After winning its first conference series of the season against Ole Miss, Texas A&M looks to add onto that with a series matchup against Auburn at Plainsman Park from Thursday, April 6, to Saturday, April 8.
A&M won its midweek game against Texas State 10-9 in a close contest that had the Aggies come back from down 5-0 in the first inning.
The 18-11 Aggies have struggled throughout their last 12 games, losing two of their past three series and finishing 5-7. The good news is the Aggies started the year hot with a 12-4 start before the rough stretch. However, A&M currently sits in the middle of the SEC standings tied with Auburn and Alabama, with each of them having 3-6 conference records.
Auburn comes in with an 18-10-1 record for the season and, like the Aggies, currently has a 3-6 record in the SEC standings. The Tigers are coming off a series loss to Florida and a midweek game loss to UAB.
The maroon and white currently hold a 15-14 all-time series lead over the Tigers going into this three-game series. Nevertheless, this series has the power to change either of these teams’ seasons.
A&M and Auburn both have a lot riding on this series as both of them are tied in the middle of the pack in the SEC standings. The winner of the series can stay within striking distance of SEC West leaders LSU and Arkansas, while the loser is looking at a long season going forward.
For Thursday’s game, the Aggies will start junior RHP Nathan Dettmer, who is coming off a performance against Ole Miss where he struck out four and allowed four runs. On the other side, Auburn has sophomore RHP Will Cannon, who recently put up a performance where he held No. 3 Florida to one run in four innings.
Last weekend in the Ole Miss series, the Aggies made changes to their rotation that saw Sunday starter freshman LHP Justin Lamkin pitch on Saturday. Lamkin will start on Friday, looking to come back after a poor showing last week against the Rebels where he fell to 1-3 on the year after letting up six runs in three frames.
The Tigers have sophomore RHP John Armstrong going into his second career start after suffering a 5-1 loss against the Gators last week.
The rotation changes introduced by A&M last week also included making freshman LHP Shane Sdao the starter for the third game of the series, which makes him the expected starter for Saturday’s game. Finishing off the series for the Tigers is graduate LHP Tommy Vail.
The Tigers are hitting with an average of .294, with freshman C Ike Irish leading the way at .395 and senior 3B Bryson Ware hitting .391. Opponents, however, have been teeing off on the Tigers’ pitchers who collectively have an ERA of 8.53 in SEC play and a conference opponent batting average of .320.
The Aggies have been average offensively this season, with only two players hitting above a .300 batting average with junior SS and junior 1B Jack Moss hitting .389 and .368, respectively.
Although A&M has struggled offensively over the course of its last 12 games, that has not been its most pressing issue, allowing opponents to hit at a clip of .303. The pitching inconsistencies have cost A&M several contests.
Several pitching lineups have been used throughout the season, and the Aggies have made it clear that they are looking for three good starters that can take them deep into games. Dettmer has cemented his spot on Fridays while coach Jim Schlossnagle looks for two more consistent hurlers.
The start of the series matchup between A&M and Auburn will be televised on SEC Network on Thursday, April 6, at 7 p.m.