Tag: Texas A&M baseball

Texas A&M notches fourth win after a 9th inning double by Jace LaViolette

The Aggies get some Olsen Magic off the bat of freshman Jace LaViolette lifting A&M over Portland to close out the series

The Texas A&M Aggies (4-3) avoid the sweep with a 5-4 win over the Portland Pilots (5-2). Game three was similar to game two in that the starting pitcher throw well but gave up a multiple-run inning and the batters left runners stranded on base.

The biggest change was that the relief pitching was lights out today. Starter Chris Cortez had a decent outing with six strikeouts, but a rough second inning where he gave up three runs, then a wild pitch gave Portland a free run in the fourth inning. Jim Schlossnagle then went to the bullpen and brought out left-hander Evan Aschenbeck, who went on to pitch 4 scoreless innings and racked up four strikeouts.  The three hits that were allowed were sprinkled in across those his time on the mound. Along with Evans pitching, Hunter Hass had a great defensive game with a few plays definitely poised to be ESPN top 10 highlight worthy. While talking about the weekend Jim Schlossnagle gave some praise to a few of his players:

:…Certainly, Tad Tracy had a great at-bat. To me, the story is [Evan] Aschenbeck. The way Hunter Haas played defense as well.”

Going into the bottom of the ninth, the pilots were up still up 4-3. Tab Tracy led off the inning with a single up the middle followed by a Hunter Haas walk. Moss takes a page out of Tracy’s handbook with a single up the middle, notching an RBI with Tracy scoring from second base. Werner who’s been struggling lately struck out then a coaching decision brought Travis Chestnut in to pinch run for Moss.

Finally, what the Maroon & White fans have been waiting for during the weekend finally happened… A little Olsen Magic. Freshman Jace Laviolette sent a pitch down the right field line for a walk-off double scoring Chestnut and Haas, notching the Aggies’ fourth win of the season, and putting an end to their miserable three-game losing streak. Jace gave a few thoughts on the game.

“It’s baseball. Baseball doesn’t always go in the way you want it, and you just kind of have to know that. We’re all in the dugout and the locker room after those first two games, we just had to believe in each other and stick with it, and know that, one through nine, if you don’t get the job done, then somebody else behind you is going to come up and get it done for you. You just got to believe in that, believe in yourself, and believe in all of your brothers. Nothing really changed throughout the course of the days, we just had to stick with it and know that that’s how baseball goes sometimes.”

The Aggies will get a few days rest and will be back at Olsen Field on Tuesday, February 28th, against Houston Christian University (0-6) at 6 p.m. CT.

Texas A&M Baseball’s official Twitter account posted some of the top highlights from today’s win. You can check them out below.

Aggie baseball drops third straight game, losing the series vs. Portland

Texas A&M loses the series to Portland after losing back-to-back games over the weekend. The Aggies sit at 3-3 with one game left in series

It’s not time to hit the panic button yet, but some of the same issues from last year are showing up early in this season. Much like last year if the hitting gets a little cold the late-inning pitching struggles to close out games.

While the matchup with the Portland Pilots (5-1) game stayed tighter all the way through compared to the 10-4 loss Friday, the Aggies still came up short 4-1 dropping them to 3-3 on the season. The Aggies had opportunities to score but they left ELEVEN runners stranded on base.  The few bright spots came from pitcher Troy Wansing who struck out nine through 5.1 innings and Hunter Hass went 3 – 3 reaching base safely after all 5 plate appearances. Texas A&M coach gave a few comments after the game highlighting the issues and while it’s still early, he understands the need for urgency:

“It’s still the same story,” A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle lamented postgame. “When you’re not scoring a ton of runs, then every single pitch and every single at-bat is so magnified. The job of a relief pitcher, we talk about this from day one in the fall, is you got to get out the first guy you face.”

“It’s like life. You get tested, and you don’t understand why,” Schlossnagle said. “Certainly, you can point to reasons why you think we should be better or win more games or have won more games, but I’m not giving up on these kids. We’re seven games into the season. We got a lot of baseballs to play. But that’s not discounting that we don’t have a sense of urgency to win because we know how important this game is.”

After Saturday’s loss, Portland clinches the series and will be coming into the final game on Sunday very confident. The Aggies will have a lot to play for and I’m sure they want to end the series with a win getting them back above .500 on the season.

You can catch the game on SEC + network at 1 pm/CT

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1

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Aggie Baseball drops first game of the series vs. Portland

In their first game of a series vs. Portland, Texas A&M fell 10-3 in their second consecutive loss of the season.

