Texas A&M Baseball
Schlossnagle's Aggies showcased their power potential on Wednesday
Texas A&M exploded for a 10-run fourth inning on Wednesday night that included three home runs as the Aggies run-ruled Prairie View A&M. On Thursday, head coach Jim Schlossnagle joined TexAgs Radio to look back on the win and preview this weekend's trip to Lexington.
Key notes from Jim Schlossnagle interview
- When I go fajitas, I do it without the tortillas most of the time, but if I had to throw one in there, I would go with corn tortillas.
- Anytime you have those big innings, whether for you or against you, they are mixed with free bases and hits. When the right guys in our lineup are up, there are plenty of guys that can knock it out of the ballpark. We will take our walks. When you have guys on base, and you can hit it out, we'll take it. We also need to limit walks ourselves.
- I've been a part of teams when the first four or five guys give you a chance to score, and when the bottom four or five hit, you don't have a chance. The best lineups that you can have are when you can flip the lineup on any given day. Anytime you have a Jace LaViolette hitting in the six or seven spots, it gives you a chance to score in any inning.
- In the SEC, for the most part, power plays a big role. You have to have some strength and power. They play a big role in the scoring. We have that on this team, and we're going to have to spend some time to continue to have a powerful offense.
- I don't think Ty Sexton did a bad job. He had one walk, and that guy ended up scoring. He threw strikes at the bottom of the strike zone. He gets lefties out better than he gets righties out, and they didn't have any lefties in the lineup. I thought he did a nice job, and as he continues to develop and get stronger, he has a chance to help us along the road.
- I've never lost any confidence in Matt Dillard. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, but he has three pretty good pitches. We have to pitch to the bottom of the strike zone. Right now, this pitching staff needs to paint by numbers. What that means is they need to pitch ahead and pitch to the bottom of the strike zone. Dillard is a guy whose ERA is inflated, and he's got to get that down, but I trust him. The more we run him out there, the better off we are.
- We're looking for consistency, and Chris Cortez has had a few good outings out of the bullpen. We tried to use him Sunday against Missouri, and he walked the one hitter he faced. Chris cares a lot and puts a lot of pressure on himself. His arm moves so fast that if it's not synced up with his lower body, he's not going to throw strikes. I still feel like his best days are ahead of him, and the team's best days are ahead of them.
- I've coached several Major League players' sons. Ironically all of the position players’ sons I've coached have been pitchers. This is the first time I've coached the son of a great MLB hitter. Kaeden Kent comes in already with great ideas from his dad. His dad is a Hall of Fame hitter, and who are we to mess with that? Kent’s value to our program is incredible. I see a lot of upside in Kaeden. He's only going to get bigger and stronger and be able to hit the ball out of the ballpark. We're trying to get the most out of him, and that has been a process. It's hard to find athleticism, competitiveness and grit, and that's what he brings to us. Right now, he is our emergency catcher. He can play first, second, third and left field.
- The young players pay attention in the dugout. They don't just watch where the ball is going, they see the baseball. They see the game like a coach. I don't think LaViolette necessarily needed that day off yesterday, but it was just an opportunity to get Kent out there. We just wanted to make sure he gets some at-bats.
- Other than Nathan Dettmer, there is no news on the rotation this weekend. We will continue to run him out there and see if he can catch fire. We will just attack Friday that way.
- It's going to be an unbelievable challenge. The weather and turf are going to play a huge role. Kentucky runs like crazy and bunts like crazy. It's a super-experienced offense. We can't give up free bases, and we can't let the leadoff hitter get on.
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