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Texas A&M Baseball
“The SEC Network is wonderful. I love that part of the SEC, and really just the exposure of college baseball in general. It’s great to be able to follow the team and, obviously, see a little bit more specifics than I would in years past. So, my take on the team is probably very similar to you guys. They had a great season. Really, the 24-0 start is something that I don’t think anybody expected, and then to see them come through the way they did throughout the year has been good. I like the team. I think they’re poised to make a run. I think they have grit. This is nothing new to you guys. You guys watched them play all year, but I really like where they are. I know they got snubbed yesterday, but at the end of the day, I think they’re going to make a good push. I will be disappointed if they don’t make it to Omaha. I would not always say that for an A&M team, but this team -- I truly feel -- has the talent and the grit to get there.”
“I’m shocked they didn’t get a national seed yesterday, and I’m also shocked they haven’t had one in 16 years. It’s disappointing in a lot of ways, but it also shows you how difficult it is to get those seeds. I will say this: I worked one of the broadcasts early in the year on the SEC+ channel, and I talked to Will Bolt before one of those games against Dartmouth. I asked him if he thought they were good enough to win a national title and he emphatically said, ‘Yes.’ I don’t know if Will would want me to out him in that fashion or not, but he really did believe that. I really do think Coach Childress believes that too. I think that is probably 75% of the battle when you get into these kind of environments. So if the coaching staff truly believes it, which I think they do, despite their holes – clearly the team has some holes. You guys know the narrative. The defense has been a challenge all year; the pitching staff has struggles somewhat of late. The offense has been there pretty much all year, but I do think that they have the ability to do it. But yes, to circle all the way back around, I am shocked that they’re not a national seed.”
“I do think that it’s very similar to football with the final four. There is politics involved with that. It’s going to be very challenging to get four teams in from the same conference as national seeds. Although on the softball side, they had a bunch of teams that got national seeds. I think in baseball though, the politics do get them, but what that tells me – and this is what Coach Childress said in his interview yesterday – we’ve got to win the league. He’s right about that. If you want to get a national seed, win the league, and then you get what you need.”
“I really can’t specifically remember anything out of the norm when we got our national seed in ’99. I think we expected it. I believe we got the 8-seed that year. It was either 7 or 8. We had had a great year, much like this team has in 2015. It was not a shock to us at all. It was very exciting, because we knew we had the opportunity to host a super regional, which we ended up doing. I loved the format back then; I still love it today. I think the best team ends up winning the national championship, especially as you go to that 2-of-3 format in the championship series. I think 64 teams is the right number. I think the regional, super regional and Omaha format is right. I love it. Sixteen years ago when we got it, we were excited. We had great turnout at Olsen that year and had had great fan turnout for the prior two or three years before that. So that was sort of a culmination of that, and for me, as a senior, I knew I was going get to go out and play at Olsen Field. That was really special, but it definitely was exciting.”
“To this day, there’s one loss that sticks out in my mind in my entire life, and that’s that Mississippi State loss in 1998. We jump out to a 5-0 lead in that game, and we end up losing. One thing I remember was how tough Mississippi State was, and this really breeds true today with the SEC. They came into Olsen Field, they brought a lot of fans with them and they beat us fair and square in that final game. What bothers me the most is, our expectation in ’99 was to get to Omaha. Not to say that we went there and just folded up the tent when we got to Omaha.
Obviously, we lost the first two games to Florida State and Fullerton. More importantly, had we gone in ’98 with the old format of groups and and Casey Fossum – you only had to win four games. It was different; there was no championship series. Once you get to Omaha – if you had two horses, the way we did that year – I think we definitely would have done some damage. More importantly, I think we would have figured out how to play in Omaha. As we went back to those expectations in ’99, I think the bar would have been raised even higher, and I really do think we could have competed for a national championship in both of those years, certainly in ’99.”
“Kahlid Ballouli in '99 ... That was a huge win for us. I believe that was on a Sunday in the regional that he stepped up and continued to allow us to march forward. That’s got to happen with this team. Who is it going to be? I don’t know, but it does have to happen if they want to make that run. I think back even to ’99 when Chris Scarcella took the ball in the Big 12 Tournament and got a big win for us there too. It has to happen, and those are great memories. Kahlid Ballouli against Long Beach State was a big one, and something that I know he even remembers and thinks very fondly of. You do have to have those types of things. As far as the whole memory goes, the journey is fantastic. We lost a game in the regional. We lost a game in the super regional, which makes it even sweeter when you close it out and get that win and move forward. There are tons of memories, and I could talk to you for hours about those games and the memories I have there. But somebody big does have to step up and do something special for the Aggies to move forward.”
