Ole Miss Baseball Weekend Scouting Report: Texas A&M Aggies

The Ole Miss Rebels host the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies in search of a series win to keep their season afloat.

Ole Miss baseball coach Mike Bianco heads to the mound to change pitchers / Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA

After the series' third game slipped between its fingers in Auburn, this Ole Miss team couldn't overcome late-inning heroics from Murray State on Wednesday night. This weekend, the Rebels face arguably their biggest test yet in the Texas A&M Aggies.

The Aggies are coming off a series loss last week in Alex Box Stadium and will be ready to play to keep their No. 1 national seed hopes alive come Selection Sunday. Here are three things to look for in the series this weekend in Oxford.

1-2-3

The trio of Gavin Grahovac, Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery make up the most dominant start of a lineup in the country.

All flex with the long ball, but most impressively, they are huge RBI contributors. Grahovac, LaViolette and Montgomery have combined to produce 200 of the Aggies' 438 runs batted in this season.

Everyone in this lineup can hit, but these top three hitters can truly take over a game when they are at the plate.

Working the Count

As a team, the Aggies have the most walks in the SEC. These Aggies are very selective, which means they find themselves in a lot of favorable hitter's counts where they can produce and cause chaos for the guy on the mound.

Ole Miss pitchers need to be successful throwing strikes in crucial moments, and the Aggies have some swing-and-miss in their game, which comes with the territory when you are leaving the yard as much as their hitters are.

Defensively, They Can Play

The Aggies can also pitch it, sporting a top-three team ERA in the SEC. They also have a top-five defense in the SEC when you look at fielding percentage, meaning this team does not beat itself. Mistakes will be few and far between.

Ryan Prager is the Aggies' standout on the bump, and his 2.67 ERA ranks second in the SEC. Prager has similar traits to another lefty who played under Jim Schlossnagle at TCU, Nick Lodolo. Prager is a lefty whose velo won't dominate hitters, but his stuff will induce soft contact and drive lefties crazy. Expect to see Prager on Friday night.

First pitch between the Rebels and Aggies is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.