After winning a total of nine ranked matchups over the first 39 games of the season, the Texas A&M baseball team has propelled its way into the college baseball rankings, coming in at the No. 21 spot. The Aggies look to keep this hot streak going on Thursday, April 28, as they head to Nashville, Tenn., for the first of three against No. 22 Vanderbilt.
Coming into the series, coach Jim Schlossnagle and company are sitting on a 25-14 record, including 10 SEC wins. The Commodores will be starting the series by facing off against sophomore Nathan Dettmer on the mound for A&M. In Dettmer’s most recent outing, he helped hold the Razorbacks to a total of five hits helping him secure the title of SEC Pitcher of the Week on April 18. Over Dettmer’s last six SEC starts, he has recorded a 2.57 ERA and another strong performance from him will be huge for the Aggies to start this series.
A&M has a record of 8-4 on the road this season. For those 12 road games, it is important to note the Aggies have only left Texas three times this season — in series against LSU, Alabama and Georgia, respectively. When leaving the lone star state, the Aggies are 5-4 and have faced only ranked opponents, a streak that will continue this week in Nashville.
Performance on the rubber could be the deciding factor for this series. Vanderbilt pitched a combined no-hitter on Friday, April 22 against Kentucky by way of junior righty Chris McElvain and sophomore Christian Little. This no-hitter included 13 Ks and was the first for the Commodores since May 6, 2003.
“Throwing a no-hitter in this conference is unheard of,” Schlossnagle told TexAgs.com. “It’s Vanderbilt, one of the more elite programs in the country historically and it can be a great challenge”
The maroon and white will be counting on their leading hitters to show up this weekend in sophomore Jack Moss and graduate Dylan Rock. The duo is responsible for 44 earned runs this season and have batted .374 and .358 respectively on the season.
Heading into the final month of the season before the SEC Tournament and NCAA Regionals begin, the Aggies are currently in fourth in the SEC East sitting two games back of Arkansas.
First pitch for Game 1 against Vanderbilt will come at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 28.