After a less-than-stellar end to the College Classic last weekend, the Aggies played host to a very experienced UT-Rio Grande Valley team. The Vaqueros came to Olsen very confident, with a solid 10-2 record. If they weren’t careful, the Ags’ struggles from the weekend could have continued.

For the first five innings of the two-game set, the two teams battled back and forth. Then in the bottom of the sixth, the Aggie offense exploded for nine runs. In game two, the Vaqueros jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two-and-a-half innings. From there, however, the Ags scored seven unanswered runs en route to a 7-4 victory. The boys in maroon and white took UTRGV’s best punches and survived. After such a tough weekend, this was good to see.

This weekend, the Ags are hosting Brown University (Ivy League Brown joke dot lol). The Bears are 0-3 on the young season after getting swept in their season opening series last weekend at Nicholls State. It’s the last tune-up series before SEC play starts, and there should be plenty of opportunity to right the ship.

Probable Starters

• Friday: Brigham Hill (3-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Christian Taugner (0-0, 1.50 ERA)
• Saturday: Stephen Kolek (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Reid Anderson (0-1, 6.00 ERA)
• Sunday: Mitchell Kilkenny (1-0, 3.31 ERA) vs. Max Ritchie (0-1, 4.05 ERA)

What to Watch For

Those freshmen just keep hitting

Logan Foster and Braden Shewmake have been nothing short of outstanding in their first year. This hasn’t been all against subpar pitching, either. In last Friday’s tilt with Tech, they had a field day against Tech’s No. 1 starter. They didn’t slow down against UTRGV. These guys are a delight to watch at the plate. But as the season progresses and opposing pitchers begin to pick up on their tendencies, will Foster and Shewmake be able to adjust?

Bounce back from the bullpen

Basically anyone not named Kaylor Chafin or Landon Miner struggled at some point last weekend. Corbin Martin showed flashes of what he can do against the Vaqueros on Wednesday, throwing four shutout innings, allowing just three base runners, and striking out three. Cason Sherrod also had a nice rebound appearance against UTRGV on Tuesday. Coming into this season, these guys were set up to be the anchors of the bullpen, and if this team has any shot of competing in conference this year, they’ll need the guys in the ‘pen to step up.

Scuffling Seniors

It’s no secret that Austin Homan and Walker Pennington have had a slow start at the plate. They both have more strikeouts than hits at this point, and their averages are hovering around the Mendoza Line. We know, however, that they have the ability to hit much better than that. Last season, Homan hit .365, which was second only to Boomer White. The potential is there, and if those guys start to swing the bat well like we know they can, this lineup becomes very deep.

How to Watch

• Times: 6:32 pm Friday | 2:02 pm Saturday | 12:02 pm Sunday
• TV: All three games will be televised via SEC Network +
• Radio: SportsRadio 1150 AM/The Zone 102.7 FM
• Live Audio: 12thman.com