Diamond Notes: A&M goes 2-1 at Frisco College Classic as competition increases

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Click above to listen to Gabe's interview with A&M assistant baseball coach Justin Seely on TexAgs Radio. Notes are included below Diamond Notes.

It was a 4-1 week for the Aggies that saw a giant increase in competition level as the week wore on, going from Houston Baptist and Incarnate Word in the midweek, to Louisiana Tech on Friday night, to Baylor on Saturday and closing with Cal on Sunday… clearly the most complete team the Ags have played all season to this point. While the Aggies opened with a bad loss to La Tech on Friday night, they bounced back and grinded out a tough win over BU and then put it all together in all phases on Sunday for an impressive win over the Golden Bears from Berkeley.

I thought it was really good for A&M to face some adversity like they did in game one of the tournament. This team is still young and losing that game seemed to wake them up and help them realize that nothing comes easy in baseball. You have to compete every inning of every game if you want to be great. The Ags came out to the ball yard on Saturday against its in-state rival from Waco and competed at a high level. They weren’t tremendous on the mound by any stretch and didn’t hammer the ball all around the yard. But they competed and it paid off in victory. And then they capped it off with a very well-played ball game vs. Cal to head back to Aggieland feeling very good about where things stand through 12 games.

A&M is 11-1 and grew up a lot over the weekend, in my opinion. The coaches continue to learn more and more about this roster and where to fit all of the pieces. It’s hard to learn much about yourself until you’re truly thrown into the fire with a legitimate NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent. That happened this weekend, and in my opinion, the Aggies came out a better team on Sunday than they were when they took the field on Friday evening.

Having written a TON over the weekend from Dr. Pepper Ballpark after each game, I’m going to keep this week’s report relatively short this go-around. If you’re a Premium subscriber, you have access to all three postgame reports and our full-scale baseball coverage here: texags.com/aggie-baseball

Hitter of the Week:

SS Braden Shewmake | (.360 / .389 / .520) - 9-for-19 (.474); home run; 6 RBI

• The sophomore All-American was a bit slow out of the gate, by his standards, but quietly exploded for a near-.500 average during week three's five-game stretch. He hit safely in all five games and produced three multi-hit games in the stretch, raising his average 70 points and his OPS 154 points to .909. Shewmake went 3-for-5 with two RBI to pace the A&M offense vs. Cal.

Who Else is Hot?

INF/OF Allonte Wingate | (.500 / .500 / .500) - Hit .500 (6-for-12) last week including a pair of RBI. At the plate, nothing is flashy for the speedy, smooth-fielding utility man from Beaumont. He has no extra-base hits thus far as an Aggie. All 11 of his hits are singles and almost all of them have been opposite-field hits. Wingate had three hits vs. UIW, two hits vs. Baylor and went 1-for-1 off the bench against Cal on Sunday. I like this kid’s approach a lot. He doesn’t try to do too much with the baseball and he knows exactly who he is as a hitter. His right-handed swing plays well to right center and he almost always hits the ball on the barrel. A key piece for this team and a guy that will continue to earn more and more starting opportunities as he continues to swing a hot bat and do all of the little things that help a club win games.

1B/OF Will Frizzell | (.368 / .429 / .526) - Hit .385 (5-for-13) during last week’s five-game stretch, including a solo home run late in the win over Baylor on Sunday… the first of what figures to be many for the freshman from Rockwall during his time in Aggieland. Frizzell is a strong kid with a lot of power in that 6-5 frame, but he also possesses an advanced approach at the plate. His power really plays to all fields but he turned on one Saturday night and splashed it into the fountains in right center field in Frisco, cutting into the teeth of the wind to do so. A momentum-turning home run that displayed his immense power potential offensively.

Who’s Cold?

