Texas A&M Baseball Looking For Fundamental Play Against Fordham

Texas A&M manager Jim Schlossnagle said that Friday night's season opener against Fordham is expected to be chilly. That's common early on the regular season, but he assured fans that it will improve before the series' end.

Maybe that's a sign of what is to come with Aggie baseball in 2022. Last year, A&M elected to part ways with veteran manager Rob Childress after going 9-21 in Southeastern Conference play.

The cold days for the once-profitable program are hopeful to melt away under the direction of Schlossnagle, who previously spent the last 18 seasons at TCU. Of course, the priority when A&M takes the field for the first time is to see where the team currently sits.

"Progression has been good," Schlossnagle said on Wednesday. "Guys since Day 1 of the fall have been open to coaching and learning. We've started to see some guys emerge on both sides of the baseball.

"The guys are ready to go and are excited."

It's not as if Schlossnagle isn't qualified to make the jump over to the competitive SEC trek of the diamond. During his tenure in Fort Worth, the 51-year-old led the Horned Frogs to the NCAA Tournament 15 times, including four consecutive trips to the College World Series from 2014-17.

Schlossnagle isn't trying to surpass Childress, who led the Aggies to 13 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2007-19.

"There was already good structure, there was already good discipline, there was already good accountability," Schlossnagle said of Childress' work. "This wasn’t some jack-legged program where kids were running roughshod and getting to do what they wanted to do."

Sophomore right-hander Nathan Dettmer is expected to take the mound on Friday night to begin the series. Last season from the bullpen, he impressed in a limited role. Dettmer appeared in 17 games, recording 49 strikeouts while logging a 3-2 record with 4.37 ERA.

The new guns will make their Aggie debut to close out the three-game series against the Rams. Micah Dallas, a junior transfer from Texas Tech is expected to get the call Saturday while freshman Ryan Prager will finish the job on Sunday.

A&M's roster will see an overhaul of talent as well. The Aggies added nine players from the transfer portal when Schlossnagle joined the program. Although two thirds of the staff have been through an opening day, the new skipper still says that butterfly feeling never leaves.

"The old saying is to get the butterflies to fly in formation and under control," Schlossnagle said. "Those guys have been through it, though they've never been through it here."

Schlossnagle said that the starting lineup Friday will consist of all veteran talent, including new catcher Troy Claunch. A transfer from Oregon State and a member of the 2018 national champion roster, Schlossnagle considers him a mentor of the roster, bestowing him the honor of No. 12 as a graduate student.

The veteran will be expected to pick up where he left off last season with the Beavers. Claunch earned All-Pac 12 first-team honors last season after hitting .305 with four home runs and 30 RBIs in his final year at Corvallis.

"He earned the respect of his teammates," Schlossnagle said. He didn't do that with his mouth. He's just a good guy and spoke when something needed to be said."

Schlossnagle isn't looking for the highlight reel plays against the Rams. He isn't looking for moonshots and 100-mile per hour fastballs to blow batters away, although he won't say no to it.

A&M is going back to the basics of baseball. It's about fundamentals and consistency for Schlossnagle. Master the daily mechanics first, worry about making the splash later on.

"Opening day is opening day," Schlossnagle said. "It's exciting, but is doesn't define the season, nor does the first weekend."

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