After going 2-1 against Oklahoma State over the weekend, No. 17 Texas A&M will continue a 13-game homestand against No. 18 Texas Christian Tuesday at Olsen Field.
“Tuesday night is going to be a war and it is going to be another tough week,” A&M Head Coach Rob Childress said. “We will definitely have our hands full.”
With the 6-4 win against the Cowboys on Sunday, the Aggies gained a half game lead over Texas in the Big 12 standings. Despite being first place in the Big 12, A&M is fighting for the chance to host a NCAA Regional tournament for the third consecutive season.
In 2008, the Aggies were leading the Big 12 with a record of 18-3 going into a game against the Horned Frogs. In 2009, A&M is again leading the Big 12, but its record is five games worse at 13-8 going into Tuesday.
“The Big 12 is as good as it has been and the records reflect that,” Childress said. “It is a war every time you take the field in the Big 12 conference. Everyone in our league is really good.”
Because of the tough conference slate, midweek games become a factor in deciding whether or not the Aggies will host a Regional. The NCAA looks at a team’s Ratings Percentage Index when determining the 16 host schools for the tournament.
The RPI formula takes into account a team’s strength of schedule and wins against other high RPI teams.
“[Every game is] huge from an RPI standpoint from here on out,” Childress said. “Everyone we play has a great RPI.”
BoydsWorld.com, a Web site dedicated to college baseball RPI, has the Aggies ranked No. 22 nationally with an RPI of .586. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 10 with a .610 RPI.
With the possibility of a Big 12 champion having at least nine conference losses, the conference could look average compared to other conferences. The Atlantic Coastal Conference and South Eastern Conference have had strong baseball programs every year, which helps when the postseason arrives.
“The Big 12 is no different than any other league,” Childress said. “It is as good as the SEC, the Pac-10 and the ACC.
Hopefully the NCAA will respect that come postseason time.”
The Big 12 and ACC have six teams ranked in the Top 25 in RPI with the SEC close behind with five teams.
The Aggies need to win games to be in contention for a chance to host a Regional when conference play ends. A&M has won seven of their previous eight games dating back to April 14 and looks to continue that pattern against TCU on Tuesday.
“One thing they have always hung their hat on is pitching and defense,” Childress said. “When you look at their numbers this year they have been offensive as well, so we are definitely going to have a tough challenge on Tuesday night.”
Ratings percentage index rankings1. North Carolina, .6352. Georgia Tech, .6323. Rice, .6304. Cal State Fullerton, .6295. Miami, .6276. UC Irvine, .6167. Clemson, .6158. Arizona State, .6119. Texas, .61110. Texas Christian, .61011. Arkansas, .60912. Georgia, .60713. Florida, .60214. Virginia, .60115. Oklahoma, .59916. Mississippi, .59617. Louisiana State, .59418. Hawaii, .59419. Baylor, .58920. Florida State, .58921. Minnesota,. 58722. Texas A&M, .586BoydsWorld.com