Texas A&M (3-2) has now lost two games in a row for the first time all season, dropping their Tuesday matchup vs. Lamar 7-4, and in the first game of their three-game series vs. the Portland Pilots on Friday night, the Aggies were outplayed on the mound and at the plate, falling 10-3 inside Blue Bell Park.

Statistically, Texas A&M was downright awful offensively, managing only 3 runs off of 4 hits, with 2 coming from junior shortstop Hunter Haas (2-for-4, 2 H, 1 2B), while third baseman Trevor Werner (1-for-3, 1 H, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI) put the Aggies up 2-0 nothing before it all fell apart.

Ace pitcher Nathan Dettmer was the lone bright spot on the night, starting the game and lasting 6.1 innings, striking out 7 while only allowing 2 runs off of 4 hits off 75 pitches. Throughout the season so far, Dettmer has consistently been as reliable as we predicted he’d be.

Just when did the dam finally break? An overturned double-play in the seventh inning led to what was a go-ahead double by Portland’s Nich Klemp,  the Pilots scored seven runs with two outs in the ninth to seal to deal.

The Aggies’ Bullpen showed their ineptitude right out of the gate, as a combined five pitchers gave up 8 Portland runs off 5 hits, hinting at an issue that could render problematic as the season goes on. Portland’s solid day on the mound saw three pitchers including Joey Gartrell (4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 5 SO), Jack Folkins (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0R, 5 SO), and Kaden Segel (1.2 IN, 1 H, 1 R, 1 SO) complete was an utterly dominant performance against the 5th-ranked team in the country.

Looking to bounce back in a big way in Game 2 on Saturday, as left-hander Troy Wansing will make the start for Texas A&M (8.10 ERA, 3.1 IP, 7 K, 3 BB) while right-hander Brock Gillis (9.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 7 K, 3 BB) will make the start for Portland. The game will air on SEC Network + at 2:00 PM CT.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty

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Two Aggies hear their names called in the 2022 MLB Draft

Dylan Rock and Micah Dallas were both selected in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB Draft

The MLB Draft has a Jekyll and Hyde effect on every college baseball fanbase, as players whose names are in the draft and still have eligibility left have fans feeling proud that their on-field accomplishments have earned them a chance in the pros, but also saddened knowing that a certain amount of production will likely be leaving the program for good.

As the 2022 MLB Draft kicked off on Sunday, The Aggies roster was not expected to lose any eligible players early but knew that a number of young men could hear their names called in the later rounds. Unsurprisingly, graduate outfielder, Dylan Rock, and junior starting pitcher and transfer from Texas Tech, Micah Dallas, were both selected in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB Draft on Monday, with Dallas going 244th overall to the Oakland Athletics, and Rock coming 4 picks after by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Aggies are coming off of their most successful season in program history, finishing 44-20 on the season, 19-11 in SEC play, and making their 7th College World Series appearance before losing to the eventual runner-up in the tournament, the Oklahoma Sooners, all in Jim Schlossnagle’s first season as head coach. 

Rock (.318 average, 19 home runs, 65 RBI, 71 hits) and Dallas (5.18 ERA, 86 Strikeouts, 7-3 record, 1.50 WHIP) were two of the players that stood out most throughout both the regular and post-season , individually propelling the team on multiple occasions, and exemplifying the meaning of teamwork and resilience every time they took the field.

While it remains to be seen if Micah Dallas will sign with the Athletics, we’re certainly going to miss Dylan Rock, but are beyond excited to watch the two of them take advantage of their MLB opportunities while knowing that the entire Texas A&M family is fully behind them!

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Two Aggies make D1 Baseball’s All-America second team

Two Aggies make D1 Baseball’s All-America second team

With the dust settled in Omaha, the Aggies’ unforgettable season is still being celebrated with two members of their roster making D1Baseball.com’s All-America Second Team – relief pitcher, Jacob Palisch, and outfielder, Dylan Rock.

Jacob Palisch appeared in 29 games, registered a 6-3 record (five saves), a 2.39 ERA, a .230 opponent batting average and 73 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched. More impressively, Palisch finished his campaign with a 6.08 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 10.89 strikeouts per nine-innings.

Dylan Rock appeared in 63 games in an Aggies uniform (59 starts) and finished his campaign with the following hitting percentages: .318 (avg)/.468 (ob %)/.641 (slg %). Rock scored 67 runs, had 67 RBIs and 19 HRs. His 19 home runs ranks fourth all-time in Aggies’ single-season history. Lastly, Rock climbed to fourth on the Aggies’ single-season walks chart, as well.