2B Michael Helman | (.326 / .436 / .500) - Hit .238 (5-for-21) on the week with one extra-base hit and no stolen bases. The junior hit safety in each game but was limited to just one hit in each contest. Helman jumped on the scene immediately in ’18 and has tailed off a bit, but is battling at the plate and I firmly believe the lack of production in week three was an aberration and that you’ll see the Lincoln, Nebraska native get right back to doing what he’s always done at the plate… barreling baseballs for extra base hits all over the field and causing havoc on the base paths.

Morgan Kates, TexAgs

The Aggie third baseman, George Janca, has continued to struggle at the plate in the early part of the season.

3B George Janca | (.125 / .222 / .219) - Hit .083 (1-for-12) last week. Not much you can saw about George’s struggles with the bat right now. He’s “on swing” right now, meaning that he’s up there hacking away in an effort to get it all back with one swing of the bat. When you get in that mode, the pitcher knows he can get you to swing at bat pitches out of the zone for easy outs. I will say this, however, Janca looked much better in Sunday’s game vs. Cal. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI and hit the ball hard twice… one for a single and one for a tough luck ground out. Perhaps that was a sign of good things to come for the junior infielder.

Pitcher of the Week:

RHP Mitchell Kilkenny | (3-0; 1.83) - 7.0 IP; 7 H; 2 R; 2 ER; 0 BB; 7 K

• Kilkenny wins this award for the second straight week after yet another masterful mound performance. As I wrote Sunday from Frisco, Kilkenny had everything working once again and found a way to keep a very potent Cal lineup in check with his ability to change speeds, throw three pitches for strikes and locate with Wacha-like accuracy wherever he wanted to throw it within the strike zone. A wise baseball man once told me about Wacha during his time at A&M, “That boy can stand on the rubber and hit a gnat’s rear end at home plate.” I think that man would say the same thing about Killer right now. For the second week in a row, the junior didn’t walk a single batter and displayed an exceptional curve ball to go along with a plus fastball. He gave up a two-run homer on a mistake pitch out over the plate that Jonah Davis drove the other way for an opposite field round-tripper. On the year, Kilkenny is 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA and has 22 strikeouts and just one walk in 19.2 innings of work. Simply put, he’s pitching like a Friday guy on Sunday afternoons, and that is a great weapon in the back end of series for Rob Childress and Co.

Who Else is Hot?

RHP Nolan Hoffman | (2-0; 0.00) - 4.1 IP; 5 H; 1 R; 0 ER; 1 BB; 6 K in three relief appearances

• Hoffman was brilliant last week vs. HBU, La Tech and Baylor and continues to go out there with that newfound side-winding delivery and get the job done. He got a big strikeout with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning against Baylor and tossed a perfect sixth inning before getting into trouble in the seventh after working for the third time in five days. Look for Hoffman’s workload to increase and for him to be given the ball in more and more high leverage situations in competition with seniors Cason Sherrod and Kaylor Chafin moving forward.

RHP Christian Roa | (0-0; 0.00) - 2.0 IP; 1 H; 0 R; 0 BB; 2 K in two relief appearances

• Roa worked an inning against UIW and another vs. La Tech and continues his hot start to the season, working stress free and relatively clean and efficient innings in both appearances. He’s a strike pumper that tossed 16 strikes in 26 total pitches combined in last week’s action. A cool 61.5-percent strike rate. You’ll take that to the bank from a true freshman.

LHP John Doxakis | (2-0; 1.77) - 8.1 IP; 5 H; 2 R; 2 ER; 3 BB; 8 K in two appearances

• Doxakis was outstanding in his Tuesday start vs. HBU, tossing six innings and allowing a run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts. He came back Saturday in relief of Chandler Jozwiak and was brilliant through two innings before waning in his third inning of work on only three days rest, allowing a run and leaving the bases loaded for Hoffman, who stranded all three inherited runners to get Dox off the hook. No announcement has been made just yet but I firmly believe that you’ll see Doxakis take over the Saturday starter role starting this weekend. He’s ready mentally and has already cleared that freshman hurdle that Jozwiak is dealing with currently. And from a sheer “stuff” standpoint, there isn’t anyone on the team that has more of it than the lefty from Houston.