“When you move from 48 teams to 64 in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, those last 16 teams in are not going to win the national championship. It’s pretty much like the basketball tournament. So the Monmouth’s of the world, or even the Texas Southern’s as we have upcoming this week – those teams are not going to win the regional. If they do, it’s a miracle, and for them to get through the super regional – I just don’t see them having enough depth to do it. For those teams that don’t get to play in front of the crowds and don’t get the opportunity to experience big-time D1 baseball, it’s great. I think it’s good. You’re really going to be looking at the 1-, 2-, or 3-seed, in my opinion, that’s going to win that regional. I remember the coach at Monmouth as I was playing first base, he was just excited to be there. The winning and losing was just secondary. He was just soaking up the experience.”
“My advice to the current players is to play free, play aggressive. Any time you get into a playoff format, you’re going to start feeling that pressure a little bit. Certainly, my advice would be to go out there and play free and easy. Be aggressive at the plate for sure. For pitchers, getting ahead with strikes is going to be crucial. Try not to do things that you haven’t done all year. Really just continue to play the same game that you’ve played all year long, and look at it as another baseball game that requires execution. The second you start trying to do too much or you start pressing, it’s not going to work out. This team at A&M has shown all year that they’re going to respond positively, so I really do expect them to do a lot of things. I expect them to move on.”
“If they don’t use the national seed snub as motivation, I would be disappointed. For me as a player, I would be ticked off and definitely wanting to show the whole committee and the country for that matter that A&M belongs. They said all the right things yesterday, which they should. That was the professional approach and the right approach, and it looked like they had their emotions in check, which was also the right approach. But internally, I have to believe that fire’s burning, and I have to believe that they’re really expecting to show the whole committee and the whole country what they’re made of.”
Aggie Flashback with former A&M 1B John Scheschuk
Key quotes from John Scheschuk interview
“The family is doing well. My wife and I have three daughters, and we’re actually expecting a fourth, which is a boy. It’s kind of a shock to us. Yeah, we were kind of surprised. We’re doing well. We live in Friendswood, Texas, which is near the Houston area, and I work for an international logistics company named Gulf Plains International. So, life is good.”“The SEC Network is wonderful. I love that part of the SEC, and really just the exposure of college baseball in general. It’s great to be able to follow the team and, obviously, see a little bit more specifics than I would in years past. So, my take on the team is probably very similar to you guys. They had a great season. Really, the 24-0 start is something that I don’t think anybody expected, and then to see them come through the way they did throughout the year has been good. I like the team. I think they’re poised to make a run. I think they have grit. This is nothing new to you guys. You guys watched them play all year, but I really like where they are. I know they got snubbed yesterday, but at the end of the day, I think they’re going to make a good push. I will be disappointed if they don’t make it to Omaha. I would not always say that for an A&M team, but this team -- I truly feel -- has the talent and the grit to get there.”
“I’m shocked they didn’t get a national seed yesterday, and I’m also shocked they haven’t had one in 16 years. It’s disappointing in a lot of ways, but it also shows you how difficult it is to get those seeds. I will say this: I worked one of the broadcasts early in the year on the SEC+ channel, and I talked to Will Bolt before one of those games against Dartmouth. I asked him if he thought they were good enough to win a national title and he emphatically said, ‘Yes.’ I don’t know if Will would want me to out him in that fashion or not, but he really did believe that. I really do think Coach Childress believes that too. I think that is probably 75% of the battle when you get into these kind of environments. So if the coaching staff truly believes it, which I think they do, despite their holes – clearly the team has some holes. You guys know the narrative. The defense has been a challenge all year; the pitching staff has struggles somewhat of late. The offense has been there pretty much all year, but I do think that they have the ability to do it. But yes, to circle all the way back around, I am shocked that they’re not a national seed.”
“I do think that it’s very similar to football with the final four. There is politics involved with that. It’s going to be very challenging to get four teams in from the same conference as national seeds. Although on the softball side, they had a bunch of teams that got national seeds. I think in baseball though, the politics do get them, but what that tells me – and this is what Coach Childress said in his interview yesterday – we’ve got to win the league. He’s right about that. If you want to get a national seed, win the league, and then you get what you need.”
