Starting the season with an impressive 13-3 record and on the verge of becoming nationally ranked, the Auburn baseball team hit a wall, losing eight of ten that included a seven game conference losing streak. After managing a single victory over Alabama, the Tigers are looking forward to their first contest against SEC newcomer Texas A&M.
The three-game series against the Aggies will be April 4-7 in College Station, Texas at Blue Bell Park. Texas A&M (18-11, 5-4 SEC) comes into the game previously ranked as high as No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, but recently dropped out of the rankings after being swept by No. 14 South Carolina this past week.
The Aggies should match-up well against Auburn as both teams rank closely together in the bottom 25 percent of most SEC statistics. There are strong similarities in RBI, on base percentage and homeruns between the teams this season. This should prove to be a closely contested pitching match as well with both teams averaging approximately 3 earned runs per game.
One of the most glaring differences between the two teams is Auburn's second to last ranking in errors with 39, against A&M's second best with 24. Throughout the season, Auburn has hurt themselves by consistently allowing unearned runs, many off of errors. There were seven unearned runs in one game against Troy and 38 total this season. Texas A&M has only allowed 11 unearned runs all year and have forced their opponents to work for their scores.
If the Tigers can limit their errors and refrain from giving freebies to the Aggies, the series should be close throughout the weekend.
Pitching will be key for Auburn as Texas A&M has allowed 32 fewer runs than the Tigers and consistently score more. Auburn's pitching has shown flashes of success in winning games this season, but will need to limit the Aggies' scoring to give Auburn's unpredictable batting a chance at gaining a lead.
Some players to watch this series are two productive seniors, Auburn's Garrett Cooper and A&M's Mikey Reynolds.
Cooper, the first baseman for Auburn, has recently entered a hitting hot streak, leading the team in batting average with a .333 and hitting a crucial three-run homerun to defeat Alabama March 29. Cooper is tied for the lead in hits, doubles, triples and homeruns for the Tigers this season and trails only Ryan Tella in RBI's with 20.
Reynolds, a shortstop for the Aggies, leads his team in six categories including batting average, hits and runs. His .404 average is fourth overall in the SEC and will likely be a problem for Auburn pitchers throughout the weekend.
For Auburn to be successful in this series they must limit their errors and unearned runs, pitch well against one of the SEC's better hitting teams and score when they have runners on base. Too many times this season the Tigers have left two and three runners stranded on base, runs that could have changed the outcome of their losses.
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