According to a pair of national polls, Texas A&M has the best baseball team in the country.
In the Collegiate Baseball and USA Today polls released Monday, the Aggies were placed at the top. After taking hold of the SEC with a series win over Missouri, A&M will look to continue its hot play Tuesday afternoon against the Sam Houston State Bearkats.
The Bearkats (13-16) most recently suffered a series loss to Central Arkansas on the road. On offense, they are led by Spence Rahm, who has 27 RBIs on the year and five home runs to his name. He is also hitting .347, the highest average on the team. They also have four batters in the lineup that are hitting better than .300.
The No. 1 Aggies (27-2, 7-2 SEC) recently captured their series against the Tigers with a 14-run outburst on Sunday afternoon. A&M has a powerful lineup, led in RBIs by Mitchell Nau (25) and home runs by Logan Taylor (six). Five Aggie hitters have more than 20 RBIs.
Nick Banks is also hitting .429 on the season. Six Aggie players have averages that are above the .300 mark on the season. As a team, the Aggies are No. 10 in the country in team batting average, hitting .311 as a unit.
On the mound, freshman Turner Larkins will most likely make the start for Texas A&M. Larkins has made seven starts this year, earning a 3-1 record. He has a 2.94 ERA with 32 strikeouts. A&M leads the nation in team ERA at 1.76. The Bearkats will most likely send Dylan Ebbs to the mound.
The Aggies and Bearkats last played each other in 2014. The Aggies and Bearkats split two games during the 2014 campaign, with SHSU winning 8-1 in the first meeting and A&M winning 3-1 in the final meeting.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Tuesday night at Olsen Field.