Takeaways from Texas A&M baseball's exhibition vs. HCU

This isn't going to be a normal game recap because, honestly, it doesn't need to be.

Texas A&M baseball defeated Houston Christian in a Friday night exhibition at Blue Bell Park, 20-2.

The key word here is "exhibition," and when recapping such a contest, it doesn't make sense to tell you how the Aggies manufactured those runs, who drove them in or which Maroon & White pitchers danced out of situations with men on base … but don't worry, I've included a (unofficial) Texas A&M box score below.

I'll save those narrative-style recaps for February through (hopefully late) June when Michael Earley & Co. play games that actually matter … "selfish," I know (I beat you to it in the comments).

Instead, I'll focus on what caught my eye from the 12-inning friendly affair between the Ags and Huskies on a beautiful early October evening.

• What mattered most on Friday was getting a glimpse at a lot of new faces … and I mean a lot. Earley and pitching coach Jason Kelly used the 12 frames to their advantage. A total of 17 position players and 12 pitchers saw the field for A&M on Friday. Of the 29 Aggies that played, 19 are new to Aggieland. Literally, only three hitters (Kaeden Kent, Caden Sorrell, Blake Binderup) who took an at-bat for the Maroon & White registered an AB during the 2024 campaign.

As an offensive unit, Earley rolled out a new lineup for the final five innings of play. Only "Do it All" Jamal George played all 12 innings defensively, splitting his time at right field and third base (he also catches, by the way). On the mound, a different arm trotted in from the bullpen before each inning, bookended by Long Beach State transfer Myles Patton (more on the lefty later) and lefty Jackson Brasseaux.

• Trying not to read too much into an exhibition vs. HCU, but this offense could be pretty special. When these teams met on March 26, the Aggies only scored a half-dozen runs in a 6-3 win. The lineup that day included future 12th-overall pick Braden Montgomery, future first-rounders Jace LaViolette and Gavin Grahovac, as well as everybody’s favorite .300 hitter and personality hire Hayden Schott.

LaViolette missed Friday’s game as he nurses a minor quad injury that Earley described on Thursday as “not serious.” Grahovac and Schott are out for the fall rehabbing wrist and knee surgeries, respectively. And, of course, Monty is now a Boston Red Sox farmhand.

In the bottom of the first, A&M scored five runs on five hits from the first five hitters Earley sent to the dish, punctuated by Binderup’s two-run homer over the left-field scoreboard.

The performer of the night was easily Caden Sorrell. All he did was finish a double shy of the cycle with a quartet of runs driven in. The homer was an impressive back-side moonshot to left, and the triple left his bat at like 200 mph (exit velo might be exaggerated) and rang off the right-field wall.

Even the second A&M lineup provided some thump as freshmen Nathan Tobin and Sam Erickson clubbed back-to-back blasts in the eighth. Oh, and Terrance Kiel II can absolutely fly...

All told, the Aggies scored 20 runs on 17 total hits, 10 of which went for extra bases.

• The pitchers showed reasons for optimism, too. Patton set the tone for Kelly’s group, and he showed why there is some hype surrounding his addition. The southpaw made quick work of the Huskies in his one inning of work, needing 15 pitches for a 1-2-3 frame that featured a pair of punchouts. His fastball was up to 93 mph.

I was most impressed with Kaiden Wilson and Peyton Smith. Wilson’s fastball was up to 96 mph with an 84 mph changeup, while Smith had a very quick eight-pitch outing that saw him hit 94 on the gun and record a three-pitch punchout on a breaking ball. Additionally, Ty Baker punched out the side during his inning of work while touching 95 with a “demon” slider.

Luke Jackson touched 97. Clayton Freshcorn hit 96. Brasseaux was up to 93. And those are just the ones off the top of my head.

Simply put: Kelly has a lot of pieces to work with.

• There’s nothing like the 12th Man … and the 12th Man appreciates their new skipper. This program has been through a lot since returning from June. We don’t need to pour over the details.

In the fanbase’s first chance to see what the Earley Era might look like come Opening Day in February, the 12th Man packed the ballpark. From the press box, it looked as though the grandstands were full, and the berms down the baselines were densely populated as well. No doubt, the crowd on Friday dwarfed a number of early-season midweeks we see each season.

Watching the crowd celebrate to “Rattlin’ Bog” during the five Aggie homers was cool, as was seeing the familiar Olsen Field traditions from our friends in Section 203.

Still, the best moment of the entire night was when Earley emerged from the third-base dugout for the home plate meeting. Those in attendance rose to their feet and met him with a warm and loud ovation. They then patiently waited for the meeting to finish and cheered the man who fought to be here as he walked back to the home bench.

Earley thanked them with a wave of his cap before the actual ballgame got underway.

That's all I've got from the Corner of Bush & Olsen. The Ags will be back here on Oct. 25 when the Houston Cougars come up for the second and final exhibition of the fall.

Line Score

HCU - 0 0 0   1 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 1   2R 5H 1E
A&M - 5 2 1   1 1 1   0 5 0   4 0 0   20R 17H 1E

Unofficial Box Score

Texas A&M Position Players
1. Kaeden Kent (L) - SS - 1-for-2, 1B, 2 BB, 3 R
2. Wyatt Henseler (R) - 3B - 2-for-4, 1B, 2B, R, RBI
3. Caden Sorrell (L) - CF - 3-for-4, 1B, 3B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
4. Gavin Kash (L) - LF - 1-for-4, 1B, R, 2 RBI, K
5. Blake Binderup (R) - DH - 2-for-6, 2 HR, BB, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 K
6. Matthew Bergevin (R) - 1B - 2-for-3, 1B, 2B, BB, R
7. Sawyer Farr (S) - 2B - 0-for-3, BB, K
8. Jamal George (R) - RF - 2-for-5, 1B, 2B, 2 BB, SB, 3 R, RBI, 2 K, GIDP
9. Bear Harrison (R) - C - 0-for-2, BB, HBP, GIDP
10. Jacob Galloway (L) - EH - 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, RBI, K

1. Terrance Kiel II (R) - 2B - 1-for-1, 2B, BB, HBP, SB, R
2. Jamal George (R) - 3B - See above
3. Jacob Galloway (L) - C - See above
4. Blake Binderup (R) - 1B - See above
5. Ben Royo (R) - SS - 0-for-2, BB, 2 R, RBI, K
6. Nathan Tobin (L) - CF - 1-for-1, HR, R, 2 RBI
7. Sam Erickson (R) - LF - 2-for-2, 1B, HR, R, RBI
8. Tristan Bittle (R) - RF - 0-for-1, RBI
9. Hayden Crites (S) - DH - 0-for-2
10. Trey Craig (R) - EH - 0-for-1, BB, K

Texas A&M Pitchers
Myles Patton - LHP - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Brad Rudis - RHP - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Kaiden Wilson - LHP - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Grant Cunningham - RHP - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 1 K
Weston Moss - RHP - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Peyton Smith - RHP - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Ty Baker - RHP - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Luke Jackson - RHP - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Gavin Lyons - RHP -  1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Clayton Freshcorn - RHP - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Caden McCoy - LHP - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Jackson Brasseaux - LHP - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K