“I really can’t specifically remember anything out of the norm when we got our national seed in ’99. I think we expected it. I believe we got the 8-seed that year. It was either 7 or 8. We had had a great year, much like this team has in 2015. It was not a shock to us at all. It was very exciting, because we knew we had the opportunity to host a super regional, which we ended up doing. I loved the format back then; I still love it today. I think the best team ends up winning the national championship, especially as you go to that 2-of-3 format in the championship series. I think 64 teams is the right number. I think the regional, super regional and Omaha format is right. I love it. Sixteen years ago when we got it, we were excited. We had great turnout at Olsen that year and had had great fan turnout for the prior two or three years before that. So that was sort of a culmination of that, and for me, as a senior, I knew I was going get to go out and play at Olsen Field. That was really special, but it definitely was exciting.”
“To this day, there’s one loss that sticks out in my mind in my entire life, and that’s that Mississippi State loss in 1998. We jump out to a 5-0 lead in that game, and we end up losing. One thing I remember was how tough Mississippi State was, and this really breeds true today with the SEC. They came into Olsen Field, they brought a lot of fans with them and they beat us fair and square in that final game. What bothers me the most is, our expectation in ’99 was to get to Omaha. Not to say that we went there and just folded up the tent when we got to Omaha.
Obviously, we lost the first two games to Florida State and Fullerton. More importantly, had we gone in ’98 with the old format of groups and and Casey Fossum – you only had to win four games. It was different; there was no championship series. Once you get to Omaha – if you had two horses, the way we did that year – I think we definitely would have done some damage. More importantly, I think we would have figured out how to play in Omaha. As we went back to those expectations in ’99, I think the bar would have been raised even higher, and I really do think we could have competed for a national championship in both of those years, certainly in ’99.”
“Kahlid Ballouli in '99 ... That was a huge win for us. I believe that was on a Sunday in the regional that he stepped up and continued to allow us to march forward. That’s got to happen with this team. Who is it going to be? I don’t know, but it does have to happen if they want to make that run. I think back even to ’99 when Chris Scarcella took the ball in the Big 12 Tournament and got a big win for us there too. It has to happen, and those are great memories. Kahlid Ballouli against Long Beach State was a big one, and something that I know he even remembers and thinks very fondly of. You do have to have those types of things. As far as the whole memory goes, the journey is fantastic. We lost a game in the regional. We lost a game in the super regional, which makes it even sweeter when you close it out and get that win and move forward. There are tons of memories, and I could talk to you for hours about those games and the memories I have there. But somebody big does have to step up and do something special for the Aggies to move forward.”
“When you move from 48 teams to 64 in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, those last 16 teams in are not going to win the national championship. It’s pretty much like the basketball tournament. So the Monmouth’s of the world, or even the Texas Southern’s as we have upcoming this week – those teams are not going to win the regional. If they do, it’s a miracle, and for them to get through the super regional – I just don’t see them having enough depth to do it. For those teams that don’t get to play in front of the crowds and don’t get the opportunity to experience big-time D1 baseball, it’s great. I think it’s good. You’re really going to be looking at the 1-, 2-, or 3-seed, in my opinion, that’s going to win that regional. I remember the coach at Monmouth as I was playing first base, he was just excited to be there. The winning and losing was just secondary. He was just soaking up the experience.”
“My advice to the current players is to play free, play aggressive. Any time you get into a playoff format, you’re going to start feeling that pressure a little bit. Certainly, my advice would be to go out there and play free and easy. Be aggressive at the plate for sure. For pitchers, getting ahead with strikes is going to be crucial. Try not to do things that you haven’t done all year. Really just continue to play the same game that you’ve played all year long, and look at it as another baseball game that requires execution. The second you start trying to do too much or you start pressing, it’s not going to work out. This team at A&M has shown all year that they’re going to respond positively, so I really do expect them to do a lot of things. I expect them to move on.”
“If they don’t use the national seed snub as motivation, I would be disappointed. For me as a player, I would be ticked off and definitely wanting to show the whole committee and the country for that matter that A&M belongs. They said all the right things yesterday, which they should. That was the professional approach and the right approach, and it looked like they had their emotions in check, which was also the right approach. But internally, I have to believe that fire’s burning, and I have to believe that they’re really expecting to show the whole committee and the whole country what they’re made of.”
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