No. 13 Kentucky Looks to End Texas A&M's SEC Series Winning Streak in Lexington

Ahead of this season, Texas A&M was a trendy selection to make some noise in the tough-and-rugged SEC and the entirety of Division I.

After winning the SEC West with a 19-11 conference record under first-year head coach Jim Schlossnagle, the Aggies made a run in Omaha and were one the final four teams in the College World Series, eventually falling to Oklahoma. It was the first time that A&M had won games in the CWS since 1993.

The Aggies ended the year with a 40-22 record, transitioning into a No. 4 next to their name when the 2023 Preseason Top 25 was released. Only LSU, Florida and Stanford were ranked ahead. In the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, A&M was selected to finish only behind LSU in the West, though it did receive one vote to win the conference.

With expectations high, the alarm was set early in the season, as following a freak-midweek loss to Lamar in the fourth game of the year, A&M then lost two of three in a home series against Portland (currently No. 117 in RPI). From there, it's been a mixed bag, but the Aggies haven't maintained the look of a top-five team.

A loss to Louisville and 16-inning victory over Texas Tech highlighted an up-and-down Shriner's College Classic in Houston before six consecutive non-conference wins catapulted Schlossnagle's group into SEC play with some momentum.

That momentum was quickly wiped away after a 1-5 start in league play that saw two losses at home to No. 1 LSU, then a sweep at the hands of Tennessee in Knoxville. It's since been brought back after series wins vs. Ole Miss, at Auburn and vs. Missouri, a 6-3 stretch that brings the Ags to Kentucky Proud Park this weekend with a 23-14 (7-8 SEC) record.

"I haven't watched them at all. I've kind of been like the players, just kind of go game by game," Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said following the Wildcats' midweek win over Xavier on Tuesday night. "They did the same thing last year, they started out okay, and they got hot and took it all the way to Omaha."

Wins have had to come in high-scoring affairs for A&M, which doesn't bode well when looking at its batting statistics:

.280 batting average (13th in SEC)
.463 slugging percentage (12th)
.403 on-base percentage (8th)

The Aggies average 9.7 runs-per-game in their seven conference wins but only 5.6 in their eight losses. Opponents are averaging 7.8 runs in the 15 games against A&M. It has won just one conference game while scoring less than eight runs.

One of the only offensive categories A&M excels in is walks, as it has drawn 238 this season, the most in the SEC. It has returned 180 of those when its on the mound (11th in SEC), one of the many poor pitching statistics that has hurt it time and time again.

5.39 team ERA (10th)
.260 opposing batting average (11th)
329 hits allowed (12th)
42 wild pitches (T-1st)

"Big challenge, great opportunity," Schlossnagle told reporters when asked about the upcoming series. "These guys (Kentucky) are playing with a lot of confidence. They played LSU tough last weekend, put a lot of pressure on you on the bases, with the bunt game. Free bases cannot be given up, we're gonna have to handle the baseball really well on defense."

As for who will be tasked with starting on the mound against UK, the final two games of the series remain up in the air for the Aggies, as neither Saturday nor Sunday have a probable starter listed:

FRIDAY: UK – RHP Logan Martin (1-1, 4.43); A&M – RHP Nathan Dettmer (1-3, 6.09)
SATURDAY: UK – LHP Tyler Bosma (4-2, 4.19); A&M - TBA
SUNDAY: UK – RHP Zack Lee (3-2, 3.99); A&M - TBA

Dettmer leads the team in innings pitched at 44.1 and has made eight starts. He's gotten rocked in SEC play, owning an 8.88 ERA in five starts in-conference. Starting depth has been an issue behind the junior, as it's been a heap of arms trying to provide length to get through weekends.

Left-hander Evan Aschenbeck is 5-0 this season with a 3.13 ERA, walking only nine batters while striking out 48. He has three of A&M's seven SEC victories coming out of the bullpen.

"We'll just have to piece it together," Schlossnagle said. "We don't have that bell cow just."

Six players have played 30 or more games for A&M this season. Of the bunch, first baseman Jack Moss and shortstop Hunter Haas are the bats to watch. Moss' .386 batting average is seventh in the SEC while his .494 OBP is 10th. He has a team-best 56 hits and has drawn 32 walks while striking out just 20 times. Hass is slashing .358/.458/.514 and has struck out only 13 times in 148 at-bats.

The pair combine for 27 extra-base hits and 52 RBIs. Outfielder Jace Laviolette and third baseman Trevor Werner provide some pop, hitting 10 and eight home runs, respectively.

No. 13 Kentucky still holds the top spot in RPI, has the most RPI top-100 wins in the nation with 21 and has done so while having the No. 2 strength of schedule. Last season, the Wildcats dropped two of three games to A&M in College Station.

First pitch on Friday, April 21 is set for 6:30 p.m. EST and will air on SEC Network+.

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