Travel time will be short for the Prairie View A&M Panthers as they make the 50-mile trip up Highway 6 to take on Texas A&M in a mid-week showdown at Olsen Field Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m.
Prairie View A&M arrives after a walk-off grand slam from junior catcher Grant Dougherty against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.
Led by seniors Dominiq Harris (.327) and Greg Salcido (.324), the Panthers are batting .265 as a team and have grounded into just five double plays this year
Harris leads the team in home runs and RBIs with five and 33, respectively. Harris is second on the team in hits with 32, trailing only Salcido who has 33. Salcido leads the team in doubles with 11, but has struck out a team-high 22 times.
A&M is fresh off a 1-2 weekend series with Alabama that featured a 13-8 victory in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader. The Aggies are tied for last with Auburn in the western division of the SEC.
Freshman Nick Banks is heating up as the season wears on. Banks started the season with a .160 average (4-25) but has since raised his average to a team-high of .321. Banks has 27 hits including four doubles, a triple and a home run in 2014.
Cole Lankford is second on the team in batting average with a .306. Lankford is in the top five on the team in slugging percentage at .410, doubles with 8 and runs scored at 16. He also leads the team in hits (41), RBI’s (24) and total bases (55).
Sophomore right-hander Andrew Vinson has pitched 25 innings for the Aggies, allowing 14 hits and nine runs in a team-high 19 appearances on the mound.
The Aggies (19-14, 5-7 SEC) are 14-7 in non-conference games this year and own a 16-7 clip at home.
Following Tuesday’s single game against Prairie View A&M, Texas A&M will continue its SEC schedule Friday on the road against the No. 7 Vanderbilt Commodores. The three game-series is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.