AggieYell.com looks at the Super Regional matchup between No. 5 Texas A&M (40-18) and No. 12 Louisville (42-19-1) that begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. (TV: ESPNU)
A&M at a glance
Texas A&M team batting average: .294
Opponents batting average: .260
A&M team OPS: .880
Opponents OPS: .724
A&M home runs hit: 78
Opponents: 46
A&M stolen bases: 77-100
Opponents: 33-46
A&M team ERA: 4.74
Opponents ERA: 6.99
Record at home: 25-9
A&M showed their gameplan for the Super Regional against TCU: just wear down opponents and beat them into submission. The Aggie pitching staff can be hit or miss, but Dallas has been very good over the past three weeks. A&M needs him to go 5 innings, then they can turn the ball over to long relievers Joseph Menefee or Christian Palisch. Whichever one doesn’t get the call tonight will tomorrow.
Offensively, A&M is going to be patient and make Louisville pitchers come to them. They’ll take a lot of pitches and will not help the Cardinals get them out. They walked 10 times against TCU, and made the Horned Frogs pay for it. Jack Moss is one of the most consistent hitters in the game and Dylan Rock and Austin Bost are riding power streaks. The Aggies have proven to be relentless and, even if they get behind, they’re going to keep coming after you.
How they got here
College Station Regional Champions
Beat Oral Roberts, 8-2
Beat Louisiana 9-6
Beat TCU 15-9
Projected Friday night lineup for A&M
3B Trevor Werner (.257, 6 HR, 25 RBI)
1B Jack Moss (.388/6/47)
LF Dylan Rock (.340/18/59)
DH Austin Bost (.368/9/42)
2B Ryan Targac (.305/14/56)
C Troy Claunch (.298/3/47)
RF Brett Minnich (.308/7/50)
CF Jordan Thompson (.243/4/23)
SS Kole Kaler (.240/3/29)
P Micah Dallas (6-3, 5.38 ERA)
Louisville at a glance
Louisville team batting average: .309
Opponents: .260
Louisville team OPS: .933
Opponents: .790
Louisville home runs hit: 94
Opponents: 83
Louisville stolen bases: 103-122
Opponents: 39-55
Louisville team ERA: 5.23
Opponents: 8.05
Record on the road: 8-9-1
The Cardinals are much like the Aggies in that they just flat out hit. The middle of their order is about as deadly as there is in college baseball, and helped them win the ACC regular season title. But they were bounced by Pitt and Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament and had trouble in the Louisville regional. Good pitching has proven to cause them some problems.
Jared Poland has been their most reliable starter, and swingman Tate Kuehner has thrown a lot of innings (69, with 4 starts and 4 saves). Closer Michael Prosecky (11 saves, 41 K in 35 innings) has also been good. Outside of that, their pitchers have been inconsistent at best, with a lot of ERAs over 6. They will likely be forced to go with a very short staff as a result.
They probably don’t care. They’re in the business to bash. They not only hit a ton, but they steal a lot of bases and are extremely aggressive all the way around.
A&M may be looking at a mirror image of itself in a matchup with Louisville. Who hits more may decide who advances to Omaha and the College World Series.
How they got here
Louisville Regional Champions
Beat Southeast Missouri State 7-2
Lost to Michigan 7-3
Beat Michigan 20-1
Beat Oregon 8-5
Beat Michigan 11-9
Projected Friday night lineup for Louisville
SS Christian Knapczyk (.343, 4 HR, 22 RBI)
3B Ben Metzinger (.305/19/68)
C Dalton Rushing (.310/22/60)
DH Jack Payton (.354/4/53)
CF Levi Usher (.294/7/49)
LF Cameron Masterman (.296/18/61)
RF Isaac Humphrey (.330/5/38)
2B Logan Beard (.310/4/52)
1B Ben Bianco (.271/11/51)
Jared Poland (5-5, 3.43 ERA)