Who’s Cold?

RHP Cason Sherrod | (0-0; 7.71) - 3 IP; 3 H; 2 R; 2 ER; 1 BB; 2 K in two relief appearances

• It was a bit of a disjointed week for the senior back-end reliever. He mowed down HBU in an impressive ninth inning, running his fastball up to 97 MPH and ripping off a crisp slider for a strike to finish off back-to-back hitters to open the frame. He threw eight strikes in his 10-pitch at bat. But Saturday’s outing vs. Baylor was hit and miss for Sherrod. He induced a double play ground ball after coming in for Hoffman with the bases loaded and no outs. But he followed that up by hitting a man and walking another. Then after a clean eighth inning, Sherrod got hit around in the ninth and Childress had to bring in fellow senior Kaylor Chafin to minimize the damage and hold it at two runs in the frame, preserving and closing out a 5-4 A&M victory. There is no doubting Cason’s immense talent. He’s got Big League stuff with that mid-90s sinker and much-improved slider. The problem has always been consistency and command… especially in pressure-packed moments. Childress doesn’t know if he’s going to get the guy that came in vs. Iowa and blew the doors off of the middle of the lineup in the Houston Regional, or the guy that walked a couple of batters and gave up two runs in an 8-0 game against lowly Cornell. There’s still plenty of time to prove that the consistency is there but even bigger games and tougher tests are coming quickly.

Good Hands Player:

CF Zach DeLoach - The freshman made several key plays in center field in the Frisco Tournament. DeLoach covers a ton of ground out there and has a special ability to track the ball in flight. His angles are supremely good and he never seems to get lost out there… even when running back toward the wall on balls hit over his head or into either gap. DeLoach made a great play in Saturday’s win over Baylor where he raced back and made the play on the run, holding on as he ran into the wall. DeLoach is truly a special player and a five-tool guy that you don’t often see make it to college. Usually these guys are gone so let’s enjoy this young man while he’s here for the next three years.

Morgan Kates, TexAgs

Freshman Zach DeLoach continues to impress in center field on a team loaded with talent.

Power Source:

• Braden Shewmake and Chris Andritsos delivered back-to-back home runs in Tuesday’s win over HBU. It was Shew’s first dinger of the season and Andy’s team-leading third homer as an Aggie. Andristos’ 13 RBI thus far sits just two behind Logan Foster (15) for the team lead.

Out of the Pen:

• After allowing just four earned runs in 26 innings of work through the first two weeks of the season, the bullpen took a little step back in week three. Here are the week three numbers for the relievers as a group: 20 innings; 20 hits; 11 runs (10 earned); 11 walks; 18 strikeouts. Most of the damage came in the Baylor game, when the bullpen combined to work 6.2 innings and allow four runs (three earned) on nine hits, walking six and punching out four. It was the first time in 12 games this year that the pitching staff had more walks than strikeouts. That didn’t sit well with Childress and A&M went out against a better lineup and walked none until Lacy’s back-to-back free passes with two outs in the ninth inning vs. Cal.

Did You Know:

• A&M ranks 10th nationally in batting average (.339) and eighth in the country in slugging percentage (.542). On the mound, the Aggies currently rank 16th in strikeouts-to-walk radio (3.71).

At Random:

•I want to give a big kudos to the Frisco RoughRiders organization and all of those involved with the festivities for the spectacular job they did of hosting this tournament. They made it a fun and loose environment that felt much more like a minor league game - or a college baseball game - than what we see when the Ags play at Minute Maid Park. When A&M goes to Houston every other year, the management runs the tournament like a Major League game and there isn’t much of an “atmosphere” inside that big stadium. They don’t allow bubble machines, for one, which I find comical and completely ridiculous. In Frisco, the gameday operations people welcomed the bubbles, played both teams’ fight songs (A&M’s War Hymn) and even took the time to compile walkup music for every player on all four rosters. It had a good feel to it and I’m hopeful, and confident, that Frisco will become a bi-annual destination moving forward and will alternate with Houston every other year.

