Fresh off its 2-1 series victory against then-No. 6 Ole Miss, Texas A&M will enter a Thursday through Saturday showdown with SEC powerhouse, the No. 13 South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Aggies (18-8, 5-1) will hit the road to seek their third consecutive series win in SEC play and enter the matchup having won eight of their last nine games. The Gamecocks (18-6, 2-4) have appeared in the past three College World Series finals and won back-to-back championships in 2010 and 2011.
A&M will look for continued production from sophomore first baseman Cole Lankford. Lankford has risen to second on the team in batting average, hitting .330, while leading the team in RBIs with 17.
[Lankford] has been constant defensively, head coach Rob Childress said. But from an offensive standpoint, he has been really good for us the last three weeks.
The Aggies will also look for solid production from the bullpen, especially from reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, Matt Kent.
Kent, a relief pitcher, entered in the second inning the second game of Sundays doubleheader with the Aggies trailing 5-2 against Ole Miss. He proceeded to throw five scoreless innings and allowed only three hits, resulting in a comeback victory for A&M.
Kent has a 2-1 record with an ERA of 3.07 while holding opponents batting average to .231.
South Carolina senior first baseman L.B. Dantzler has posted a batting average of .337 with a team-leading seven homeruns and 26 RBIs. Dantzlers experience and power will make for a tough matchup against Aggie pitchers.
It doesnt get any easier, Childress said. Whether its the Big 12 or the SEC, youve got to have a short-term memory if things dont go your way, and you also have to have it when things do go your way.
Texas A&M is 4-5 on the road, compared to its 14-3 record at home. The Aggies have been outscored a total of 42-49 when they are away, and average just fewer than 5 runs per game.
Weve played a lot of great teams, junior centerfielder Krey Bratsen said. Unfortunately, we couldnt get wins in some of those games. I think playing those great teams is going to help us get ready for the SEC.