The Texas A&M Aggies return to Minute Maid Park for the first time since 2019 this weekend when they take part in the Shriners Children’s College Classic.
The Maroon & White has won its last two contests after a walk-off win over Portland and a Tuesday dismantling of HCU, but will have its hands full with a field that includes a pair of ranked opponents.
The Aggies will first face Louisville in a rematch of the 2022 College Station regional, followed by the first of three games this season vs Rice. Finally, the Aggies will take on undefeated Texas Tech, seeing the Red Raiders for the first time since 2017 and only the second time since 2012.
GAME COVERAGE
TV/STREAMING: All nine of the tournament games will be televised on AT&T SportsNet SW and available on the channel in the entirety of the Astros five-state viewing area. The Aggie games on Saturday and Sunday will be shown on the AT&T SportsNet SW Alternate channel, due to a scheduling overlap with the Houston Rockets.
Additionally, all nine games will also be streamed live without a paywall on Astros.com and on the Astros Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts, and the MLB app.
Brett Dolan and Pat Combs will call the majority of the action on the telecast for the weekend, with Gerald Sanchez and Butch Alsandor also making appearances.
RADIO: The game can be heard locally on SportsRadio 1150/93.7 The Zone… Andrew Monaco will have the play-by-play call for all 3 games with JB Moss on analysis… the pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
SOCIAL: Fans can get in-game updates on social media by following @AggieBaseball on Twitter.
SERIES NOTES vs THE CARDINALS
– Friday’s showcase game features a rematch of the 2022 College Station Super Regional where the Aggies scratched out a pair of 1-run wins over the Cardinals to punch their ticket to Omaha and the College World Series for the seventh time in program history.
– The game will be the first time the teams have met during the the regular season with the only other meeting coming in 2017 at the College World Series.
SERIES NOTES vs THE OWLS
– The baseball rivalry between the Aggies and Owls goes back over a century with the first game (an 11-11 tie) being played in 1914. The former SWC rivals have played a combined 285 times entering this weekend’s tilt at Minute Maid Park.
– The 285 meetings makes Rice the third-most played rivalry in Texas A&M baseball history. Only the series with Texas (369) and Baylor (324) have been played more.
– Saturday’s game will be the first of 3 scheduled meetings between the Owls and Aggies this year, with the next coming on Wednesday at Reckling Park. The Owls will return the favor on March 21 with a trip to Blue Bell Park.
– The teams have not played each other 3 times in a single season since 2008 when they met once during the regular season and twice during the Houston Super Regional.
SERIES NOTES vs THE RED RAIDERS
– Sunday’s clash with the Red Raiders will be only the second time the Aggies have faced Texas Tech on the diamond since departing the Big XII after the 2012 season. Both times have come at Minute Maid Park as part of the Shriners Children’s College Classic.
– The last time the teams met, Aggie righty Brigham Hill threw 7.0 scoreless frames to push the No. 20 Aggies past No. 19 Texas Tech in the tournament opener in 2017.
– The series with the Red Raiders began in 1929 with 155 total playings entering Sunday.
BOST HITS CAREER MARK ON CAREER NIGHT VS HCU
Senior Austin Bost is the active leader in multiple statistical categories for the Aggies, but had struggled to open 2023 before a breakout Tuesday performance vs HCU. Bost finished the night 3-for-4 with a career-high 6 RBI, smashing 2 doubles and his first career grand slam. The 6 RBI pushed him over the 100-RBI mark for his career, making him the first Aggie to reach 100 for his career since Will Frizzell in 2021.
BATS ERUPT IN WIN OVER HUSKIES
To say the Aggies exorcised some offensive demons in Tuesday’s win over HCU would be an understatement. Texas A&M put up 23 runs in just 7 frames vs HCU, winning 23-0 for its largest margin of victory since a 30-2 win over Prairie View in 2020.
Trevor Werner tied a school single-game record with 5 runs scored in the game, despite recording just 1 hit. The Aggie third baseman hit his second homer of the year to open the second inning and walked 3 times, also reaching twice on 2 of the 5 Husky errors on the night.
FAMILIAR NAME IN A FAMILIAR PLACE
If seeing someone of the last name of Kent playing at Minute Maid Park this weekend raises an eyebrow, don’t be alarmed. It is what you think it is.
Texas A&M freshman Kaeden Kent has started the last 6 games for the Aggies in left field and will likely man that spot on Friday night in a ballpark his father – former MLB all-star Jeff Kent – played in during the 2003 and 2004 seasons for the Houston Astros. The younger Kent has been a bright spot for the Texas A&M offense early in the year with 8 hits – 3 for extra-bases – and 7 RBI.
AGGIES BACK IN THE CLASSIC
The Shriners Children’s College Classic has been played every year since 2001 and the Aggies will be making their 11th appearance in it, which only trails Houston (18), Rice (17) and Baylor (13) for the most appearances in the event.
Texas A&M is 17-13 all-time at the Classic and was part of the inaugural field in 2001. Since then, Texas A&M has been a bi-annual competitor in it until not participating in 2021 on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the 4-year hiatus from the tournament the longest for the Aggies since it started.
NEW PARK, WHO DIS?
With the Aggies back in Houston for the Classic since 2019, it will be a new experience for the majority of the group. With the exception of a few.
Head coach Jim Schlossnagle will be making his eighth appearance in the event, having done so 7 previous times with TCU. He is 14-7 in his career in the event.
However, the only other player who has played in this event before is graduate transfer Matt Dillard, who joined the Aggies this year from Sam Houston.
Dillard was on the 2021 Bearkat squad who participated in the Classic, and he got the start on the mound at Minute Maid when the Kats faced off against No. 10 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders picked up an 8-0 win that day, but Dillard shined on the mound, allowing just 1 unearned run in 6.0 innings, allowing 3 hits and 3 walks with a career-high 8 strikeouts.
A+ GRADE FOR HAAS
Despite the overall early struggles for the Aggie offense, shortstop Hunter Haas has been off to a stellar start. The former Arizona State infielder is in his first year at Texas A&M and in addition to playing flawless defense through 8 games, has been everything you could ask for out of a leadoff hitter, hitting .360 and leading the team in on-base percentage (.568). He is the only Aggie to currently rank in the top 10 of the SEC in a slash-line category, ranking eighth in OBP, after reaching base in an eye-popping 13 of 15 plate appearances in the series vs Portland. Haas enters the weekend with only 2 strikeouts and an SEC-best 12 walks drawn.
AGGIE ATTENDANCE CHECK
It isn’t uncommon for Aggies to show up supporting Aggies, but early indications are for big attendance numbers in 2023. So far, through 8 games, Texas A&M ranks sixth in the NCAA with an average of 5,645 fans per game.
But look a little deeper and you’ll find that each of the first 2 weekends of the year are among some of the best non-conference weekends in recent memory. Total attendance for the 3-game series’ vs Seattle U (17,844) and Portland (17,654) rank only behind Yale’s visit to Blue Bell Park in 2016 in total attendance for a non-conference, 3-game set since the facility was renovated in 2012.
Credit to 12thman.com