By: Shelbie Warr
Texas A&M is reeling after two straight losses- one to Cal Poly on Sunday and another to Texas State on Tuesday- and the loss of their starting third baseman Gavin Grahovac. They are looking for a bounce back this weekend at the Astros College Classic in Houston, where they will face Arizona, Oklahoma State, and Rice.
Ryan Prager will go for the Aggies on Friday against Arizona, who is on a five-game win streak after starting the season 0-3 against Ole Miss, Clemson, and Louisville. Their wins come against New Mexico, San Diego in sweep fashion, and Rice. This is a game that Texas A&M should win; on paper, they are the better team. However, you can say that about Cal Poly and Texas State too- so don't assume anything. Prager has been lights out, as expected, along with the other two weekend starters. The bullpen has been suspect at best, so this weekend will be a big test for Texas A&M.
Justin Lamkin will go for the Aggies on Saturday against 4-3 Oklahoma State. The Cowboys haven't been mighty this season to start, with losses to Clemson, Texas, and Texas State. However, this team was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the Big 12- so don't count them out just yet. Myles Patton, who has been sensational on the mound for the Aggies, will go against a struggling Rice team, sitting at 2-5 on the season. They were involved in an exciting one with Friday's opponent- Arizona- on Wednesday night that ended in an 11-8 win for Arizona.
As stated before, starting pitching hasn't been the Aggies' problem in the first two weekends. It has been the bullpen and a lack of offense to safely put games away. When you allow the opponent to hang around into the late innings, bad things can happen as Texas A&M figured out against Cal Poly. Walks are also detrimental, as they saw against Texas State. There is a lot of room for growth for this Aggie team, especially now down a big bat in Gavin Grahovac.
It will be interesting to see if head coach Michael Earley sticks with true freshman Sawyer Farr at second base like we saw on Tuesday night, or if someone else gets a chance in that spot. Farr was highly regarded coming out of high school, so it is not shocking that he's getting a chance here, however the Aggies have the depth to try some players at different places before conference play kicks off in a couple of weeks.
Look for Jace LaViolette to get going this weekend. His level of talent won't stay in this slump for long, and I firmly believe that this weekend is going to be his breakthrough. This offense is loaded from top-to-bottom, and they won't be held down forever. Don't give up on Texas A&M yet. This could still be a team that will make a deep post-season run.
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