OMAHA, Neb. — History is on the horizon for Texas A&M University.
The lockdown closer was nearly fired two years ago, but faced 10 Tennessee batters on Saturday night and struck out seven.
The son of a major leaguer who filled in for an injured All-American in the NCAA Tournament and has been hitting ever since.
The freshman leadoff hitter shocked his team on Saturday night in the final game of the Men’s College World Series by hitting a home run on just the third pitch.
The cast on the mound never gave the opponents a chance to catch their breath in Omaha.
Although he graduated with honors 30 years ago and has brought seven teams to this ground, the coach still misses the feeling that only a champion knows.
It’s almost over, guys.
“One win, we can’t do any more,” Jim Schlossnagle said after Texas A&M’s 9-5 win over Tennessee in the first game of the best-of-three championship series. “We still have games to win and we still have to win the series.”
And they’ll have to beat a strong Tennessee team again.
“They know it’s one game,” Schlossnagel said of his players. “We all know what’s at stake. No Lombardi speeches. We’re just trying to keep them as relaxed as possible. We’re going to hit in front of the basket tomorrow, pick up ground balls and make plays. I know that sounds like a coach thing to say, but if we start thinking about anything else, Tennessee is going to blow our minds.”
Maybe Tennessee can find the answer this month that no one else has: a way to beat Texas A&M.
Fact: The Aggies are now 9-0 in the NCAA Tournament with a 69-29 overall record and 4-0 with a 23-8 record in this game.
Maybe the Vols can at least get an actual lead.
Fact: No one has done that to Texas A&M since the team landed in Omaha. Of the 36 MCWS innings to date, Texas A&M has led after 30 innings.
Maybe Tennessee’s hitters will be able to get the timely hits that Texas A&M’s pitching staff didn’t allow.
Fact: The Aggies’ four opponents in this MCWS are 4-for-42 with runners in scoring position. The Vols had their chances Saturday, and they also recorded a championship series-record 17 strikeouts in a nine-inning game.
Maybe all of the above will change and Tennessee will be able to stop the Aggies Express, and if that happens, it has to be now.
Sunday will be Tennessee’s second loss. The first came after Tennessee lost to Evansville in the Super Regional. Tennessee won the next day, 12-1. “That Evansville game was a little good for us, believe it or not,” coach Tony Vitello said. “I think sometimes you just need to be reminded of what you need to do. That Evansville game did that for us, and this was similar.” What’s more, Tennessee has only lost consecutive games once all season, against Alabama in March.
We’ll find out on Sunday if it matters.
“It’s not that serious. It’s not like we have to fix anything or anything,” Tennessee pitcher AJ Causey said. “We just have to play the game we know how to play.”
One problem for Tennessee: Texas A&M is just playing the kind of baseball they know how to play.
The Aggies’ hitters are trained to know the strike zone. Six of their runs Saturday came with two-strike counts.
Pitchers have been coached to attack the strike zone. Of the 42 Tennessee batters who came to bat Saturday, 32 struck out on the first pitch. Closer Evan Aschenbeck threw a total of 46 pitches, throwing just 12 balls.
It was a combination the Vols couldn’t handle, at least not on Saturday.
“Our approach is, no matter how hard it is, we’re going to swing at strikes and take the ball. That’s how we do it. That’s our mantra and that’s what we rely on,” second baseman Kayden Kent said of the Aggies’ hitting approach.
“That’s the first thing we tackle on the first day of practice in the fall,” Schlossnagle said.
Both of Texas A&M’s home runs came with two strikes. Freshman Gavin Grahovac hit the first leadoff homer in a championship series in 21 years, a move that was said to set the tone. “When I hit that ball I was like, wow, this is really happening,” Grahovac said. Kent added a two-run homer in the seventh inning to nearly seal the game.
Kent, the son of All-Star Jeff Kent, was an unspectacular reserve for the Aggies until All-American outfielder Braden Montgomery broke his ankle in the Super Regional. After losing 27 home runs and 85 RBIs, someone had to fill the void. In the six games since, Kent is batting .480 with 14 RBIs, the same number of RBIs he had through the first three months of the season.
“Baseball is a frustrating sport, so the consistency and the hours you put in the game don’t always translate onto the field,” he said. “You put in countless hours in the cage and then you go out on Tuesday and you’ve lost four games in a row. But it just keeps on happening. It adds up day by day. It’s a compound interest effect. And you just have to keep working through it.”
If you ask me what the Aggies pitching staff has done, Evan Aschenbeck is a good example. He was almost cut from the team in the fall of 2022. Then things quickly turned around. He was named National Stopper of the Year this season with 10 saves, a 1.54 ERA through Saturday and a 77-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
On Saturday night, he demolished Tennessee’s feared lineup and dominated the final 2.2 innings.
“That’s your role as a pitcher,” Aschenbeck said. “When you get the opportunity to go up on the mound and pitch, you just want to throw strikes and not walk many batters. If you get a hit, you just want to get a hit. That’s the way baseball is. That’s how it goes. You just have to keep throwing pitch after pitch, strike after strike.”
Words that make a coach’s heart glad.
“I don’t take him for granted. I’ve had some great relief pitchers in the past and he’s as good as all of them,” Schlossnagle said. “Number one, I know he’s got control over his own beat. The moment is never too big. He’s going to throw at least two pitches, usually three, in the strike zone.”
“I always judge a pitcher by his heart rate when he’s pitching. My heart rate isn’t good most games, but it’s a lot better when he’s pitching.”
Aschenbeck isn’t the only Aggies adept at damage control: How do we explain Texas A&M opponents’ batting average was 0.95 with runners in scoring position?
“Our guys aren’t afraid of the moment and understand that when there are ducks in the pond, they don’t have to pitch super,” pitching coach Max Weiner said. “They just make their pitches.”
Speaking of moments, Sunday may be the most important day in Texas A&M baseball history.
One game left. In Tennessee’s camp, they say, “Two games left.”
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