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College World Series: Texas A&M Baseball versus Louisville Cardinals preview

By Matthew Bartlett

Mar 4, 2017; Conway , SC, USA; The Louisville Cardinals mascot stands the court in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the women's ACC Conference Tournament at HTC Center. Notre Dame defeated Louisville 84-73. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Conway , SC, USA; The Louisville Cardinals mascot stands the court in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the women's ACC Conference Tournament at HTC Center. Notre Dame defeated Louisville 84-73. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Texas A&M Aggies and the Louisville Cardinals meet in the first round of the College World Series on Sunday. Who has the upperhand?

The Louisville Cardinals are the favorites to win the College World Series. At least that’s what the oddsmakers in Vegas have to say. By the same logic they’ve called Texas A&M baseball the largest underdog to advance to Omaha. That’s all well and good, but how do the Aggies stack up with the Cardinals on the field?

First pitch is schedule for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 18. The rest of the tournament schedule is available here.

Resume

Louisville comes into the CWS as the No. 7 national seed with the fifth best RPI in the country. At 52-10 this is not a team to be taken lightly. The Aggies are 41-21 with a RPI of 30. They took the place of No. 2 national seed North Carolina who was upset by Davidson in their own Regional.

Edge: Louisville

Offense

The Cardinals are led at the plate by Drew Ellis  (.367/.457/.729) and Brendan McKay (.343/.464/.657). Texas A&M counters with their best two bats Braden Shewmake (.335/.381/.538) and Nick Choruby (.325/.448/.422). After the top guys the Aggie lineup drops off fairly precipitously on the stat sheet as seniors Austin Homan and Walker Pennington have struggled through inconsistencies and injury. Louisville has a higher team average (.289 to A&M’s .275) and more consistent bats.

Edge: Louisville

Defense

Louisville and Texas A&M bring an identical .975 fielding percentage to Omaha. Neither team has been very good with the glove during the NCAA Tournament. Both squads, despite each being 5-0, have committed six errors in the NCAA tournament.

Edge: Push

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Starting Pitching

The fourth overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft Brendan McKay, yes the same guy listed among the Cardinals best offensive players, is also an elite pitcher. McKay received the Dick Howser trophy, presented annually to the nation’s best player. McKay is 10-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 104 innings pitched. He has 140 strikeouts and 33 walks. Opposing batters are hitting .188 against McKay.

Texas A&M will counter with second round pick Corbin Martin. Martin began the season as the team’s closer but moved into the Saturday role around the time that SEC play began. Martin is 7-3 with a 3.35 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 37 walks. However since conference play began (10 appearances, nine starts) Martin is 4-1 with a 2.30 ERA. He’s been at his best over the final 10 weeks of the season. He’ll need to firing on all cylinders to beat Louisville.

Edge: Louisville

Bullpen

These teams might have the best two bullpens in Omaha. Louisville’s shutdown closer Lincoln Henzman (3-0, 1.77 ERA) isn’t even the most dangerous pitcher in the Cardinal bullpen. Sam Bordner sports a 0.47 ERA in 21 appearances with 35 strikeouts and 16 hits allowed.

The Aggies don’t have anyone with a sub one ERA, but Kaylor Chafin (2.56 ERA) and Cason Sherrod (2.89 ERA) have been electric over the final two months of the season. Sherrod has allowed one earned run in 4.2 innings pitched in the NCAA tournament while Chafin has given up two runs in 6.2 innings pitched in the post season.

Both bullpens have plenty of depth. That will give each team a chance in the event they have to try to advance through the losers bracket.

Edge: Louisville

Next: Which ACC school fits best in the SEC?

Momentum

Baseball is a game of momentum. Neither team came into the postseason on a hot streak and both teams are undefeated since the games mattered. But there’s just something about the Aggies’ run. A dropped infield pop up might have helped punch their ticket, but their elite starting pitching and timely hitting have been key pieces in each NCAA win. This metric is fuzzier than the others, but it’s a part of how the game is played just as much as pitching and defense.

Edge: Texas A&M

***Stats from Aggie Athletics and GoCards.com***