Texas A&M Baseball Off To Best Start Since 2015 Following Win Over Arizona State
Justin Lampkin figured sooner or later he'd find a rhythm. Who knew it just had to be away from Blue Bell Park?
The Texas A&M Aggies left-hander dominated Arizona State's bats in a 10-5 win Sunday afternoon on the final day of the Kubota College Baseball Series. Behind a slider-two-seam fastball combination, the swing-and-miss was alive and well.
“I felt really good about it today,” Lamkin said following the outing. “Being able to work backwards to guys and keep them off balance throughout the lineup, it was great.”
Lampkin entered the season as the Saturday starter, but after overall decent results, plus the elevation of Jacksonville State right-hander Tanner Jones, a switch in the lineup was best for the lefty-righty-lefty idealism.
Saturday, Sunday, every day is Lampkin's day, who in four innings issued one run on four hits, with five strikeouts. The development is yet another testament to pitching coach Max Weiner's efforts in the film room.
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“Just going one pitch at a time, just knowing what you’re going to do with that pitch, just really helps calm you down to know what you have to do,” said Lampkin.
Lampkin said his nerves calmed with each passing inning thanks to the offensive explosion leading the way. The No. Aggies (11-0) plated three runs in the first, four second and three more in the third before finishing the afternoon 3 of 20 (.150 BA) with eight strikeouts.
Catcher Hank Bard smacked a bases-clearing RBI double in the first to score three. Braden Montgomery, who was booed by Sun Devil fans after being pelted twice by fastballs in the 4-0 victory on Friday, crushed a 443-foot grand slam down the left-field line for his first grand slam in an A&M uniform.
“It felt great being able to play against the Pac-12 and play against a team that gave me a couple of boo-boos the other day,” Montgomery said. “It felt awesome.”
Jace LaViolette drove in two runs an inning later with a two-out RBI single.
"It's an offense that is going to hit you if you make a mistake, for sure," Montgomery said. "If you walk guys, then we're going to take advantage of it. It's a special offense."
Zane Badmaev picked up the win, but also issued a run in 1.1 innings pitched. Brad Rudis pitched the same amount of frames but went unscathed.
Peyton Smith took the worst beating after allowing collected three runs on four hits in 1.1 innings before Schlossnagle turned the ball over to Shane Sdao.
Sdao, who still is looking for a permanent home in the rotation, needed nine pitches to record three strikeouts and end the game. Schlossnagle said the left-hander would be available from the bullpen when the Aggies travel to Austin Tuesday evening to take on Texas.
"Not where we need to be. Got to be a little bit better on the mound, but yeah, we're moving forward, I think," Schlossnagle said of the pitching.
At 11-0, Texas A&M's start is the team's longest undefeated start to a season since 2015 when the Aggies won 24 straight. They go for a dozen on Wednesday and could be looking to feast on day-old beef following a three-game skid in the Astro’s Foundation College Classic.
Montgomery, a native of Madison, Miss., knows little about the rivalry but understands it intensifies moving closer to the game. That'll become a norm next season when the Longhorns become full members of the SEC.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what they've got," Montgomery said. "I know what we've got, and we're going to bring it on Tuesday."