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The Ole Miss Rebels will close out the regular season this weekend beginning tonight against the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, Texas. The Rebels will have their work cut out for them, as the Aggies are a desperate team at home, where they have played well (22-10 record) against some very good teams. Texas A&M finds themselves not only fighting for the SEC Tournament, but also fighting to solidify their place in the NCAA Tournament. They will give the Rebels their best shot.
Don't be fooled into thinking that the Rebels will win this series easily or that Texas A&M has a mere punchers chance of taking this series. The Aggies come into the weekend with an RPI of 31. They have a very solid club as evidenced by the SEC teams they have beaten at home this year, Florida and LSU. On paper, the Aggies are very close to the Rebels in terms of offensive production. Here is a look at the two teams by SEC standards:
|
SEC Hitting Statistics RankTing |
Ole Miss |
Texas A&M |
|
Avg |
1 |
3 |
|
HR |
3 |
8 |
|
RBI |
2 |
4 |
|
SLG% |
2 |
6 |
|
OBP% |
3 |
4 |
|
SB |
2 |
7 |
|
SB Attempts |
4 |
7 |
|
BB |
13 |
6 |
|
SO |
9 |
13 |
The Aggies boast a solid team average at .286 while the Rebels currently sit at the top of the SEC at .304. The Aggies also carry a solid SO/BB ratio at 1.36 compared to the Rebels 1.94.
Here is a more in depth look at the two teams individual hitting statistics:
|
Texas A & M Individual Hitting Statistics |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
Avg |
HR |
RBI |
SLG% |
OBP% |
SB/ATT |
SO/BB |
|
Nick Banks |
346 |
2 |
24 |
465 |
407 |
5/8/ |
23/14 |
|
Cole Lankford |
341 |
4 |
42 |
445 |
362 |
3/5/ |
15/11 |
|
Blake Allemand |
301 |
0 |
21 |
331 |
415 |
3/6/ |
25/30 |
|
Patrick McLendon |
295 |
1 |
19 |
361 |
392 |
1/2/ |
15/16 |
|
Troy Stein |
277 |
1 |
18 |
371 |
359 |
4/6/ |
21/15 |
|
Texas A & M Individual Hitting Statistics |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
Avg |
HR |
RBI |
SLG% |
OBP% |
SB/ATT |
SO/BB |
|
Nick Banks |
346 |
2 |
24 |
465 |
407 |
5/8/ |
23/14 |
|
Cole Lankford |
341 |
4 |
42 |
445 |
362 |
3/5/ |
15/11 |
|
Blake Allemand |
301 |
0 |
21 |
331 |
415 |
3/6/ |
25/30 |
|
Patrick McLendon |
295 |
1 |
19 |
361 |
392 |
1/2/ |
15/16 |
|
Troy Stein |
277 |
1 |
18 |
371 |
359 |
4/6/ |
21/15 |
The team statistics look like this:
|
Team |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average |
HR |
RBI |
OBP% |
SLG% |
SB/ATT |
SO/BB |
|
286 |
21 |
262 |
383 |
366 |
57/73 |
266/195 |
|
Team |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Avg |
HR |
RBI |
SLG% |
OBP% |
SB/ATT |
SO/BB |
|
304 |
36 |
292 |
421 |
370 |
84/107 |
311/160 |
The pitching matchups are as follows:
Thursday - 6:35 PM Central
Aggies - Daniel Mengden, Jr., RHP
Rebs - Chris Ellis, Jr., RHP
Friday - 7:05 PM (ESPNU)
Aggies - Grayson Long, So., RHP
Rebs- Christian Trent, So., LHP
Saturday - 2:05 PM
Aggies - Parker Ray, Sr., RHP
Rebs - Sam Smith, Jr., RHP
Taking the series this weekend would give the Rebels 40 regular season wins (41 with a sweep), which would wrap up a Western Division title, a No. 2 seed in the SEC tourney, and enhance the Rebs chances at a national seed. I know we've been saying this a lot, but this weekend's series really is a must-win.
Predictions:
- Ghost - Rebs win Friday, lose the series
- @Fit4LifeLLC - Rebs take two
- @BlakeKirbyReb - Didn't offer one, but he's optimistic enough. Rebs win two.