Earley recaps No. 1 A&M's showing vs. Cal Poly, looks ahead to Texas State

Texas A&M remains the No. 1 team in the country after a 2-1 weekend against the Cal Poly Mustangs. Head coach Michael Earley joined TexAgs Live to discuss the series and preview what to expect against Steven Trout's Texas State Bobcats on Tuesday.

Key notes from Michael Earley interview

• I thought we pitched the ball really well. I was pleased with that. Offensively, it was not want we want to be. Yeah, we won the series, but it always changes your mood when you have a chance to sweep the series and you don't get it done. Baseball is tough. We have to be better. I love what we're doing on the mound, and I believe in these guys a ton offensively. There's no worry. I'm actually pretty excited to get to work and get these guys right.
   
• I went to the grocery store with my wife after the game to have a reset and just be a normal human for 30 minutes. It's tough. I felt that same way as an assistant coach. I'm not a huge gambler, but it's like when you lose that first $100, and it's that gut punch to your stomach. It was bound to happen, right? I never wanted it to happen. Never planned on it happening because I thought we were going to win every single game. That's just my mindset. We have to grow and get better from it. We're not invincible. No excuse. We have to take care of business, and we didn't.
   
• From day one, Myles Patton was really good, even in the bullpen. That's why we recruited him. We thought he could fill a weekend role. The thought process was we had to get him because we were losing Ryan Prager. Then, getting Prager back made it the icing on the cake. Patton has been great since day one. Weston Moss has pushed him and Justin Lamkin coming into this, and they've done a really good job, but Patton has been sensational. He's professional. He has a similar personality to the other starters in that they all of their routine and do their thing. He's gotten a lot better since he's been here. He's locked in and did a phenomenal job yesterday.
   
• Jacob Galloway has done a really nice job. Not only catching but having good at-bats. All-around good at-bats, a good leader and a smart baseball player. We're still going to run some guys in out there, but he's right there.
   
• Work is the No. 1 thing. It's a constant daily balance of working on it and not making it a thing. None of this is a skill issue, in my opinion. There's a balance between working on it and dwelling on it, so guys aren't dreading it. We're going to keep grinding, keep working, and we're going to never stop trying to fix whatever mistakes we're making.
   
• If Hayden Schott had gotten on there in the last inning, I would have ran Jamal George just because I trust him out there on the bases. He's a guy that's definitely in the back of my mind, and he might start tomorrow. It's a mixture of getting guys in. I need my left-handed hitters to be able to hit off of left-handed pitching, and the only way they're going to be able to do that is to stay in there. George is always at the back of my mind, and he's pushing to get in there. You may see him tomorrow. I'm not sure yet.
   
• We think Clayton Freshcorn is that guy. He was fresh and ready to go. Brad Rudis had pitched on Friday, and he's still kind of building up. He came in and did his job, and we planned out that scenario exactly how it played out. We just didn't finish how we intended to finish. I don't regret the decision to put Freshcorn in. He's going to continue to pitch. They tied the game yesterday by just playing baseball. They got a base hit off a 97-mph fastball with 28 inches of induced vertical break. For those listening, that's extremely hard to hit. Then, the slider the guy hit out of the park. That's them being better in that moment, and then we didn't give ourselves a chance with the defensive miscues.
   
• Yesterday, the swing decisions were fine. We didn't have many swing decisions to make. The guy really filled it up. We chased a couple, but you're going to get a little more chase on close pitches when the guy is consistently filling up the zone. In the end, the win was the same for them, too, and we didn't get it done. Hitting is really hard. For the most part, their team, as a whole, filled the zone up really well, and we just didn't capitalize in those moments. There's nothing else you can blame but yourself. Your at-bats, your mood, how you carry yourself during the game. Do you let early outs affect your mental state later in the game? That's something we're going to fix.
   
• The guys are always free to swing at the first pitch, but if you're going to swing, you need to do damage on it because it can really just kill an inning. If you make a first pitch out, what's the next batter doing? You have to take. I'm not going to get mad about it. I can't get mad about it when I get just as happy when we get a hit on it. It better be a pitch you can do damage on, otherwise you're doing not only yourself but the guy behind you a disservice. 
   
• Wyatt Henseler is a dog. He is everything you could want as a coach. That's just how he brings it every day and how he works. Also, the skill is off the charts as far as bat to ball and swinging. You didn't notice a difference in him in the hot or the cold. He's someone I trust and can count on. He's ultra-competitive. He'll have his miscues here and there, but he doesn't throw at-bats away. I feel great when he's at the plate, whether he gets a hit or gets out because I know he's locked in on every single pitch. Nothing prior in the game affects him at the moment when he's at the plate.
   
• George started in right field on Saturday. Terrence Kiel II was great about it. I told him, "Hey man, there's a lot of great players on this team. I'm not going to let you know every time you're not playing. I'm letting you know now because you've been playing well. I think Jamal has been playing really well in practice, so I'm going to give him a shot. You'll probably be back in there tomorrow." Which he was. He was great. I mean, he gets it. We have a lot of talented guys, and I have to get them opportunities. It's hard, it's really hard to take Kiel out of the lineup, but George proved that he can play, too. George provides, just like Kiel, an energy. He's someone we need to get out there more, and I will find every way to do that.
   
• For Texas State tomorrow, I've briefly gone through how we will play. Jason Kelly and I have been in here for a little bit talking about it, running through different plans and ideas, and just looking over their lineup and what they bring. I think you'll see a decent amount of arms tomorrow from us. I am not quite ready on a decision for a starter, but we'll know sometime today after looking at them a little more and seeing what they have offensively and who they are pitching. I do not know yet, but we're narrowing it down right now.
   
• Josh Stewart had his MRI, and it's a little bit of an old injury and a little bit of a new one. We have some mixed reviews on it. He's going to have to pitch through some stuff. I don't think it's likely you see him this weekend. I've gotten two different opinions, and he's not out for the season from what I've gathered. Maybe not even out over the next couple of weeks. We're still trying to get some more answers on that today.