Tag: 2024 College Baseball Season

Texas A&M sophomore left-hander Ryan Prager recaps win vs. No. 17 Georgia in SEC series opener

“I saw a tweet that tomorrow is supposed to be in even worse. You go do your job and accept that you know a good pitch can fly out of here.”

The Texas A&M baseball team has reached and remained at No. 1 in the country this season in large part due to its stellar starting pitching staff, which begins with Ryan Prager.

The redshirt sophomore left-handed ace earned his 8th victory of the year on the bump Friday night amid inclement weather during a 5-2 win against No. 17 Georgia at Blue Bell Park.

“We mentioned it coming into the weekend. It it what it is, both teams have to play in it. We kind of accepted it, called it out for what it is, because everyone knows that the wind is blowing out,” Prager said. “I saw a tweet that tomorrow is supposed to be in even worse. You just go do your job and accept that you know a good pitch can fly out of here and that’s kind of how this park plays, and a lot of other places in the SEC. Definitely knew about it and accepted it but in the end today it was about going out and competing.”

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Texas A&M senior second baseman Ted Burton reflects on victory vs. No. 17 Georgia to start SEC series

“I actually got up a little concerned that I tore something,” Burton recalled. “I was glad that I was able to stretch out for my teammates.”

On Friday evening at Blue Bell Park, the No. 1 Texas A&M baseball team was able to earn a 5-2 SEC win versus No. 17 Georgia thanks to winning plays, like a defensive web gem from senior second baseman Ted Burton.

“I actually got up a little concerned that I tore something. It was a good spot to do it and I was glad that I was able to stretch out for my teammates,” Burton explained. “I’ve gotta give credit to our training staff. I’m with them everyday and they just put so much energy into us. All credit to them making for us feel our best.

“That’s what make this team great is a lot of the time it’s Jace, Braden and Gavin, even Jackson Appel, they’re just unbelievable. Just one through nine,  you never know who is going to play the best and who is going to be player of the game, so that makes it special.”

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Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle discusses SEC series opening win vs. No. 17 Georgia

“I thought this was a very well played baseball game by both teams,” he recalled. “We happened to get a few more swings than they did.”

Amid incoming inclement weather, Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle was able to guide the No. 1 Aggies to a 5-2 win against No. 17 Georgia on Friday night at Blue Bell Park.

“I thought this was a very well played baseball game by both teams. We happened to get a few more swings than they did. I thought both teams pitched really well, especially given the conditions. When the few mistakes were made, they were hit and they made maybe one or two more than we did. It was an awesome game, Georgia played good, was super physical and was super impressed by their pitching staff too,” Schlossnagle recalled. “(Prager) did awesome. The whole theme through the whole weekend is the wind is blowing out and they’re a great team, so what are you going to do about it? There’s nothing you can do about it, all you can do is execute pitches.

“The team that throws the most strikes in the weekend will probably win the series.”

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No. 1 Texas A&M baseball team defeats No. 17 Georgia to begin SEC series in College Station

The Aggies continued to prove why they are the best team in the nation with another win against a ranked opponent to begin the weekend.

The Texas A&M baseball team continued to prove why it is the best team in the nation with another win against a ranked opponent to begin the weekend.

The No. 1 Aggies (37-5, 14-5 SEC) beat No. 17 Georgia (30-11, 9-10) by a final score of 5-2 on Friday night at Blue Bell Park to begin a three-game SEC set.

The Bulldogs took an early lead with 1 run in the top of the first inning. Texas A&M responded with 1 in the second and fourth, respectively, to seize the advantage. Georgia tied the game in the fifth but the Aggies added 2 in the sixth and 1 in the seventh to earn the series opening victory.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ryan Prager (8-0) earned the win on the bump by tossing 6.0 frames and allowing 5 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts on 90 pitches. Senior LHP Evan Aschenbeck tallied his 7th save of the season by pitching the final 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up 1 hit and 1 hit by pitch with 3 Ks on 30 pitches.

