Schlossnagle recaps A&M's success in 2024 Bryan-College Station Regional

Texas A&M baseball swept its way through the 2024 Bryan-College Station Regional, defeating Grambling State, Texas and Louisiana. Now hosting Oregon in the super regional round, head skipper Jim Schlossnagle recapped the successful weekend at Blue Bell Park.

Key notes from Jim Schlossnagle interview

• We won a regional. It’s hard to do. It’s hard to make a regional, despite what everybody thinks. We played well.
   
• I think you look across the board and the teams like Arkansas and Arizona who had great seasons and lost, it just shows you, in our sport, it’s never about the best team. It’s the team that plays the best. That sounds coachy, but it’s real.
   
• Any one given baseball game can go in any direction, which is why I greatly prefer a best two out of three series. That would more directly reflect the season, and the better team would most likely win.
   
• We are excited to advance forward. I was really proud of our pitching staff. I have never been more proud of a group of hitters than I was last night, considering the conditions. I have to be careful what I say, but the conditions were as tough as I’ve ever experienced. The way our hitters handled it, I literally could not be more proud of them. 
   
• Nolan Cain spoke up and told them, “This is the best offense I have ever coached.” He has been a part of a national championship team, our good offense in 2022 and a lot of good ones at LSU. He said, “The reason you guys are good is because you control the strike zone, and you play for each other.” You don't go up to the plate thinking you will be the hero and get out of character.
   
• Saturday against Texas, a lot of the first half of the game was how great Lebarron Johnson Jr. was. When a guy has a great split or changeup, and you can't see the pitch, you think it's a fastball. If you have never been in the batter’s box, you don't understand. 
   
• In the last month, we have been more out of character than in character. That was what the meeting was about. Our guys handled the strike zone awesome. We had eight walks. We could have had more. The balls we swung at, we put good swings on them.
   
• What was challenging was the guys who were struggling were the ones hitting the balls hard. The frustration and tensions built.
   
• Braden Montgomery’s home run with two outs and two strikes, you can see the tension come off of him. You can see it come off of our team.
   
• Hayden Schott hits the liner to the right. You try to keep him positive. Next at-bat, he gets the homer. I am hoping this is a really big turning point for us. We will face another great round of pitchers this weekend.
   
• Jackson Appel had plenty of off days between the SEC Tournament and the regional. He hit a home run in the regional. He just hits the ball to the middle of the field a lot. He missed one to right field yesterday. The season is what it is. He is strong, but he is not the most physical player. He is not a big guy.
   
• We will get Appel as much rest as we can. He is playing through a lot, as everybody is. Ted Burton is playing through a lot, a lot. It is what it is. These guys want to play professional baseball. That's what the season is.
   
• Appel saved two runs last night. Catching Chris Cortez is tough. Appel is giving us every single thing he has. 
   
• I am trying to remember the last time I used my best receiver in a tie game as the visiting team like I did with Evan Aschenbeck. I felt like the Texas game was that important. I felt good about our pitching compared to what Texas had left if we lost the game, no disrespect to their players.
   
• Evan did an incredible job. He is been a legend in Aggie baseball forever.
   
• Braden’s arm is a real weapon. The arm strength of outfielders in today’s game is not as important as it used to be. When you have a great one, it is a factor. Braden has a rocket.
   
• If Ryan Prager comes back to school, we have a lot of work to do in the weight room. He needs to be more physically strong to handle the length of the season, but thank goodness he can pitch, right? He wasn't sharp early, but he found it. I am really glad he is on our team. He is also smart. He and coach Max Weiner work really well together.
   
• Self-awareness is the best trait. Travis Chestnut loves baserunning, bunting and who he is, but there is still an ego in there like, “That guy just hit a homer. I can hit another homer too.” You want to trust the player. Let them have fun and not feel overmanaged. His last at-bat was awesome, and he had an impact on the bases. 
   
• Shane Sdao pitched well. Louisiana likes to swing. He doesn't panic on the run game, and he can field his position.
   
• They like to bunt. When we played Louisiana in 2022, we had an upperclassman at third base in Trevor Werner. Gavin Grahovac, as a freshman learning a new position, I felt like Matt Deggs would exploit that, and Gavin would have to experience it. Having a pitcher like Shane who can get to balls and help Gavin, I felt like would be a big part of the game. 
   
• I had really good shortstops at TCU, but back-to-back good shortstops like Ali Camarillo and Hunter Hass? No. They play differently. Ali has a lot of the same feel as Hass but elite skills. He puts together great at-bats too. We have been very lucky the last two years to have those guys. We think both Kaeden Kent and Jack Bell have a chance to do that in the future. 
   
• The transfer portal opens today, No rest for the weary.
   
• I thought Jace LaViolette had a good weekend. I believe in the depth of our offense. Jace’s extra-base hits show up when he is not thinking about extra-base hits.