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The Astros will lend Minute Maid Park to Texas A&M and five other nearby universities for the annual tournament to take place March 3-5.
The 2017 Shriner’s College Classic promises to be a treat for collegiate and pro baseball fans alike. Local Texas teams from Baylor, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 11 Texas Tech, and No. 1 TCU will join out of state foes No. 17 Ole Miss and No. 5 LSU.
Astros fans have the chance to see some of the stars of tomorrow. It wasn’t that long ago that Alex Bregman was wearing purple and gold before being drafted by Houston. These six squads are loaded with elite college talent ready to make the jump to the next level.
Baylor
Baylor is the only unranked team of the six coming to Houston, but they’re off to a hot start. As of Saturday evening the Bears were 7-0 with a pair of shutouts on the season. They’ll rely on their number one starer, Nick Lewis (2-0, 2.25 ERA) to get them off to a good start against Ole Miss in the first game of the classic on Friday afternoon.
Ole Miss
The Rebels surprised a lot of people by sweeping No. 10 East Carolina in Oxford on opening weekend. They won a series against No. 24 UNC Wilmington over the weekend and might be the team with the most momentum headed into Houston.
LSU
Barring a midweek loss to New Orleans, the Tigers have had some impressive performances in 2017. That includes a no-hitter thrown by Louisiana native Jared Poche against Army. LSU is always one of the best teams in the nation, and this year is no exception.
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TCU
The number one team in the land is fresh off a College World Series appearance in 2016. Led by offensive stud Luken Baker, the Frogs can mash the baseball. Their starting rotation is among the best in baseball. It’s no surprise their the early favorite to win it all.
Texas Tech
If anyone in the Big 12 can compete with the Frogs its the Red Raiders. Tech has early season victories against Mississippi State and Cal and will be a formidable opponent for the Aggies, Rebels, and Tigers next weekend.
Texas A&M
The Aggies are a young squad that is swinging the bats very well this season. Led by freshman Braden Shewmake and Jorge Gutierrez, the Aggies put up 50 runs in a three game series against Bowling Green on opening weekend. Ace Brigham Hill is one of the best starters in the country and Texas A&M will be looking to make a statement at Minute Maid. Aggie fans should be sure to check out the Gig’Em Gazette for all your Aggie sports news, as well as coverage of the Shriner’s Classic.
Marquee Matchups
The quality of teams in this tournament is so high that every game will be worth watching, but if you had to pick one a day here are three you can’t miss.
Friday at 7:05 PM – TCU vs LSU
Saturday at 7:05 PM – Texas A&M vs TCU
Sunday at 10:05 AM LSU at Texas Tech
Next: Video - Aggies Beat SFA on Walk of Wild Pitch on an IBB
In total the six teams will play nine games. All games will be televised on FS1 and available on the Fox Sports Go App. Tickets can be purchased on the Astros website.
***Statistics and Rankings fromD1Baseball.com***