'We've Earned It!' Jim Schlossnagle, Aggies Looking Forward to Home Regional

After being eliminated in two games at the SEC Tournament, the Texas A&M Aggies are facing a hitting slump, but coach Jim Schlossnagle and company are hopeful it can change with a much-needed trip home in the NCAA Tourney.

Jun 11, 2022; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle calls a play in the 2nd inning against Louisville at Blue Bell Park. / Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports

It took just two games for the Texas A&M Aggies to reach the end of their rope in Hoover, Alabama.

Entering the SEC Tournament with the No. 4 seed and a chance to pad their resume — or else risk a momentum-killing two-week "rest" period — the Aggies knew they had to come prepared with bats swinging to make a deep run.

Texas A&M's national seeding wasn't so much in jeopardy as its overall morale was, and even that could be repaired rather quickly during a four-team regional hosted at Olsen Field. Still, the Aggies didn't want to take that chance.

But given the circumstances, they knew how difficult making a run would be.

“Three of the last four weekends we’ve been on the road, and we haven’t played very well," Schlossnagle said following his team's eventual elimination at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers. “We definitely need to be at home. We play better at home.”

May 17, 2024; College Station, Texas; USA: A young Texas A&M Aggies fan fires a bubble machine following a run scored. / Matt Guzman - AllAggies on SI

Hoover wasn't a road game, per se, but it also wasn't College Station. Perhaps that's why the Aggies just couldn't overcome Mississippi State's late scoring run in Game 1. Maybe that's why Tennessee's Zane Denton slammed a pair of home runs to put his Volunteers in front and on top.

Losing two straight was counterproductive to the Aggies' goals of keeping their momentum high and their pitchers warm. It was the opposite of what they had hoped for entering the Hoover tournament, and now, they look ahead to another week void of games.

They aren't done practicing, though.

“We’ve had a rough few weeks," Aggies SEC Freshman-of-the-Year Gavin Grahovac said. "But we’re still the Aggies, and we’re going to continue to play Aggie baseball.”

As Texas A&M awaits the NCAA Tournament bracket to be announced — where they're expecting a home regional — they'll continue to focus on themselves and getting back to the high-offensive production that earned them the No. 1 overall spot for the better part of the regular season.

And when they next take Olsen Field, they'll look to prove it.

“We’ve played all season long to earn the right to get to play at home for at least the first round," Schlossnagle said. "I’m assuming we’re going to get to do that. ... We’ve earned the right to do that, but if we play like (we did in the SEC Tournament), there’s not going to be a second round.

"No matter where the game is scheduled.”