Preview: Aggies Return To Diamond Against Blacks Knights of West Point
COLLEGE STATION — Few things will make fans cheer like an undefeated streak. For those up in College Station, Texas A&M will still be chanting that tune.
The Aggies finished with mid-week series on a 2-0 run, tallying 43 runs along the way. Stephen F. Austin was taken to the buzzsaw as the Lumberjacks fell 13-4 while Prairie View A&M was run-ruled in 6 1/2 innings of work. A 17-run second inning from the Aggie bats would give the team a 27-0 lead as A&M pounced on the Panthers for a 30-2 win.
Now, the Aggies (5-0) will face the nation's armed forces inside their sweet home of Blue Bell Park. Army will travel to Olsen Field for three-game series against A&M, hoping to give the Aggies their first loss on the year.
The Black Knights (1-2) will be entering against a dangerous Aggies' offense, who currently is ranked inside the top 10 of near every category. The team's offensive production presently is ranked inside the top five in runs (2nd - 75), runs per game (3rd - 15.0), base on balls (4th - 37), doubles (4th - 16), hits (4th - 65), and on-base percentage (4th - .500).
Army's pitching staff could slow down the Aggies' bats, but the team should keep an eye on outfielder Zach DeLoach. Voted a preseason All-American by D1 Baseball, the junior has lived up to the hype through five games to begin the year. DeLoach currently leads the nation in batting (.833) and ranks second in runs (11) and on-base percentage (.833), eighth in slugging percentage (1.500) and 10th in hits (10). For the season, he is 10-for-12 with two doubles, two home runs, five walks and one sacrifice fly.
A&M will head back to the top of the rotation for the weekend series. The 12th Man's starting pitching will be vital in conference play and has posted quality numbers early. Junior right-hander Christian Roa finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts in six innings of work last weekend against Miami (Ohio).
First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday. Saturday's showdown will be at 2 p.m. and Sunday's finale will begin at Noon. All three games will be on SEC Network+, which is available through the ESPN app.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
• FRIDAY: #35 Asa Lacy (Jr., LHP, 1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. #44 Logan Smith (Sr., LHP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA)
• SATURDAY: #23 Christian Roa (Jr., RHP, 1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. TBA
• SUNDAY: #18 Chandler Jozwiak (Jr., LHP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBA