation of seven games – all 14 teams – taking place that evening across the southeast. Kyle Peterson and Chris Burke, will join Dari Nowkhah to provide analysis and play by play for the Bases Loaded presentation.
Every game of the series will be available for viewing on SEC Network + with Andy Burcham and Mark Fuller on the call. SEC Network + provides digital-only events to SEC Network subscribers through WatchESPN and the ESPN app on smartphones, computers, tablets and connected devices (Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One). Every game this season will air on SportsRadio 1150/102.7 The Zone.
#3 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (16-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. AUBURN TIGERS (9-8, 0-0 SEC)
Samford Stadium-Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park (4,096) • Auburn, Alabama
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
• FRIDAY: #38 Jace Vines (So., RHP, 3-0, 2.38 ERA) vs. #27 Justin Camp (Sr., RHP, 1-1, 3.46 ERA)
• SATURDAY: #22 Tyler Ivey (Fr., RHP, 2-0, 0.77 ERA) vs. #32 Casey Mize (Fr., RHP, 1-1, 1.46 ERA)
• SUNDAY: #14 Kyle Simonds (Sr., RHP, 3-0, 1.17 ERA) vs. #49 Cole Lipscomb (Jr., RHP, 1-1, 4.00 ERA)
