Weekend Preview: Texas A&M Baseball Takes On No. 7 Ole Miss

Well folks, it's the final regular season series of the year, the final home series of the regular season and the last regular season set for the seniors. Last weekend, the Ags took two from South Carolina on the road and, in doing so, might just have locked up that elusive Top 8 National Seed that many felt A&M was robbed of in 2015.

This weekend, as the Aggies welcome in the Old Mississippi University Rebellious Black Bear Admirals (shoutout Bro Ballace), a series win would most likely seal the deal when it comes to hosting a Super Regional.

Ole Miss also comes into town with their eyes on a possible National Seed, and they have more work to do to earn that than the Ags. But taking the series from the Aggies would go a long, long way in getting them there.

On top of all of this NS talk, both the Aggies and Rebels are in a position to win the SEC West, with the Ags tied atop the West with Mississippi State and just a game ahead of the Rebels and the LSU Tigers. There's also some serious implications in the seeding for the SEC Tournament and whether or not the teams get a first round bye. Should be fun.

Thursday, 6:00 pm

Brady Bramlett (7-2, 2.91)

Bramlett has been Ole Miss' game one starter all season, and he's another one of those quality Friday night arms that you'll find all around the SEC. In his 68.0 innings this year, he's allowed 67 hits, walked just 21 and struck out 85. That's good enough for a K/9 of 11.25 and a WHIP of 1.294. Very, very solid. Last weekend against Kentucky, he allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out seven in 5.1 innings, while allowing the Cats to score just one run (earned).

Against an Aggie offense that has been scuffling a bit in recent weeks, taking good at bats is paramount in handling a pitcher like Bramlett.

Friday, 6:30 pm

David Parkinson (4-2, 2.55)

Parkinson didn't join the weekend rotation until Week 4 of SEC play this year. Since then, outside of a hiccup against LSU, he's been excellent. He's given up no more than two runs in an outing in five of his six starts, going at least 5.1 innings in each of those and struck out 20. In those five starts, he's also only walked nine batters and allowed 28 hits, which is good for a WHIP of 1.276. Against LSU, however, he only lasted 4.2 and allowed four runs (all earned) on nine hits, two walks and just one strikeout.

Basically, this guy is also really good, but he's just as susceptible to a rough outing as anyone. And while LSU's offense has really come together in the latter half of SEC play, we all know that the Aggies' offense is one of the best in the country. It will be another tough test (deja vu everywhere) for the A&M bats.

Saturday, 2:00 pm

Chad Smith (4-4, 4.18)

Smith started the year as the Saturday starter for the Rebs, but after scuffling a bit at the start of SEC play, he lost his spot in the weekend rotation. His most recent weekend start came in Week 3 against Mississippi State, in which he lasted just an inning and a third and allowed four runs on five hits and a walk.

Since then, he's been starting in the midweek to work on his control issues, and he's pitched well. His best outing came against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where he threw seven outstanding innings, allowed just one unearned run, walked just two and struck out a career-high 11 batters.

How to Watch/Listen

TV: On Thursday and Saturday, the games will be broadcasted on the SEC Network. All three games will be available on SEC Network+

Radio: As always, you can listen to the games on 1150 AM and 102.7 FM.

Other Audio: radioaggieland.com