Rivalry renewed: Texas-Texas A&M set to face off Tuesday night in College Station

The Texas Longhorns travel to College Station for what should be a packed, and very hostile environment at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park as the ‘Horns are looking to make it seven consecutive wins on the season, and two straight against the Texas A&M Aggies.

The Aggies are 5-5 in their last 10 games, but still hold on to a pretty strong strong 23-9 overall record. However, you can certainly bet on two facts — that Blue Bell Park will be rocking tonight and that the Aggies do not care about their record over the course of their last 10 games with the Longhorns paying them a visit. This should be a very tough test for this young Texas team.

Texas will look to cool off hot-hitting junior Michael Helman, who brings a .402 batting average into the contest and is ranked seventh in the nation in hits (53). The Aggies as a team are hitting .285 on the season so David Pierce and his pitching staff will have their hands full.

Tonight’s probable pitcher for the Aggies is freshman lefty Chandler Jozwiak (2-0), who has been a highly reliable young arm for Rob Childress in 2018. The freshman currently carries a 3.72 ERA and is holding opponents to a .239 batting average over 29 innings pitched.

Freshman starting pitcher Nico O’Donnell will get the ball for the Longhorns in arguably the toughest test for the young right-hander. It will be important for him to pound the zone early and command his pitches. If O’Donnell struggles out of the gate, Pierce will likely turn to the bullpen early in hopes of keeping the ‘Horns in the game as he knows the importance of beating A&M.

The Longhorns need to do all they can to score early and maintain that lead. Texas A&M will be pushing to get the game in the hands of their lockdown closer, Nolan Hoffman. The junior has saved four games for the Aggies, has a 0.72 ERA, and is holding opponents to a .208 average at the plate. If the ‘Horns go into the ninth inning trailing, it could mean trouble for Texas.

A win tonight is crucial in order to continue momentum heading into the series this weekend at Oklahoma.

Like most of you, we’ve had April 10th circled on the Texas baseball schedule since it was released.

Series History: Texas leads 238-125-5.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT and on the SEC Network. Hook ‘Em!