Baseball Preview: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Texas A&M
There will be a big fight feel this Thursday through Saturday at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The LSU Tigers, which are now ranked No. 1 in five of the recognized college baseball polls that were released on Monday, are set to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies are ranked No. 2 in four of those five college baseball polls dropping from their No. 1 spot after a weekend series loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks.
This will be the first Top Five matchup held at Alex Box Stadium since March 2011 when No. 1 Florida swept No. 5 LSU in a three-game series.
The Tigers swept a doubleheader at Georgia, 4-1 and 9-1 on Saturday. Their record now stands at 34-6 overall and 12-5 in the SEC.
The Aggies lost two out three games against Arkansas this past weekend in College Station. Their record is now 35-5 overall and is also 12-5 in the SEC.
Before their important series starting Thursday both teams will play on Tuesday. The Tigers will host Tulane and the Aggies will host UT-Arlington.
LSU Coach Paul Mainieri said, “This is certainly shaping up to be a week for us…our goal is to continue to play as well as we can every day because each game carries a lot of meaning. It’s very important that we play well over the final stretch.”
Some LSU players to watch this weekend include shortstop Alex Bregman who has a .329 batting average and leads the Tigers with eight home runs. Catcher Kade Scivicque has a 23-game hitting streak and is hitting .404 on the season. First baseman Chris Chinea is hitting .340 and is tied for the team lead with 34 RBIs.
Some Texas A&M players to watch in the series include outfielder Nick Banks who leads the team with a .408 batting average. Infielder Logan Taylor is batting .377 for the Aggies and leads the team with 10 home runs and infielder Ronnie Gideon is hitting .335 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs for the season.
All three games will be able to be viewed on the WatchESPN App. Game 1 on Thursday night starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPNU. Game 2 at 7:00 p.m. will be on the SEC Network and the finale, Game 3, is scheduled to start on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and will be seen on ESPN.
Both teams will have just three conference series left in the regular season after this weekend so whichever teams comes out on the top will be in the driver’s seat to win the SEC West.
Written by Charlie Beuttel
Photo credit: theadvocate.com; LSU catcher Kade Scivicque looks to lead the Tigers past Texas A&M at the plate in a pivotal SEC series.