News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The top-ranked Texas A&M baseball team returns home to Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park for a five-game homestand starting with a midweek contest against Houston (20-20) tomorrow night at 6 p.m.
The Aggies (35-5) are off to their best 40-game start since 2015 and have won 15 of the last 17 contests.
Tuesday’s midweek will air on SEC Network and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 1150AM/93.7 The Zone. Fans can also follow along with the games on X, @AggieBaseball.
The Maroon & White remained as the unanimous No. 1 team after going 3-1 last week, which included a road series win over No. 12 Alabama. The series win marked the fifth straight against a ranked opponent for the Aggies. Over the weekend, Texas A&M set a program record for the most runs in an SEC series with 37.
Tuesday’s contest marks the 176th meeting all-time between the Aggies and Cougars. Texas A&M leads the series 116-58-1 and has claimed six of the last 10 meetings. At home, the Maroon & White are 44-24 against Houston.
Under first year pitching coach Max Weiner, the Texas A&M pitching staff has lowered its ERA from a season ago by over two runs. The Aggies currently rank first in shutouts (8), third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.70), fourth in ERA (3.57), fourth in WHIP (1.21), sixth in strikeouts per nine (11.3), eighth in walks allowed per nine (3.05) and 16th in hits allowed per nine (7.84). Their eight shutouts are the most since 2016.
The Maroon & White will send right-hander Brett Antolick to the mound tomorrow night. The start marks the first of the freshman’s career.
Offensively, the Aggies rank third nationally in walks (271), fourth in homers (86), fifth in slugging percentage (.582), sixth in homers per game (2.15), sixth in on-base percentage (.437), 10th in runs (375), 12th in scoring (9.4) and 19th in batting average (.313).
The Aggies have arguably the best 1-2-3 lineup punch in all of college baseball in Gavin Grahovac, Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery. The trio has combined for 169 of the Aggies 357 RBI on the year.
Entering the week, Montgomery ranks second nationally in RBI (67), third in homers (22), third in homers per game (0.55), third in total bases (135), fourth in slugging percentage (.906) and 11th in walks (41). Among the SEC, the junior sits first in RBI and walks.
LaViolette currently sits third nationally in runs (62), fifth in homers (20) and ninth in total bases (126). In the SEC, the sophomore ranks first in runs and triples (3), third in walks (37), third in RBI (53), fourth in homers, fourth in slugging percentage (.829) and fifth in total bases (126).
On Saturday, LaViolette became the first player in program history to record back-to-back seasons of 20 or more home runs. The sophomore and Montgomery are also the first pair of teammates in program history to each hit 20 or more homers in a season.
Grahovac, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Week, has turned in a stellar rookie campaign thus far, ranking fifth in the SEC in RBI with 49. Since the start of SEC play, Grahovac has belted 10 homers and driven in 25 RBI.
BLUE BELL PARK A TO Z
For a comprehensive look at the gameday experience (tickets, parking, tailgating, etc.) at Blue Bell Park, visit our A to Z guide.