Texas A&M Baseball Welcomes Rhode Island For Final Non-Conference Series
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It's the last tune-up weekend before the real competition starts in College Station.
The Texas A&M Aggies baseball teams returning to Blue Bell Park Friday for their final non-conference series against Rhode Island before SEC play starts in Gainesville against Florida.
The No. 7 Aggies (13-0) continue to ride the winning wave following Wednesday's comeback 7-4 win against Texas Southern thanks to late home runs from Hayden Schott and Braden Montgomery. The day prior, A&M secured its most significant victory of the young season on the road in Austin against No. 23 Texas, 9-2.
Yes, the offense continues to stay hot with newcomers like Montgomery, Ali Camarillo, and Gavin Grahovac, but pitching has been the backbone behind A&M's best start since 2015.
"There isn't any pressure," said left-hander Shane Sdao. "What we started doing is treating everything like an opening day like we're 0-0, so that alleviates pressure like it's not even there."
Behind wunderkind pitching coach Max Weiner, the Aggies continue to send batters packing via the punchout. A&M enters its three-game series with the Rams (2-7) boasting a nation-leading 1.62 ERA and ranks second in WHIP (0.96), third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.50), seventh in walks allowed per nine innings (2.76), seventh in hits allowed per nine innings (5.92) and eighth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.4).
Ethan Mito/Texas A&M Athletics
Left-hander Ryan Prager (3-0) is one of nine qualified players who have yet to allow a run this season and ranks fourth nationally in wins. In 16.2 innings pitched, the redshirt sophomore has struck out 27 batters, fourth-most among SEC pitchers.
"I'm just happy that we're going one at a time, that we're not trying to play above our skills," said Weiner. "We're not trying to make super pitches. Those are things that I'm really happy with."
Offensively, the Aggies nationally rank third in walks (108), seventh in on-base percentage (.468), ninth in home runs (26), 10th in runs scored (132), 16th in home runs per game (2.00), 16th in scoring (10.2) and 18th in slugging percentage (.583).
Everything starts with LaViolette and Montgomery, A&M's Preseason All-American duo that remains hot at the plate. Montgomery, a transfer from Stanford, made his impact felt early during his first Lone Star Series with a two-run home run off Texas starter Tanner Witt in the first to give A&M an early 2-0 lead.
"He gets pitched pretty hard and he might get down in counts," said hitting coach Michael Earley. "But before you know, it's back to 2-2, 3-2 and he's hitting a home run, so he's just one of those really good players that continues to get better. And I think putting him in this environment and this type of thing, I think he obviously really feeds off it."
LaViolette, who broke A&M's freshman home run record last season, should be back to full strength for the weekend matchup after taking a fastball under the elbow during the first inning against Texas. A big knot immediately popped up on LaViolette’s arm where he was hit, but the sophomore elected to stay in the game.
"As the game went on, it started to feel a little better, the adrenaline of it. So it was scary for sure," said Earley. "We were all holding our breath, and it did not look good at first, but he's a big, strong kid, too so it's alright."
The Katy native went 0-3 Wednesday in his return to Blue Bell Park with two strikeouts.
Prager will look to pick up his fourth win Friday night beginning a 6 p.m. Right-hander Tanner Jones will take the mound Saturday before lefty Justin Lampkin closes out the the series on Sunday.
Jones, a transfer from Jacksonville State, could be on a pitch count one more week before extending his innings. Over his previous two starts, Jones lasted three innings or fewer, including in Saturday's 9-3 win over USC at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
"There's that old saying, like, you walk through the mud, and that's how you get hardened. That's what he's done," said Weiner. "So every step of his career, he's had to be intentional.
"He's a heck of a dude."