No. 7 Texas A&M (36-10, 15-8 SEC) will hit the road for the final time in conference play, set to face No. 20 Ole Miss in Oxford, starting on Friday night. However, second-year coach Michael Earley will go with a new pitching rotation, opting to bench junior Shane Sdao in favor of Clemson transfer Ethan Darden for the first time this season.
Given where the Aggies currently sit heading into the final two weeks of the regular season before the SEC Tournament, making this change was critical to testing the rotation, knowing that the program’s current ace, Aiden Sims, will continue as the Saturday starter. For Sunday, Sdao or junior Weston Moss will be available to start.
Still, one of the primary reasons Texas A&M is in contention for a top-8 national seed in the NCAA Tournament has been its offense, currently averaging 9.2 runs per game, which is second in the SEC behind the first-place Georgia Bulldogs. Three of the Aggies’ starters are freshmen, as Nico Partida, Jorian Wilson, and Boston Kellner have been critical pieces to the program’s success.
However, while not including Boston Kellner makes sense, Baseball America’s 15 “Impact Freshmen” in college baseball this season only includes Nico Partida, who missed the final game of the Auburn series with a lower-body injury and has yet to return.
While Partida, whose impressive .317/.415/.585 slash line and 12 home runs certainly deserve a spot in the rankings. Jorian Wilson’s slash line (.308/.371/.740, 12 home runs) is equally impressive, while his elite arm was on display against the Florida Gators, throwing a runner out at home run right field.
All three freshmen will need to continue playing at a high level this weekend for the Aggies to have a shot at leaving Oxford with another SEC series win.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M star OF snubbed from Baseball America’s top freshmen list
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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