Texas A&M vs. Texas: The Battle You've Been Waiting For

(@AggieBaseball photo)

By Shelbie Warr

Texas A&M is on a hot streak, having knocked off No. 1 Tennessee, South Carolina, and No. 2 Arkansas so far. On the other side, Texas hasn't slowed down from the start of the year. Throw in the Jim Schlossnagle situation, and this one promises to be an amazing weekend on the diamond in Austin, TX.

The Aggies will likely put together the same-looking lineup for this weekend, with the possible addition of first baseman Gavin Kash, who has been nursing a hamstring injury for a couple of weeks. The question there lies with replacing Blake Binderup, who has been on an absolute tear after a lengthy dry streak, for a guy who didn't come back until the Tuesday match-up with Sam Houston.

They likely roll out the same starting rotation of Ryan Prager, Justin Lamkin, and Myles Patton, who have been pretty strong overall for the Aggies, all things considered. Look for Weston Moss to be a difference maker for the third weekend in a row on the mound.

On the other side, the Texas Longhorns are out their Friday night starting pitcher Jared Spencer, who is having season-ending surgery; and their freshman phenom, outfielder Jonah Williams, is questionable for the weekend series. Ruger Riojas takes Spencer's spot in the rotation.

The Texas rotation boasts a better ERA than the Aggies, so Texas A&M will hope their hot bats translate to Austin. In the Aggies' last 10 wins, they scored at least 8 runs, and six of those wins included double-digit run totals. These wins have come against the likes of top-ranked teams as well, so this isn't just luck. They're going to need to keep that up, though, giving their pitchers the run support that they need.

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