Childress, Texas A&M eager to get rolling as fall baseball practices begin

Cam Blake seemed giddy with excitement Monday afternoon as he bounced around the Olsen Field dugout, exemplifying the high level of anticipation surrounding the program as Texas A&M officially kicked off its fall practice schedule.

“We’ve gone the last three or four weeks with skill instruction in groups, but to have everybody together is something we’re really looking forward to,” head coach Rob Childress told reporters before the Aggies’ first practice.

It’s only been about three months since the Aggies finished off their impressive run to the College World Series, and that success is only fueling their desire for another deep postseason run in 2018.

“Our goal every year is to get to Omaha and win that last game,” Childress said. “So many of these guys getting a taste of that last year has certainly been a good motivator, but this 2018 team has to go forge its own identity and has to be willing to put the work in that it takes just to have a chance to get to the postseason.

“The talent and experience is there. There are no excuses for this team. We’ll never make excuses for any team that we have, and we certainly won’t make them here.”

The Aggies received some good news shortly after last season when the bullpen duo of Kaylor Chafin and Cason Sherrod bypassed professional baseball for a chance to play one more year in maroon and white. Both players played a huge part in last year’s success and have returned as two of the most important leaders so far this fall.

“I feel great — I love being back here,” Chafin said. “The best decision I ever made was to come back. This team is great, a lot of young talent, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Childress said he will give both a chance to crack the starting rotation.

The fall serves as an opportunity to see if those two along with junior righty Mitchell Kilkenny – who began the year as a starter before moving to the bullpen midseason – have the stuff necessary to get through a lineup two or three times.

Junior Chris Andritsos may be more excited than anyone else on the roster entering fall practice. The slugger had to sit out all of last season after transferring to A&M from Oklahoma.

“It’s a long-waited opportunity to get in on this,” Andritsos said. “I’m excited to get started this fall. We’ve put in a lot of hard work as a team early, so it’s kind of a reward based off of what we’ve done so far.”

Andritsos, the Sooners’ Friday night starter as a freshman, said he is ready to hit or pitch this season and will fulfill whatever roll the coaching staff asks him to play.

The Aggies will have to assemble a brand new outfield after the graduation of Nick Choruby, Walker Pennington and Blake Kopetsky, but plenty of bats return as well.

Braden Shewmake will slide over to shortstop, George Janca is back at the hot corner and Hunter Coleman and Cole Bedford return as well, as do sophomores Cam Blake and Logan Foster.

Add in Andritsos, JUCO transfer Michael Helman – who hit a whopping .487 last year – and a talented recruiting class, and the Aggies have the look of a stout offensive attack.

“This team has the potential to be really great,” Andritsos said. “We’ve got key components all over the place, and this fall will be a real big stepping stone to see how they progress and how we all progress as an offense, as a team and as a pitching staff.”