By ,
Published November 20, 2014
In a series between two teams who pulled off big non-conference wins recently but have recently struggled in Big 12 action, this series can help push either team near the top of the Big 12 with a strong showing this weekend. The 18th ranked Oklahoma Sooners travel to College Station, Texas to take on the Texas A&M Aggies in a weekend series starting this Friday and concluding on Sunday, in which the Sunday game will air live exclusively on FCS Central at 2pm ET.
The No. 18 Sooners (27-10, 6-7 Big 12) earned a big victory over No. 11 TCU on Tuesday with an 8-3 win. OU had lost four of five heading into Tuesday's showdown, and this win should give them momentum with less than 20 regular season games left. Oklahoma's moderate success can be attributed to its strong overall pitching in which the team ranks second in the Big 12 in ERA (3.76), second in Strikeouts (333) and second in Saves (11). Junior Bobby Shore leads the team in ERA (3.35), senior Jeremy Erben leads the team in wins (6), junior Zach Neal leads the team in strikeouts (51) and junior Ryan Duke leads the team and conference in saves with 10.
Offensively, Oklahoma is led by a trio of sophomores in Garrett Buechele, Cameron Seitzer, and Chris Ellison. Buechele lead the team in batting average (.372) and hits (48) while Seitzer leads the team in homeruns (9), slugging percentage (.694, 3rd in the Big 12) and Runs batted in (34). Ellison leads the team and is second in the Big 12 with 15 stolen bases and leads the team in runs (36).
Texas A&M (21-14-1, 6-8-1 Big 12) recently had a big victory over No. 23 ranked Rice Tuesday evening with the help of Clayton Ehlert tossing a complete-game four-hitter to lead the Aggies to a 7-1 win. Texas A&M also has strong pitching in which they are third in the conference in ERA (3.81) and first in the Big 12 in strikeouts (359). They are led by pitchers John Stilson and Barret Loux. Stilson leads the team in ERA (1.17, 2nd in Big 12), wins (6), strikeouts per nine innings (13.89 SO/G, 1st in Big 12), Opponents batting average (.143, first in the Big 12), and saves (5). Junior Loux leads the team in strikeouts (78, second in the Big 12) and innings pitched with 54.1 innings logged.
Offensively, Texas A&M has struggled as they are last in on-base percentage (.367), last in slugging percentage (.422), last in runs (199), last in hits (353), and last in runs batted in (179). The lone bright spot on offense for the Aggies has been senior Brodie Greene, who leads the team in batting average (.361), runs scored (37), hits (52), home runs (7), runs batted in (29), and is second on the team in stolen bases with 11. Greene also leads the Big 12 with 6 triples.
Texas A&M has lost their last five Big 12 contests but is 18-7 at home while Oklahoma is on a two-game losing streak against Big 12 opponents and is 10-5 on the road this season. This will be the first time Oklahoma and Texas A&M battle this season.
Don't forget to catch this FCS exclusive Big 12 baseball game live on Sunday April 25 at 2pm ET on FCS Central.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/texas-am-vs-oklahoma-university