Flash back to last May. Texas A&M is 10-14 in SEC play and has a winless Missouri coming to College Station. Most pundits believed the preseason number one team should stay in the NCAA Tournament hunt if they got a series win or better yet, a series sweep. By the early afternoon on Sunday, May 11, 2025, the Aggies were swept and saw their tournament hopes and dreams shatter.
This weekend, #25 Texas A&M (19-7, 2-4 SEC) seeks revenge in CoMo, a chance to get back in the SEC race, and their first conference
series win of the year. This is the first of two consecutive SEC series against unranked opponents (Vanderbilt awaits), giving the Aggies a unique opportunity to erase their less-than-ideal 2-4 start. In fact, Tuesday’s win over Houston Christian started a stretch of nine straight games against opponents with an RPI (metric used for tournament selection) above 100.
Speaking of Tuesday’s win, a closer-than-comfort 5-1 victory over the Huskies provided some highlights. Caden Sorrell launched his 12th homer of the year, tied for his single-season high across just 23 games played. Freshman Cole Hubert tossed his best outing of the year with 4.1 scoreless innings and three strikeouts. Grant Cunningham picked up the win after three innings, while Clayton Freshcorn collected his fifth save of the campaign.
As for the weekend series, A&M will face a Missouri (17-9, 1-5) squad that sits at 1-5 in the SEC. Tied with South Carolina for last in the standings, the Show Me State foes enter the matchup having been swept at home by #6 Auburn and taking one from No. 22 Tennessee in Knoxville last week. Notable non-conference games for the Tigers this season include a 10-0 run-rule loss to rival Kansas, a 5-1 neutral site win over rival Illinois, and most recently, a 10-4 road defeat to Lindenwood, a team that is in its first year of eligibility for the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri’s team ERA of 4.41 will be tested against an Aggie offense that averages 9.4 runs a game. Comparatively, A&M’s pitchers need to get back on track against a Missouri lineup that holds a .293 average and has 22 homers. After giving up 13 homers to the best slugging offense in the nation in Georgia last weekend, the Maroon and White arms must improve this week. The Tigers’ 22 longballs are tied with Kentucky for fewest in the SEC, while Georgia has nearly four times as many (82).
If Sorrell, Gavin Grahovac and Jake Duer continue to produce with runners in scoring position, the Aggies should have no problems creating enough offense. The starting rotation will stay the same this weekend, and having Aidan Sims as your Sunday starter is an excellent anchor after his solid performance in the finale last weekend.
With an opponent like Missouri, taking two of three should be the expectation. This A&M team should be fired up for redemption, especially with so many returners having a bad taste in their mouth from last season. Missouri, on the other hand, has few players from that team that brought the brooms to Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park in 2025. In what is a former Big 12 rivalry, this series will be personal for the Aggies. Friday’s series opener will be the 100th meeting all-time between both programs. The all-time series record sits in A&M’s favor with a 56-41-2 marker, but both teams have 15 wins at Taylor Stadium in Columbia, Mo., where this week’s showdown will take place.
As mentioned earlier, the Aggies are in the midst of a nine-game stretch against unranked opponents. At 19-5, 2-4 in the SEC, it is imperative A&M posts a winning record in this stretch to edge closer to an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. It is extremely likely that the next time the Aggies see a ranked team opposite of them, it will be archrival Texas on April 10-12 in College Station in a series that may decide the year-long “Lone Star Showdown” series between both athletic departments.
All three games this week in Columbia, Mo., will be on SEC Network+ to close out the March portion of the conference slate.
Probable Starters:
- Friday: LHP Shane Sdao (3-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. LHP Javyn Pimental (2-0, 3.33 ERA)
- Saturday: RHP Weston Moss (3-2, 6.35 ERA) vs. RHP Josh McDevitt (3-1, 3.19 ERA)
- Sunday: RHP Aiden Sims (4-0, 3.77 ERA) vs. LHP Brady Kehlenbrink (3-2, 4.91 ERA)
Game Info (weather permitting):
- Friday: 6:00 p.m. on SEC Network+
- Saturday: 4:00 p.m. on SEC Network+
- Sunday: 1:00 p.m. on SEC Network+
