The No. 21 Texas A&M baseball team will be competing in the Frisco Classic Tournament starting on Friday.
A&M will be playing against Illinois on Friday, No. 8 UCLA on Saturday, and No. 17 Oklahoma State on Sunday. The Aggies will head into their game against Illinois undefeated having won their previous 10 games; their most recent win was against the University of Incarnate Word.
The Aggies have been dominant batting this season. Their combined batting average is .340 and they are currently averaging 11.5 runs per game.
Junior outfielder Zach DeLoach is leading the team in batting average and on-base percentage with a .586 batting average and a .675 on-base percentage. This leads the team and is higher than the next highest percentage by more than 13 percent points. DeLoach has hit three doubles and a team-high four homeruns this season. His 17 hits have brought in 11 RBI.
Coach Rob Childress had high praise for DeLoach after the game against Incarnate Word.
“He’s started off hot, he’s more mature, more confident and he’s a guy that’s been a big part of our success thus far,” Childress said.
Junior third baseman Logan Sartori is second in batting average among the starting lineup. Averaging a .444 batting average, Sartori also has the second-highest slugging percentage of any batter on the team with .815. Junior Bryce Blaum leads the team in RBI with 14, doubles with seven and stolen bases with seven.
Childress said he has loved Blaum’s performance in the lead-off spot.
“He can start off with a bang,” Childress said. “He’s willing to take his walks, be very aggressive on the base pass, he’s fearless. He’s coming up with traffic on bases and he’s driving people in.”
To complement the dominant batting, A&M’s pitching has also been extremely consistent. In all nine wins, the Aggies have only allowed 2.77 ERA, 62 hits and 31 runs in 78 innings pitched. The pitching is headlined by junior left-hander Asa Lacy and junior right-hander Christian Roa.
Each have pitched 11 innings, struck out 22 batters and have only allowed six hits. The two pitchers combined have only allowed five earned runs and two homeruns. Opposing batters have been held to a .179 batting average when they face Lacy and a .158 batting average when they face Roa.
Junior left-hander Chandler Jozwiak is third on the team in innings pitched with 9.1 innings. In his time at the mound, Jozwiak has struck out nine batters, allowed only five earned runs, and held opposing batters to a .26 batting average.
The Aggies first competition, Illinois, currently has a 3-3 record on the season. The Fighting Illini’s best batter is sophomore infielder Branden Comia. Comia has a .412 batting average, one homerun, two RBI, and a .588 on base percentage. Illinois’ bullpen is headlined by senior right-handed pitcher Ty Weber. Weber is the only Illinois pitcher with two wins on the season and is allowing .82 ERA and an opposing batting average of .205.
Comia and the rest of the Illinois batting order will have to deal with the Aggie bullpen that is only allowing 2.48 ERA and an opposing batting average of .204. Meanwhile, Illinois’ bullpen will have to deal with the dominant batting of the Aggies batting order that has a .340 batting average, earns 11.5 runs per game, and has a .466 on base percentage.
While the Aggies look like they have the edge on paper against Illinois, their games against UCLA and Oklahoma State will highlight the dominance of this team.
On the season, UCLA has a .298 batting average, a .377 on base percentage, and are averaging 6.6 runs per game. Their top hitters freshman JT Schwartz and senior Kyle Cuellar are each averaging a .420 batting average, above a .450 on base percentage and 3 RBI. While the Bruins haven’t had the offensive firepower of A&M, their bullpen has been strong.
UCLA’s bullpen currently has a.76 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched. They have only allowed one home run all season and have held opposing batters to a .139 batting average. The Aggies dominant hitting will be put to the test against a stellar UCLA bullpen.
Of all three games, the A&M bullpen should have its most difficult competition against Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State currently has a .329 batting average, a .400 on base percentage, and a 7.9 runs per game average. Senior Matt Hewitt will be looking to expand on his hot start to the season. Hewitt has a .485 batting average, a .515 on base percentage, and seven RBI. Five other batters on the Cowboys starting batting order have batting averages over .300 and on base percentages of 39 percent.
While the A&M bullpen will be challenged, A&M’s batters should be able to contend with Oklahoma State’s offense. The Cowboys’ bullpen have allowed a 3.97 ERA, a batting average of .235, and eight homeruns in 77 innings pitched.
The Aggies first game against Illinois will take place at Dr. Pepper Park in Frisco, Texas. First pitch is at 7 p.m. on Friday.