Jim Schlossnagle recaps a successful opening weekend at Blue Bell Park

Fifth-ranked Texas A&M opened its 2023 campaign with a series sweep of Seattle at Blue Bell Park over the weekend. Head coach Jim Schlossnagle joined TexAgs Radio on Monday to share what he liked about his squad and to look ahead to a midweek meeting with Lamar.

Key notes from Jim Schlossnagle interview

• First of all, great weekend of baseball. The crowds were awesome. To have 5,000 people on a Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. was great. We had a chance to see the new and older players react to a new season. Guys were pressing, but things went up as we went on. Troy Wansing got to start in front of a big crowd. Chris Cortez too. Good start to come out of it. Of course, we had the horrible injury to Brett Minnich. We will get him back. I would rather have that happen early in the season and get him back rather that have it happen 30 games in and lose him for the rest of the season. Overall, it was a good weekend.
   
• We have gone through it, and we are a deeper team. Injuries like Minnich’s are horrible because you feel so bad for the player, but it forces guys in, and they get at-bats. When Brett comes back, Kasen Wells, Stanley Tucker and Kaeden Kent will have had at-bats. Losing a guy like Minnich, you are not replacing that experience. He was absolutely crushed. There are only a few times where you slid into first, and that wasn't it. He said has never done that.
   
• We were patient when we were in hitter’s counts. Some veterans player were overanxious. Hunter Hass, Jack Moss and Austin Bost were in hitter’s counts, and we didn't score a run in one situation. We will get better. We are much better off where you see a guy like Trevor Werner stay on a ball and hit a home run. You play the game to get the jitters out.
   
• I love watching Max Kaufer catch. He's into every pitch. You get everything you want out of him, and he even managed catching Nathan Dettmer very well. Kaufer was walked four times and struck out once. If you didn't know any better, you would think he was a sophomore or junior. Wells played outstanding in right field as well.
   
• Everybody loves to talk about Jace LaViolette. Justin Lamkin and Shane Sdao are two freshman lefties that throw strikes. We need to keep them on a roll, so they are strong in SEC play.
   
• Dettmer was great. He was aggressive with his fastball and threw a couple of good breaking balls. He controlled his emotions. He got a late start in the spring because of some lagging things. He was on a 60-pitch count. He did great. Super proud of Nathan.
   
• Ryan Targac is a guy that doesn't get talked about enough. For most of last year, he led the SEC in RBIs. He's the utility guy, and I call him BTU. He can get it done.
   
• I pay attention to college baseball. Our players realize it's never about the best team that wins. It's the team that plays the best. In the big leagues, everyone is going to win and lose at least 50 games. They respect the game. There is going to be time where we will not be the best team on the field.
   
• I was really excited about Cortez. There are areas of improvement. What he did this weekend gets on video, and every team is going to see that he throws more than a fast ball.
   
• The pitchers fielded their position. Lamkin had three really good plays off the mound. The offense is sexy, but fundamentally, we have a to be a better fielding team than last year.
   
• I’m sick to my stomach about not going to the A&M-Tennesee basketball game. We tried to move the Lamar game to Wednesday months ago. We could have tried to move it up. We decided to make it at 5 p.m. If they can, come watch baseball for 45 minutes, and if they have a basketball ticket, I would encourage getting to Reed Arena. We will be fine. There are plenty of baseball games left, but Buzz Williams and his team are on the stretch run of a really exciting and impressive season.