Texas A&M Pitching
The Aggie pitching staff is led by ace Brigham Hill who looks to bounce back after a rough start to SEC play. He has given up at least four runs in four out of his last six starts. A weak hitting Vols offense seem like the perfect recipe for a bounce back start. Hill was talented enough to be selected by the Oakland A’s in the MLB Draft and was an integral piece in the Aggies’ SEC Championship run last year. He’s got the stuff, he just needs to put it all together.
Saturday starter Corbin Martin has been a solid piece to the rotation as he has had the lowest batting average against (.220) and the lowest ERA (2.78) amongst the Aggie starters in conference play. The only blemish on Martin is his tendency to give out walks. He gives out the most free passes on the Aggie staff (both in overall play and conference play).
Kolek’s Resurgence
Sunday’s starter Stephen Kolek has had a decent season with the exception of a 10 run meltdown against Vanderbilt. One sign of a mentally tough pitcher is the ability to rebound and Kolek has done exactly that giving up only one run in two out of the next three starts following the Vandy game. Additionally, he has begun to make batters miss the ball more has he has thrown seven strikeouts in each of his last two starts. That’s even more remarkable considering Kolek doesn’t usually recorded many Ks (before April he had only one game with more than three strikeouts).
Bullpen Stays Strong
The bullpen has been a major factor in the Aggie resurgence of late as well having a recent 20 inning scoreless stretch that was broken by Alabama on Friday. Since moving into the closer role, Mitchell KIlkenny has had success with five saves and only two runs allowed in the past month.