• E-mail

Texas A&M has me completely confused, not that it takes much.

The Aggies have compiled an incredible season, one for the record books. Coach Rob Childress' team racked up 40 wins by early May, earned a top-10 national ranking and moved into prime position to win the Big 12 title.

So why are the Aggies stumbling so close to the finish line?

A&M (42-11, 19-5 Big 12) heads into this weekend's series against rival Texas (29-19, 12-12) on a three-game losing skid. This comes after the Aggies had won 25 of 27 games. With so much at stake, digression isn't wise.

A&M had a chance to clinch the Big 12 title last weekend at Nebraska. The Aggies won a 6-3 thriller Friday in a game that went 16 innings. Saturday's game was rain-delayed. Then, the Aggies lost a doubleheader Sunday. They had six errors in the finale, a 13-10 loss.

Then came a complete disaster Tuesday at UT-Arlington.

With hundreds of A&M fans crammed into Clay Gould Ballpark, the Aggies suffered a 16-8 shellacking. Along the way, there were two errors and a poorly misplayed squeeze bunt. Eight pitchers combined for eight walks and three wild pitches. Two catchers had three passed balls.

UTA's Michael Choice went 4-for-4 with five RBIs. It went down as one of the Mavericks' best nights in a 23-29 season. No A&M player wanted to talk about it afterward, but it was clear where Childress stood.

"I think we got outplayed in every aspect of the game," Childress said. "I think we got out-hustled, and give UTA credit."

A&M has plenty of reasons to play well this weekend:

•The Aggies need to win the series against UT to wrap up their first regular-season title since 1999.

•They need to show the NCAA Tournament selection committee they are worthy of a top-eight national seed.

•If the A&M track and baseball teams do well this weekend, the Aggies can win the Lone Star Showdown trophy for the first time in the award's four-year history. In true laid-back fashion, the Longhorns will act like it's no big deal. Oh, but it is.

•The A&M baseball team needs to kick its rival when it's down. UT coach Augie Garrido's club doesn't have many off years like this one. Now's the time to capitalize. Have the Aggies forgotten what happened last year? The Longhorns had their way in a three-game sweep.

A&M rebounded to win the Big 12 tournament and reach the NCAA super regionals last season. This team should have higher goals – like getting to the College World Series. We'll see if this club is mentally strong enough to get there.

"Every team in the country has to learn how to handle failure," Childress said. "How you handle failure determines your success. If your team doesn't have it, they're definitely the minority."