As these, now, All-Americans wrapped-up their careers in College Station, with impressive performances and well-deserved, national honors, Coach Schlossnagle and his staff will be busy filling their production within the current roster and even looking to the transfer portal. We can’t wait to see what year two brings!

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Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Sean on Twitter: @scunn1932

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Photos: Aggies magical season ends in Omaha

Photos: Aggies magical season ends in Omaha

The Aggies baseball team was a scrappy group all season long. Known for their comebacks and their grittiness in the batters box. That played out all the way into the College World Series, where A&M battled it’s way through the losers bracket, eliminating Texas and Notre Dame, and earning the right to face Oklahoma in a Game 1 rematch.

Win two more games, and the Aggies would punch their ticket to the championship series.

Unfortunately for Jim Schlossnagle and his team, the magic ran out against the Sooners, and the Aggies 2022 season has ended, but let’s take a look back through the best images from the game against Oklahoma.

Social media reacts to Aggies ending Notre Dame’s season

Social media reacts to Aggies ending Notre Dame’s season

Survive and advance! As cliche as this motto may be, the Aggies have yet to stumble with their backs against the wall as they’ve now won their second consecutive elimination game in Omaha – a 5-1 win versus Notre Dame to set-up a rematch against Oklahoma in the Men’s College World Series Final Four.

While adversity hit this 2022 squad early in Omaha – an opening round loss versus the Sooners – the Aggies are the only team to have played entirely out of the elimination bracket and make their way to the Final Four (Texas A&M, Texas, Stanford and Auburn). If this doesn’t prove the fight in this group, I don’t know what else will.

Check-out social media’s immediate reactions to the Aggies’ victory against the Fighting Irish:

Social media reacts to Aggies advancing, ends Longhorns’ season

Social media reacts to the Aggies advancing, ending the Longhorns’ season.

With the Aggies’ season on the line, facing one of their fiercest rivals, in the 2022 Men’s College World Series’ first elimination game, #5 Texas A&M defeated #9 Texas by a score of 10-2 – continuing the team’s trend of limiting back-to-back losses.

After finding themselves down 2-0 early in the 2nd-inning, the Aggies powered their way to a decisive victory after scoring four of their own in the bottom of the second – the beginning of what would become 10 unanswered runs to end the Longhorns’ season and set-up a meeting with Notre Dame, in their second consecutive elimination game, on Tuesday, June 21 at 2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM CT on ESPN.

Check-out social media’s immediate reactions to the Aggies’ victory against the Longhorns:

Notre Dame’s comeback falls short, fall to Oklahoma in College World Series

The Irish are still alive….

The Irish were in a tight contest against Oklahoma, but the Sooners broke open the game during a three-run rally in the bottom of the fifth. Although the Irish responded, with a [autotag]David LaManna[/autotag] two-run homer, it wasn’t enough.

The Irish would give up one more run to Oklahoma and wound up losing the contest 6-2, their first loss in Omaha. Fortunately, [autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag] and his squad will play another day, as they will have to defeat Texas A&M in the loser’s bracket for another shot at defeating the Sooners. The win puts Oklahoma in a very advantageous position, needing just one more win to advance to the championship series.

The Irish and the Aggies will have a day-off before they take the field in an elimination game on Tuesday, at 2pm EST on ESPN.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Aggies drop College World Series opener to Oklahoma

Aggies drop College World Series opener to Oklahoma

The Aggies dropped their first game in the 2022 College World Series – a 13-8 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. After sweeping their way through the College Station Regional and College Station Super Regional, being on the losing end of results has foreign since May 28th.

Aggies starter Nathan Dettmer got off to a rocky start and it seemed to be 5-0 before viewers settled into their seats. Joseph Menefee was looked at for relief much earlier than anticipated and the score became 8-0 before the Aggies could get their second at-bat.

This group will never be one to give up, rattling off three of their own in the bottom of the second, but the top of the 4th-inning seemed to make a potential comeback nearly impossible when four more runs were given up and Oklahoma found themselves leading 12-3. That 4th-inning proved to be the difference as a four-run 7th-inning cut the deficit to four, only for the Aggies to give up one final run in the ninth.

A reason for optimism, you ask? The Aggies have only conceded two consecutive losses ONE time this season – back-to-back losses at Alabama in early April. While it was a tough outing today, the fight to remain in this game – and prevent a complete and ugly rout – is something to hang our hats on.

Playing out of the Elimination Bracket is no easy feat, but I’ll take this group to keep their season alive on June 19th when they take on the University of Texas at 2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM CT on ESPN. The fight to continue their journey in Omaha will be on the line!