Texas A&M and Georgia will conclude the series at Olsen Field on Saturday with a doubleheader. Sunday’s game had been moved up due to forecasted inclement weather. Game 2 is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CST and Game 3 is tentatively set for 5 p.m.

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Texas A&M sophomore superstar Jace LaViolette recaps doubleheader vs. No. 14 Alabama

“We knew it was going to be a really long day and we kind of prepared for that. We got some good sleep and hydration last night,” he stated.

The No. 1 Texas A&M baseball team took both games of a doubleheader at No. 14 Alabama on Friday, 10-5 and 18-9.

Leading the charge, as he has been all season, was sophomore Jace LaViolette. The superstar outfielder and the Aggies (35-4, 13-4 SEC) remained unphased when the Crimson Tide (24-15, 6-11) took a 5-0 lead in Game 1, going on to outscore their conference rivals 28-9 over the next 14 innings to clinch a series victory.

“We didn’t really have much talk in the dugout, we just kept doing what we were doing. We came out flat at the beginning but we knew once our bats got hot that we could do what we wanted as long as we stayed to our approach, which is what we did,” LaViolette explained Friday. “We knew it was going to be a really long day and we kind of prepared for that. We got some good sleep and hydration last night. It was just a mindset thing, coming to the park and knowing we were going to play two, a full 18 and try to do our best to trust our process and see what the results came to be.

“It’s a lot of fun to be a part of this team, to be a part of this culture, it’s an unbelievable team to be around… I think we just do what we’ve been doing all season, trust in the process and what we’ve been doing. Opening Day mentality and just doing that same thing every day. It’s been working, so why not keep it going?”

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No. 1 Texas A&M baseball team doubles up No. 14 Alabama again in second game of SEC doubleheader

45 minutes after completing a 10-5 comeback against Alabama in the first game of a doubleheader in Tuscaloosa, the Aggies made a statement.

Forty-five minutes after completing a 10-5 comeback against Alabama in the first game of a doubleheader in Tuscaloosa, the Texas A&M baseball team made a statement.

The No. 1 Aggies (35-4, 14-4 SEC) crushed the No. 14 Crimson Tide (24-15, 6-11) by a final score of 18-9. Texas A&M doubled up Alabama for the second time on Friday after scoring 10 unanswered runs to win the series opener.

The Aggies tallied 8 in the top of the second inning, 3 in the fourth and seventh, respectively, and 2 in each of the fifth and ninth. The Crimson Tide responded with 4 in the second, 3 in the fifth and 2 in the eighth.

Junior right-handed pitcher Tanner Jones start on the bump and tossed the first 4.1 frames, allowing 7 hits, 6 runs (5 earned) and 1 hit by pitch with 1 strikeout on 88 pitches. After fellow junior RHP Brad Rudis recorded one out and gave up 3 hits and 1 run on 10 pitches, senior RHP Brock Peery (2-0) took over. The savvy sidewinder pitched 1.0 inning without allowing a hit, giving up 1 walk and 1 HBP on 20 pitches.

Texas A&M will go for the sweep of Alabama on Saturday afternoon at noon on SEC Network.

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No. 1 Texas A&M baseball team mounts comeback vs. No. 14 Alabama to begin SEC series

After weather delayed the beginning of a three-game SEC series Thursday in Tuscaloosa, the Aggies displayed resilience on Friday afternoon.

After weather delayed the beginning of a three-game SEC series Thursday in Tuscaloosa, Texas A&M baseball displayed resilience and why its the best team in the nation on Friday afternoon.

The No. 1 Aggies (34-4, 12-4 SEC) scored 10 unanswered runs to beat No. 14 Alabama (24-14, 6-10) by a final score of 10-5 in the first game of a doubleheader. The Crimson Tide tallied 3 runs in the third inning and 2 in the fourth. Texas A&M responded with 6 in the fifth, 3 in the sixth and 1 in the seventh.

Junior right-handed pitcher Chris Cortez (6-1) continued his brilliance on the mound and picked up the victory, while having fun along the way. Sophomore left-hander Shane Sdao picked up his second save.

