Credit to Ben Rikard | Assistant Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies are coming off a week that saw them pick up wins in of four games, capped by a winning weekend at the Shriners Children’s College Classic. Now they face their busiest week of the regular season with five games on the slate, starting with midweek games vs UIW and Rice.
GAME COVERAGE
TV: The game vs the Cardinals will be streamed and available on SEC Network+ with the call from Will Johnson on the call… 12thMan.com and the 12th Man Mobile app offer live play-by-play and statistics for all home games… fans with cable providers offering access to SEC Network+ can watch all non-televised home games via the WatchESPN App using their cable provider access code.
Wednesday’s game will be carried online on CUSAtv and will be available to view for a fee… a 24-hour pass can be purchased for $6.95 and will allow for viewing online or on the CUSAtv app.
RADIO: Each game can be heard locally on SportsRadio 1150/93.7 The Zone… Will Johnson will have the play-by-play call for both games… 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.
12thMAN REWARDS
12th Man Rewards is a free program that appreciates fans for standing with the 12th Man and attending Texas A&M Athletics events in support of creating a home-court advantage for our student-athletes and coaches.
The more events you attend, the more your points will increase. Those points can be redeemed via the online giveaway store for a variety of items.
SERIES NOTES vs THE CARDINALS
– The Aggies and Cardinals have met six times since UIW joined the Division I ranks in 2013.
– Three of the six meetings have been decided by two runs or less.
– All games have come at Blue Bell Park.
– Texas A&M has a pair of former UIW players currently on its roster. Outfielder Jordan Thompson started his collegiate career in San Antonio with the Cardinals in 2019 and right-handed pitcher Jaren Warwick was a Cardinal in 2021.
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 286 times entering this week’s tilt at Reckling Park.
– The 286 meetings make 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 second of 3 scheduled meetings between the Owls and Aggies this year, with the next coming on March 21 at Blue Bell 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.
NEW STRIKEOUT RECORD FOR THE AGGIE STAFF
Among the myriad of records and oddities within the Aggies’ win on Sunday night over Texas Tech was the school-record performance by the Texas A&M pitching staff. The Aggies used six pitchers in the game and with Justin Lamkin’s final two punchouts finished with 23 strikeouts as a team. That mark surpasses the 22 strikeouts Texas A&M racked up in a win over Army in 2020 and is the most by a team in the country in 2023.
BOST MARCHING INTO NEW MONTH RED HOT
Austin Bost was just 2-for-25 to open up the season for the Aggies but found his stride in 4 games last week. The senior kicked off the week with a 3-for-4 performance vs HCU that included a pair of doubles and his first career grand slam to power his way to a career-best six RBI. He then followed that up with a big showing at the Shriners Children’s College Classic over the weekend, driving in a run in all three games and finishing 5-for-10 hitting with five RBI, four runs scored a homer and two doubles. He reached base in nine of 14 plate appearances in Houston.
AGGIES WIN MARATHON AT SHRINERS CLASSIC
The Aggies closed out a winning week with a 4-2 win over No. 24 Texas Tech on Sunday in the finale of the Shriners Children’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park, but it took 16 innings to get in the win column. The game was the longest in the 23-year history of the Classic, surpassing the previous long of 15 innings when the Aggies fell to Jim Schlossnagle’s TCU squad in 2017. It was also the longest game for the Aggies since a 5-1 win over UT Arlington in 18 innings in 2018.
WALK THE LINE
The Aggies had just seven hits in the win over Texas Tech, but drew 16 walks. That total set a new tournament record for free passes and added to the Aggies’ overall total for the year. Currently, Texas A&M ranks fourth in the nation with 93 walks drawn as a team. Shortstop Hunter Haas leads the team with 14 walks, which ranks 15th nationally.
RELIEF ON AN EVAN KEEL
Lefty Evan Aschenbeck was not on the radar of many coming into the 2023 season, but there may not be an arm more valuable to the Aggie’s early success than the Breham native. Aschenbeck burst onto the scene with 4.0 innings of shutout relief vs Portland that helped the Aggies recover and avoid a sweep with a walk-off win on Sunday. He threw 2.1 innings on Friday vs Louisville but then turned around on Sunday vs Texas Tech and delivered a brilliant performance with 4.2 perfect innings of relief in extra frames. He picked up his second win of the year in that game, retiring all 14 Red Raider hitters he faced with eight strikeouts. This year he has totaled 14 Ks against just one walk in 11.0 relief innings.
BATS ERUPT IN WIN OVER HUSKIES
To say the Aggies exorcised some offensive demons in last week’s win over HCU would be an understatement. Texas A&M put up 23 runs in just seven 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 five runs scored in the game, despite recording just one hit. The Aggie third baseman hit his second homer of the year to open the second inning and walked three times, also reaching twice on two of the five Husky errors on the night.
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 11 games, has been everything you could ask for out of a leadoff hitter and is the only Aggie to reach base in all 11 games this year. He currently leads the team with a .351 average and .547 on-base percentage. He has already had two games (G2 vs Portland; 3/4 vs Rice) where he has reached base in five plate appearances.
WINNING TRADITION
With its 44-20 overall record in 2022, the Aggies posted their 16th consecutive winning season. Texas A&M has registered a winning record in 60 of the last 62 campaigns entering 2023.
SUNDAY SALUTE
Since Texas A&M’s beginnings, the Corps of Cadets have marched in step with the university’s rhythms. Meanwhile, Aggie baseball has marked the time with its moments that remain legendary.
The Aggies have twice donned an on-field salute to the Corps of Cadets, wearing uniforms that mirror and honor one of the foundational pieces of Texas A&M. Each jersey features a different Corps outfit patch on the left sleeve, along with the Corps emblem on the right jersey. A specialty hat features the Corps logo on the front, and even the belt, shoes and socks were all custom designed to mirror the Corps uniform.
So far the Aggies are 2-0 when wearing the Corps uniforms, finding Olsen Magic with a walk-off win in the series finale vs Portland and coming back from a ninth-inning deficit to take down No. 24 Texas Tech in 16 innings in the final game of the Shriners Children’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park.
MIDWEEK METTLE
College baseball sees most of its focus on weekend series, but success in midweek battles can pay big dividends in the later months of the season. The Aggies dropped their first midweek of 2023 to Lamar but responded a week later with a 23-0 shelling of HCU. Typically, the Aggies have taken advantage of their midweek opportunities. Texas A&M was 9-1 in midweek games in 2022 with the lone loss coming at Houston on March 15. The Aggies are 26-4 in midweek games since the start of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
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 home 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 is among some of the best non-conference weekends in recent memory. Total attendance for the three-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, three-game set since the facility was renovated in 2012.