Jim Schlossnagle analyzes tall task top-ranked Aggies face in the Tide

No. 1 Texas A&M is in Tuscaloosa this weekend as the Aggies face 18th-ranked Alabama in another top-25 three-game set in the Southeastern Conference. Ahead of Thursday night's series opener, head coach Jim Schlossnagle joined TexAgs Radio to discuss the Crimson Tide.

Key notes from Jim Schlossnagle interview

• In this league, being No. 1 doesn’t change our mindset at all. I don’t look at playing Alabama this weekend any differently. If we don’t play well, there’s a chance they win. I’m doing the same thing I did on Monday with my preparation for Air Force. Rankings are just a snapshot in time. They mean nothing. We were that team in 2022 that got hot at the right time, and we were almost that team last year. We were in the winner’s bracket of a regional with a chance to get to a super and our top pitcher on the mound. The rankings truly don’t matter. It’s all about getting to the postseason, getting healthy and playing your best at the right time.
   
• The game against Air Force was awesome. Our crowd was great for a 4 p.m. game on a Tuesday. Being on the same field with those young men at Air Force is truly an honor. I look at those guys with more respect and reverence than most teams, and sometimes you get caught up in that during the game. During the game, you need to compete because I promise you they’re trying to kick your rear end. When we were recruiting Paul Skenes, I told him Texas A&M is the closest thing I know to a military academy among public schools with its values. It was certainly a great day before and after the game.
   
• Jack Bell is a really good player. We’re trying to figure this thing out and develop him while trying to win the games. Of the guys on this team, Bell is going to play baseball the longest except for maybe Gavin Grahovac playing longer. He’s that talented of a player. Bell’s story is being written right now, and he has a lot of great chapters ahead of him. I’ve been looking to get Jett Johnston in for a while now. Kaiden Wilson is super talented. He threw a lot of strikes, and I’m super proud of him. We’re going to need him this weekend. Alabama has a lot of great lefty hitters. Hopefully, he’ll feel good and be able to help us this weekend.
   
• I was curious if Jace LaViolette would’ve hit the ball for a potential double, would they have counted it as a double because it would’ve been the tenth run? I’m pretty sure I know what he was thinking. He wanted another homer.
   
• Finding a fourth starter is a concern because nobody has taken it and run with it. Chris Cortez is pitching really well in the role we need him to pitch in. This weekend will be a big challenge for all of us, especially Cortez, with all of Alabama’s left-handed hitters. The way my mind works is what’s the worst-case scenario? How are we going to pitch our way out of the loser’s bracket of a regional? Weston Moss did okay, but he didn’t have the same mentality as a starter. Brett Antolick hasn’t pitched a lot, but he’s been good in our sim games. I know you need a fourth guy to start the first game of the conference tournament. If we’re in Omaha, the College World Series is condensed to ten days now, so now it tests your depth of pitching. Having that fourth pitcher is a concern, but we have options. Somebody needs to take it and run with it.
   
• Alabama is going to be really tough. Their first four hitters all have either more walks than strikeouts, or it’s really close. They don’t strike out a lot. That tells me the hitter is swinging, but he doesn’t miss. He puts the ball in play. These guys can hit the ball out of the ballpark. They’re predominantly left-handed. Can we handle their pitching, and how are we going to get these lefties out? This is another Omaha-caliber team that just put it on Arkansas, which nobody has been able to do this year.
   
• First of all, I don’t talk to starting pitchers on the day of their game. I don’t want to say anything that would mess up their groove. Ryan Prager is the same guy every day, but he’s very consistent about the seriousness of his work. He’s super consistent. Prager is very consistent on and off the field, which gives him the best chance to find success.
   
• It’s enormous to have Prager set the tone on Friday. Nathan Dettmer gave us that in stretches, but it gives you so much versatility with your bullpen. Those Friday-night guys are hard to find. When you look around the conference, you see Hagen Smith at Arkansas. Alabama is flipping around their rotation this weekend. Vanderbilt did the same last weekend. Everybody is searching for one of those guys. The hitters are super good in this league. Finding that guy is hard, and having that Friday night guy in Prager is a luxury.
   
• First of all, I’m not sure I watch fungo golf in my leisure time. Jackson Appel took a foul ball off his mid-thigh on Sunday. It got him right on the spot where the shin guard ends, where there is no padding. Just a decent bruise. Max Kaufer did an awesome job on Tuesday. Appel is good to go and said he could’ve played on Tuesday night. I would assume he’s ready to go today.