Michael Earley recaps A&M's final non-conference series vs. NMSU

No. 14 Texas A&M took two of three from the New Mexico State Aggies over the weekend at Blue Bell Park. First-year head coach Michael Earley joined Monday's edition of TexAgs Live to discuss the series in its totality and preview what's to come as SEC play looms.

Key notes from Michael Earley interview

• From a defensive standpoint, we played a lot better than we have in the past and gave ourselves a chance to win games. That was good, and we continued to pitch the ball really well.
   
• I think the freshmen have done a really nice job. We haven't gotten to SEC play yet, but just college baseball in general for freshmen is tough. To see what Terrence Kiel II has done so far with the bat is great, but how he's playing defensively has been huge. Sawyer Farr, you'll continue to see him grow, and some other guys you'll see get some chances to get in there. That's been good to see. They continue to grow up every single day, and by midseason, they'll be looking like sophomores more than freshmen.
   
• I was trying to figure out if the loss yesterday was better or worse. As a coach, you're always looking at something to get better at. There were a few at-bats I think we could have finished. I think we could have swung at some balls that were up, but at the same time, those balls were getting called a little bit throughout the game. I had coach Will Fox text me yesterday. We hit 17 balls, like 95-plus mph, and they hit six 95-plus mph. We hit the ball well. We pitched the ball well. We fielded the ball. We just didn't get a hit that found grass like theirs did, and that was the unfortunate part.
   
• We have to make sure the pitch counts are where they're supposed to be, and they continue to build. The recipe for injury sometimes is if someone is overthrowing that buildup, if they take a dip in pitch count, you have to continue to build up. If they're pitching well, we just want to continue to play. You like to see other guys at the same time. I don't want to say we're past that a little bit, but when those guys are rolling, we're going to let them roll. The bullpen guys will get in when they can get in.
   
• Ryan Prager has 200 strikeouts as an Aggie. That was really cool. We were able to present him with the lineup card and give him the ball in front of the team. Prager is just a special kid. There's no way around it. I don't take it for granted. That guy is the ultimate competitor and the ultimate Aggie. He had the courage to come back to school because he stuck with what he believed in. I told some of the younger pitchers and younger players, "What an example for you to get a look at every single day.” Can you think of a better example from a teammate standpoint, school standpoint, courage standpoint and someone who is willing to bet on himself? All of those things. He's awesome. I could talk about that guy for days. Every time he steps on the mound, and everything else he does is so special as well.
   
• Losing is never the standard, but at the same time, I do feel like the trajectory is headed in the right direction. The loss yesterday stings worse because of those losses you had earlier on where you beat yourself. The margin for error is thinning, and we understand that, but I do like where we're at. We've continued to pitch it. We've clearly played better defense, and I really like where the bats are at. Would we have liked to win yesterday? Yeah. I would like to win every game, but I feel a lot better today as opposed to how I felt last Monday or the Monday before that. We have to play clean again tomorrow and then roll in to host a really good Alabama team.
   
• I thought the situational hitting was good. I think we even left four guys on. I think it's been good. Guys have been having good at-bats. There have been a couple of situations, but stuff like that will happen. We just have to be better. Gavin Kash has been playing great, but he had a ball hit right at him when he was at second base. He should have been at third. He kind of got in the shortstop's way, which helped the play a little bit, but he should have been at third.
   
• Next pitch, Hayden Schott hit a foul ball. That's a run, even though they had a great double tag. For the most part, it's been good, but at the same time, we just need to continue to get better and not make those little mistakes because you never know what situation might win or lose you the game.
   
• Yesterday, we were working with Jamal George a little bit before the game, like, "Hey, two strikes. Man, just spread out a little bit. Get on the plate. Try to ground to second if there's a guy on third." He got in that situation once, and his swing was better. He's going to have to continue to make those adjustments. It's not negotiable. He's just trying to hit a ball hard, and sometimes, when you're taking an aggressive swing, you chase out of the zone, and the swing looks bigger. He's going to have to tone it down, and we'll continue to work with him.
   
• Kaeden Kent has been great. He's having great at-bats. When he gets a ball in the strike zone and gets a swing off, no surprise to us. He's been doing it since the fall. It's been nice inserting him in that leadoff spot because you want a leadoff hitter, especially after losing Gavin Grahovac. I sure would like to have them both, but Kent has done a phenomenal job in that leadoff spot, and he's playing a really good shortstop.
   
• It's a balance of getting better but also staying healthy. If you're in a bad spot, sometimes going out and taking a bunch of loose swings and getting it out of your system is what you need, or sometimes, not coming to the field is what you need. We have a good balance of figuring out how each individual guy works. That's something I take a lot of pride in. You just have to be consistent and trust your instincts for what you think as a coach. I like where we're at with it.
   
• Tomorrow, we're going to run out the same nine. I might look at it a little more, but we're rolling. I could envision the same lineup, maybe a change or two, but if I had to tell you right now, I'd roll out the same guys that I did yesterday. I'm not sure yet about the pitcher. Coach Jason Kelly and I will talk. Aiden Sims and Weston Moss, we'll see. We want to make sure we got off to a good start.