Freshman Jace LaViolette Homers Twice In Texas A&M's Win Over Seattle
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Welcome to Aggieland, Jace LaViolette.
The power-hitting freshman from Katy, Texas, showed Texas A&M fans what's in the works as Dylan Rock's replacement in left field, hitting two home runs in a 6-3 win over Seattle. The No. 5 Aggies (2-0) will have a chance to earn a series sweep Sunday over the Redhawks at 10:30 a.m.
“I can’t even put into words how much fun it is,” LaViolette said. “I’ve never been a part of a culture like this, and coming out here and playing in front of the best fans, what more can you ask for?”
Expectations were high for LaViolette after a monster senior season at Katy Tompkins in 2022. Seniors were impressed with his power during the offseason. A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle gushed over his potential prior to the start of the new season.
While the veterans will need to be the driving force for A&M after making the College World Series last season, the young guns could provide a spark in the early part of the year. Maybe that's what Saturday was about for LaViolette.
Then again, no one is going to complain about a 6-6, 230-pound freshman being the focal point of the offense once SEC play rolls around, especially Schlonssnagle.
“We talked about how old our team was, but you’re an injury away from losing some of those guys, which we had that yesterday,” Schlossnagle said. “As I told you before the season, we have some really good young players that we like on this team.
Senior Austin Bost was the catalyst for A&M's five-run fourth inning, smacking a line drive two-run homer over the left-field wall to putting A&M down by one. The new 12th Man in Aggieland finished 1-for-4 on the afternoon and scored a run.
Trailing 3-2 on a full count, LaViolette kept the second-half rally with a towering two-run home run in the 424-foot blast straight into Section 12. He added a second long ball in the eighth inning, this time over the right-center wall.
“I was too much in the moment, and I was having a lot of fun,” LaViolette said. “If it goes over, it goes over, no matter how far.”
New pitcher Troy Wansing came with mixed results in his first outing at Blue Bell Park. The Purdue transfer won the starting job over countless veterans for the Saturday start in A&M's weekend rotation, but still could be adjusting to life in the SEC.
The positives? Wansing struck out seven Redhawks in less than four innings. The negatives? He allowed four hits and three earned runs while walking four batters in 3.1 innings.
“I think it was a positive step simply because he hasn’t pitched in this environment,” Schlossnagle said of Wansing. “No disrespect, pitching here is not like pitching in the midwest or on the west coast. That’s not a slam. It’s just fact.”
LaViolette was one of four freshmen that impacted Saturday's outcome. After reliever Brad Rudis allowed a single to begin the fifth inning, Justin Lamkin (1-0) came in the get out of the jam. The 6-4 southpaw from Corpus Christi did more than that, striking out five and making a handful of defensive plays in 3.2 innings of work.
“I thought Lamkin was outstanding, and he made some big pitches,” Schlossnagle said. “A big key to the game was him fielding his position.”
Fellow freshmen Kasen Wells and Max Kaufer returned to the lineup in Game 2 and delivered. Wells, who replaced senior Brett Minnich in the third inning of Friday's 8-2 win, notched his first hit with a single to right field in the fourth. Kaufer remained behind the backstop and helped A&M pitchers strikeout 14 Redhawks in nine innings.
Kaufer also walked three times.
“Those two guys, especially, have stepped up,” LaViolette said of Wells and Kaufer. “It’s just about playing together, playing as we have been and letting it roll.”
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