• Here’s my projected lineup for this weekend vs. right-handed pitching:

1. DeLoach - CF (L)
2. Helman - 2B (R)
3. Shewmake - SS (L)
4. Coleman - DH (R)
5. Andritsos - 1B (R)
6. Frizzell - RF (L)
7. Foster - LF (R)
8. Bedford - C (R)
9. Wingate - 3B (R) OR Janca - 3B (R)

• Here is the lineup vs. lefties:

1. DeLoach - CF (L)
2. Helman - 2B (R)
3. Shewmake - SS (L)
4. Coleman - DH (R)
5. Andritsos - 1B (R)
6. Foster - LF (R)
7. Schoenvogel - RF (R) 
8. Bedford - C (R)
9. Wingate - 3B (R) OR Janca - 3B (R)

Up Next:

•Another five-game week for the Aggies and all at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. Northwestern State comes in for two games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s first pitch is at 6:30 and Chandler Jozwiak is slated to take the ball in that one and looking for a get-right outing on the mound. Wednesday’s game is a businessman’s special at 3:00. Then Long Beach State comes to Aggieland for a three-game set. Friday’s battle with the Dirtbags gets started at 6:30. First pitch on Saturday is at 2:00 and the Sunday series finale is at noon.

Key notes from Justin Seely interview:

I’m really happy that we get to play this many games in such a short amount of time because we’re getting to find out a lot about ourselves. It does take a toll on you, and obviously Friday could have gone better for us. I thought we played hard but didn’t compete at the highest level we could have.

From a physical standpoint, I thought we were where we needed to be at most every point of the game on Friday. We threw strikes and hit some balls hard, but Louisiana Tech’s pitcher was looking forward to that outing and had prepared in his mind that he was going to be great that day. We weren’t up to that challenge from a competitive standpoint. No team is good enough to not bring their very best each day. In hindsight, a little slap in the face was probably good for us and serves as a reminder that we have to bring it 100% all the time.

Against Baylor on Saturday, Kaylor Chafin’s performance was solid. That guy wants the ball any time we can give it to him. We’re comfortable knowing when we can use him and when we can’t. With him and Cason Sherrod, with them coming back, we’re going to ride with those guys and they’re going to perform.

With Sherrod, we probably over-extended him a little bit, but he got two of the biggest outs in the game on the bases loaded double play. When you’re not at your best and you can still find ways to win, that shows your competitiveness. Our guys did that on Saturday against Baylor, and that’s a great sign for us as a coaching staff moving forward.

Will Frizzell’s homer was huge for us. It took the wind out of their sails. There are solo homers and solo homers that can change the momentum of a game and that was one of those. He’s getting to a point where you can tell he’s getting more comfortable at the plate. He’s seeing the ball well and is taking aggressive swings when he needs to. He’s a very coachable and smart kid and will only continue to progress.

The game against Cal yesterday made me feel really good about our team. It was an 11 a.m. game and we had just played the night before in front of a huge crowd. We spent a lot of energy the night before but we came out and were ready to rock. Kilkenny set the tone for that game, but Asa Lacy came in and got some big outs later in the game.

Offensively, we’re not going to steal a ton of bases, but I would like to have the threat of doing that a little better. That falls on us as coaches. We have to have those guys prepared to run whenever we can. We have been just okay at hit and runs and could be better at that as well.

We’re going to start Chandler Jozwiak tomorrow night and get him back on the horse. There isn’t one of us who doesn’t still believe in him. His last couple of outings haven’t been as good as he or us would like, but we’ll get him going again. After that, we’ll move day-by-day and take care of things one day at a time.