Relief Pitching:
A&M does not have a true closer, but that hasn’t prevented them from having a solid bullpen overall. They have a good balance of left and right arms and some power guys that can get out of jams when needed. If there is a developing closer it would be sophomore southpaw Ty Schlottman. He has really come on of late and earned the save in both wins last weekend to clinch the series against State. Andrew Vinson has appeared in half of the team’s games and is best among regulars with just a .170 OBA and 0.79 WHIP. Lefty A.J. Minter has surrendered just 3 earned runs in 14.2 innings this season. Jason Jester has made a pair of Friday night starts in SEC play, but has not been very effective this season allowing 36 hits in 22.2 innings. Jester made two relief appearances against the Tigers last season, earning the save in game one and taking the loss in the rubber game 3.

Top Bullpen Arms:
Fr. LHP Tyler Stubblefield (15 app, 3-2, 4.12 ERA, 48.0 IP, 53 H, 22 ER, 15 BB, 50 K, .283 OBA)
So. LHP Ty Schlottman (16 app, 0-1, 2 saves, 24.1 IP, 18 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 22 K, .205 OBA)
So. LHP A.J. Minter (18 app, 1-0, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 12 H, 3 ER, 10 BB, 14 K, .235 OBA)
So. RHP Andrew Vinson (23 app, 1-1, 2 saves, 2.57 ERA, 28.0 IP, 16 H, 8 ER, 6 BB, 28 K, .170 OBA)
So. LHP Matt Kent (12 app, 2-0, 3.38 ERA, 29.1 IP, 33 H, 11 ER, 4 BB, 23 K, .284 OBA)
Sr. RHP Jason Jester (19 app, 2-2, 3 saves, 5.16 ERA, 22.2 IP, 36 H, 13 ER, 13 BB, 22 K, .371 OBA)

Aggie Offense: (LSU numbers in parentheses)
Team BA: .293 (.276)
Team OBP: .369 (.364)
Team SLG: .389 (.387)

In 46 games, A&M has used 43 different starting lineups, so the projected list below is strictly guesswork. Nick Banks leads the team in batting average (.343) and slugging (.460) as a true freshman. Blake Allemand started the season off slow, but the switch hitting third baseman is batting .386 since March 7th and his .438 on base percentage is 6th best in the SEC. He has reached base in 22 straight games. Allemand and Banks are not slacking against SEC pitching notching a .373 and .363 average, respectively, in conference matchups. Though the team BA is .293, the Aggies improve for a .314 average in games at Blue Bell Park. Senior Jace Statum really likes enjoys his home park. He is batting a team best .371 at home this year, over .150 points higher than this average of .217 on the road. Logan Nottebrok will surely see some action this weekend, and he leads the team with 5 long balls on the season. Texas A&M doesn’t run too much on the bases but does so very effectively. The biggest threat to steal is Krey Bratsen, who has stolen 16 bases in 17 attempts this year. Jace Statum has swiped 7 bags in as many attempts.

Texas A&M Projected Lineup:
1) 3B Blake Allemand (.326 avg, 3 2B, 3B, 20 RBI, 30 R, 27 BB, 20 K, 3-6 SB)
2) 2B Patrick McLendon (.309 avg, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 19 RBI, 23 R, 14 BB, 14 K, 1-2 SB)
3) 1B Cole Lankford (.335 avg, 9 2B, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 23 R, 9 BB, 12 K, 3-5 SB)
4) RF Nick Banks (.343 avg, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 23 R, 11 BB, 20 K, 4-7 SB)
5) DH Hunter Melton (.248 avg, 4 2B, 12 RBI, 12 R, 16 BB, 19 K, 1-2 SB)
6) SS Logan Taylor (.274 avg, 14 2B, 2 3B, HR, 21 RBI, 21 R, 9 BB, 33 K, 3-3 SB)
7) C Troy Stein (.289 avg, 8 2B, 2 3B, 17 RBI, 23 R, 11 BB, 18 K, 4-6 SB)
8) LF Jace Statum (.274 avg, 3 2B, 13 RBI, 19 R, 17 BB, 17 K, 7-7 SB)
9) CF Krey Bratsen (.276 avg, 3 2B, 3B, 9 RBI, 25 R, 8 BB, 10 K, 16-17 SB)

Other Contributors:
INF Logan Nottebrok (.237 avg, 5 2B, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 19 R, 14 BB, 17 K, 0-0 SB)
2B/OF Ryne Birk (.314 avg, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 13 R, 5 BB, 8 K, 3-3 SB)
OF Jonathan Moroney (.299 avg, 5 2B, 3B, HR, 12 RBI, 11 R, 3 BB, 13 K, 0-0 SB)
C Mitchell Nau (.291 avg, 3 2B, HR, 15 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 8 K, 1-1 SB)
OF J.B. Moss (.262 avg, 3 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 16 R, 12 BB, 10 K, 6-7 SB)

Defense:
A&M is fielding a solid .973 as a team, which is just a small fraction better than LSU’s .973, ranking 6th and 7th in the SEC respectively. Texas A&M has turned the fewest double plays in the SEC and ranks 282nd nationally in the category. The Aggies are particularly bad on the base paths defensively. The main catcher Troy Stein has thrown out just 21% of attempting stealers. LSU’s catchers are 2nd in the SEC in throwing out base runners at a 42% mark, which will come in handy since the Aggies are 2nd in the SEC in SB% during conference games.

Season Stats
Roster
Schedule (via Warren Nolan)

Media Coverage:
TV: Friday – CBSS; Saturday – ESPN2; Sunday – ESPNU
Online: Saturday and Sunday - espn3.com and the watchESPN app
Radio: 98.1 FM (check your local listings) all 3 games; audio always available through the GeauxZone

PREDICTION: For the second week in a row, we have matchup of strengths and weaknesses. Texas A&M, much like Tennessee last weekend, has a solid lineup with below average pitching. It will be crucial for the LSU offense to continue to improve and Friday night should be a good boost against Ray, who is really struggling this year. This series is tricky to predict, though. I think Friday is a comfortable win for LSU with Nola bouncing back, but in Saturday lies the rub. I think if LSU can win game 2, it could boost the Tigers with momentum into a sweep. On the flip side, if Poché struggles, the bullpen is taxed, and we drop the game on Saturday, Texas A&M would have the game 3 advantage and could come away with the series win.
Fri: LSU 7, A&M 2
Sat: LSU 6, A&M 5
Sun: LSU 2, A&M 5