Michael Earley Praises Texas A&M Transfer For 'Elite' Defense

Royo has been in the Aggies starting nine for the past few games.

Jun 22, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M Aggies second baseman Kaeden Kent (3) drives in two runs with a single against the Tennessee Volunteers during the third inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

The Texas A&M Aggies were able to find themselves back in the win column Tuesday night, knocking off the Houston Christian Huskies by a score of 7-2 in front of the home crowd at Blue Bell Park.

The night was highlighted by Kaeden Kent's two runs batted in as well as Rice transfer Ben Royo's first home run as a member of the Maroon and White, the ball sailing over the left center field wall.

Texas A&M's Jace LaViolette (17) smiles during game three of the NCAA College World Series finals between Tennessee and Texas A&M at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, June 24, 2024. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Royo has been penciled in as the starting second baseman by Michael Earley since the first game against Vanderbilt this past weekend, and finally seemed to find his groove Tuesday night, going 2-for-4 with the long ball, a single, and a walk.

However, according to Coach Earley, offensive production was not the main reason that the junior infielder was named the starter at the "4" on the diamond.

"First and foremost, he's in there to play defense, like his defense has been elite," Earley told reporters following the win Tuesday night. "You saw over the weekend, he was turning double plays on plus-plus runners, and he's got some sock in his bat at the same time, we do need him to do other things and move baseballs when we need to move baseballs, but he had a great sac bunt earlier in the game and had a great hit up the middle and then he hit the homer, so he did a little bit of everything, and that is what we're going to ask him to do."

Earley also praised the improvement at the plate with two strikes Tuesday night, as the team struck out nearly 50 times in the three games against the Commodores this past weekend.

"Some guys that got late in the count got pitches middle in or outer half of the plate or they fouled off fastballs straight back, so progress was made, but still not where we wanted to be," Earley said. "When you get to two strikes at an extremely high clip, strikeouts are going to happen."

The Aggies will now shift their focus to the Kentucky Wildcats as the team eagerly searches for their first conference win on the diamond in 2025.