Texas A&M drops Frisco Classic opener to Washington State, 11-6
Game #9: Washington State 11, Texas A&M 6
Records: Texas A&M (6-3), Washington State (7-3)
WP: Grant Taylor (2-0)
LP: Nathan Dettmer (1-1)
Box Score
Friday fiasco in Frisco.
Needing to find some momentum, Texas A&M baseball turned in a nightmare performance to begin the Frisco Classic, falling to Washington State, 11-6, at Riders Field.
"We're not playing very good baseball right now," Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "You can call it a rut, but the season will tell us who we are."
Starting pitcher Nathan Dettmer struggled to find his release point, but it was seeing-eye singles that yielded the game's first runs early on.
"He didn't have good fastball command," Schlossnagle said of Dettmer's outing. "He was in a lot of deep counts, had some bad luck but set the table. When you set the table, then you give the other team the opportunity to put the ball in play."
A trio of infield singles translated into a three-run second for the Cougars. Of Washington State's first five hits, four were stopped on the diamond.
"I think they scored their first five runs without the ball leaving the infield, whether that be because of walks, in-betweener ground ball type things, a wild pitch, or a cross up on a sign," Schlossnagle said.
Dettmer's night was short-lived as he departed after just 3.1 innings, surrendering six runs on seven hits in the losing effort.
"For the first time all year, we didn't get good starting pitching," Schlossnagle said. "I thought Nathan battled early, but you have to give credit to Washington State."
An eight-run bottom of the fourth inning put the game out of reach as A&M needed three pitchers to get out of the frame. Xavier Lovett and Will Johnston were brought on in relief of Dettmer in the fourth.
Offensively, strikeouts continue to plague the Maroon & White as they finished with 14 on the evening. Washington State starting pitcher Grant Taylor punched out seven Aggies across 5.0+ innings.
"Obviously, whatever we've been doing isn't working," Schlossnagle said. "Sometimes, that just comes down to competitive grit."
Trailing 11-0 after four, Kalae Harrison contributed an RBI single in the fifth before Austin Bost drove in a run in the sixth. Taylor Smith scored via an eighth-inning wild pitch, and the Aggies plated three in the ninth but ultimately fell well short of the comeback.
To make a bad night worse, Trevor Werner was removed mid-at-bat with a hand issue in the fourth inning. He was taken to the hospital for X-rays, but Schlossnagle did not provide an update on his status moving forward.
"That certainly doesn't inspire a lot of good feelings," Schlossnagle said of Werner's injury.
Prior to Friday night, Werner missed the last five games with an oblique injury.
The Frisco Classic continues on Saturday, and the Aggies will look to change the narrative at 6 p.m. when they face the Iowa Hawkeyes.