The Aggie Baseballers had a bit of a rough ending to their regular season, dropping their final three-game set to Arkansas and their high-powered offense. In Friday’s affair, wunderkind Braden Shewmake’s opposite-field, three-run bomb and Jorge Gutierrez’s game-tying RBI sac fly were wasted, as the Ags fell 6-4 in 10 innings. They were able to even the series on Senior Night in the second game on the back of a Hunter Coleman three-run jack and Corbin Martin’s eight-inning, 12-strikeout gem. But in the season finale, Arkansas went bonkers at the plate, the Aggies went the opposite of bonkers at the plate, and the Hogs won handily, 8-0.

None of that matters now. The regular season can’t get any worse (literally because it’s done. You can’t hurt us anymore, Regular Season. Jerk.). Texas A&M enters the 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament as the seven seed, looking to defend their 2016 Tournament Championship. Last season, the Aggies made their magical run with one of the best offenses in the country. This year, if they hope to repeat as champions, they will have to do it on the mound. Their offense is certainly capable of sufficient run production, but they have proven to be far too inconsistent at the plate to rely on the bats like they did in 2016.

Probable Starters

John Doxakis (2-3, 5.12 ERA) vs. Tanner Houck (4-7, 2.89 ERA)

The last time that the Aggies faced Houck came back on April 28 in Columbia, where they tagged the stud righty for four runs on nine hits in 7.0+ innings. Given that they have seen Houck already this season, this should give the Ags a slight advantage. That said, there is a reason Houck has been tabbed as one of the premier pitchers in all of college baseball since his arrival at Mizzou. A&M definitely has their work cut out for them.

On the other hand, Missouri has not had as many plate appearances against Doxakis. In the series finale on April 30, Doxakis struck out the only batter he faced in the Aggies’ 7-2 victory. Consistency has been the main struggle for Dox thus far in his rookie season. He’s made six starts this year, all coming in midweek games. He has usually fared a bit better when coming on in relief.

How to Watch/Listen

• Time: This game will start about 30 minutes after the first game of the day
• TV: You can catch every game of the tournament on the SEC Network or SEC Network+
• Radio: Dave South has the call on SportsRadio 1150 AM/ The Zone 102.7 FM
• Live Audio: www.12thman.com