Game time is 5:30 PM ET/4:30 CT on CSS.
VU: Frosh RHP Walker Buehler ( 6’1″, 160, 4-1, 2.25 ERA, seven starts, 51 innings, 47 hits, 13 earned runs, 24 BB’s, 45 K’s) vs. A&M junior RHP Parker Ray (6’1″, 185, 0-1, 2.12 ERA, four starts, 51 innings, 43 hits, 12 earned runs, 15 BB’s, 33 Ks.)
Walker’s most impressive outing was against then No.12 ranked Louisville at Louisville in which he went 5.1 innings, gave up four hits, one run, with two walks and no K’s. We won the game 10-2.
Here’s more on today’s starter for A &M:
After 33 career appearances, all out of the bullpen, Parker Ray made his first career start four weekends ago … In his four starts, he is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA fanning 17 over 25.0 innings … Despite getting saddled with the loss, he worked 7.2 innings in his first career start, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four at Alabama … The last three weekends he was left with no decision, despite strong performances against Missouri, No. 3 LSU and Tennessee … He held LSU to just one run over 5.1 innings … Ray didn’t allow a run in his last six relief appearances, covering 14.1 innings, scattering nine hits and two walks while striking out eight … At Arkansas he scattered three hits while fanning two over 3.1 innings … Against Texas State, Ray pitched 3.2 shutout innings, scattering three hits and one walk while striking out four.
Their leading hitter and best player is shortstop Mikey Reynolds. He is hitting .354 and plays a really nice short, though he has committed 11 errors this year. He sure was pretty smooth last night in the field against Florida. He made some very nice, rangy plays. Third baseman Hunter Melton is hitting only .275, but he’s got some power and hit a three-run shot last night. He’s hit four out this year, including last night, and has 17 RBIs. Troy Stein is hitting .308 with four homers and 21 RBIs. A&M is hitting .275 as a team and have 23 homers on the season in 56 games. They are 31-25 overall and finished 13-16 in conference. They committed 71 errors as a team this season.
We finished the season 48-7 overall and 26-3 in the conference. We hit .319 as a team this season with 39 homers. We committed 50 errors in 55 games. Tony Kemp leads us in hitting at .408 and has stolen 27 bases in 39 attempts (77%). He’s had an awesome year. Yaz is hitting .333 and is maybe the heart and soul of the team, though Tony makes a pretty good case for himself also. But Yaz is a senior and he is the ultimate team guy/leader, so I go with Yaz. Connor Harrell is hitting .319 with 11 homers and 61 RBis.
It’s hard to hit it out of Regions ballpark in Hoover. It is every year. It’s a pretty deep field to center and in the power alleys. It’s 400 to center and .385 in the gaps. Little shorter on the right and left field lines though, so if you pull it you can get it out. It can be done. A little long ball with some timely hitting, a nice outing by Walker along with some solid relief if necessary, and stellar D will get the job done. We’ve got to execute. This Ray guy looks like a pretty good pitcher. Time to get to work.