Redshirt sophomore LHP Ryan Prager started on the bump and pitched the first 3.0 frames, allowing 7 hits, 4 runs and 2 walks with 1 strikeout on 66 pitches. Cortez tossed the next 2.1 innings and gave up 2 hits, 1 run and 2 walks with 2 Ks on 43 pitches. Sdao pitched the final 3.2 scoreless frames and allowed 3 hits with 5 punch outs on 50 pitches.

Forty-five minutes later, the SEC rivals resumed play for the second half of the doubleheader.

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‘No words to describe them’: Texas A&M freshman Gavin Grahovac left speechless by 12th Man

“Unbelievable, there are literally no words to describe them. They bring the energy every single game no matter how many people are here.”

The Texas A&M baseball team has become the No. 1 team in the nation due to countless contributions from upperclassmen but there have been several underclassmen who have also stood out.

At the top of that list is freshman third baseman Gavin Grahovac, who bats at the top of the order.

“I think it was from one to nine. Every guy did it, every guy was hitting the ball great, we all saw it great. I don’t know, we just came out and wanted to compete. That’s what we continue wanting to do and what we continue planning to do,” Grahovac said postgame on Sunday. “Vandy is a historically great team. Coach Corbin is a great coach and all of those players are great. In the SEC, you can’t expect nothing less than greatness from every team so we have to come out here and compete.

“Coach always tells us to keep playing because the game isn’t over until it’s over.”

Grahovac was left speechless by the 12th Man’s attendance this weekend during a three-game SEC sweep of No. 12 Vanderbilt.

“Unbelievable, I don’t know if you guys saw my tweet but there are literally no words to describe them,” Grahovac told the media. “They bring the energy every single game no matter how many people are here. Obviously, we had some big crowds this weekend so that was awesome. There are no words to describe them, they are absolutely amazing.”

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‘We play to a standard, not a scoreboard’: Texas A&M RHP Chris Cortez recaps sweep of Vanderbilt

“It’s a luxury that we have guys that go out there and eat up innings. We have a lot more guys in the bullpen who can help the team win.”

Texas A&M junior right-handed pitcher Chris Cortez has been lights out as of late, and his success can be attributed to a new mindset of having fun on a game to game basis.

“The Tuesday game has nothing to do with today. I was happy about Tuesday but I’ve moved on from it. I know the best version of myself is having fun and it all starts in the bullpen. When I’m having fun, that’s when I’m at my best,” Cortez explained to the media on Sunday. “I don’t look at the scoreboard. Like Schloss says, ‘We play to a standard, not a scoreboard.’ We go one pitch at a time and that’s all I was saying. I didn’t know what the score was, what inning we’re in, I was barely paying attention to our hitters. I’m just focused on doing my job.

“I think it’s a luxury that we have guys that can go out there and eat up innings. But if they aren’t having their day, we have a lot more guys in the bullpen who can go out there and help the team win.”

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No. 1 Texas A&M baseball team swept ‘of one of the best programs in our sport,’ per coach Jim Schlossnagle

“We needed five pitchers in a three game sweep of one of the best programs in our sport. I thought I was super proud of our guys,” he said.

Following a dominant three-game sweep of SEC rival Vanderbilt this weekend at Blue Bell Park, the Texas A&M baseball team is now ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation.

After Sunday’s series finale, head coach Jim Schlossnagle spoke to the media about how good the Aggies pitching staff was against the Commodores.

“We needed five pitchers in a three game sweep of one of the best programs in our sport,” Schlossnagle said. “It speaks to how well we pitched and how well we obviously swung the bat. We had one game that was shorter than nine innings and had firm command of the second game. I thought I was super proud of our guys.

“With the arms we faced today, the starter, throwing 100 hundred miles an hour, he pitched well and McElvain is really good. You saw that we really battled. Obviously, when they gave us an extra out in that one inning and Camarillo, that was the swing of the day.

“You look the way that the ballpark is playing and you just never know with any lead.”

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