Earley's Aggies keep grinding down the regular season's stretch run

It was an exciting weekend at the Corner of Bush and Olsen as Texas A&M took two of three from No. 2 LSU. Fightin' Texas Aggie head coach Michael Earley joined Monday's edition of TexAgs Live to recap the Maroon & White's outing against the Bayou Bengals.

Key notes from Michael Earley interview

• Playing Bon Jovi is better than last Monday when Nickelback’s “Rockstar” was playing, and it said, "Bottom of the ninth, never going to win." I enjoyed this song today.
   
• I thought we grinded, and we were just tough. It was a gritty three-game series. If you understand our ballpark, a north wind or south wind can drastically change the game. It came down to... You have to really pitch it, play defense and have to get THE hit. We got it in two out of the three games. Both teams pitched outstanding. Our guys were awesome. Their guys were a lot to handle. They were really good. We matched them. In the end, we made the plays. It’s just a credit to our guys for how resilient they are.
   
• Early on in the season, when we had games like that, you were not trying to fly out. The message is, "Don't go out there against these guys, trying to do too much because you can't." The conditions will not allow it, especially in the first game.
   
• We wanted to drive Kade Anderson's pitch count up cause he was well over 100 the week before. We did such a good job of laying off those really tight balls. Anthony Eyanson, on the flip side, the thought was to drive his pitch count up because he's just filling it up. Both of those guys are two of the best I've ever seen, but Eyanson on that day was really tough. Our pitcher kept us in the game. Ben Royo popped a homer, and we still had a chance. Those two arms were tough to deal with. They got it done when they needed to get it done.
   
• Jason Kelly took over calling pitches, and he's had a lot of success. He has done a phenomenal job alongside Jace Hutchins, who has been a great addition to the staff and Jack Mahala. They are doing exactly what I thought they would do. When you lose two phenomenal relievers, to be able to step back in and be in a similar spot is really, really impressive. It's a big luxury for our ball club.
   
• Kaiden Wilson has really grown up a lot this year. That's starting to show in his play. He has been awesome since the day he got here until now, especially in the last few months. He is confident right now, and he has really good stuff.
   
• Weston Moss is healthier than he was last weekend. He is still not 100 percent. He did a great job again, pitching on back-to-back days. In the ninth, he was going to get the leadoff guy out, and then we wanted Wilson to face Steven Milam. After Moss threw to the first batter, I was like, “I am not taking this guy out.” He needs to put on about 10 more pounds to get back to where he was.
   
• I knew what was ahead, and with the hole we put ourselves in, the only thing that would get us out was playing against really good competition and winning. I am a day-by-day type of person, and it takes the stress out of it.
   
• It really started before Arkansas. All those guys felt really good about where Ryan Prager was at. It has gotten better ever since. He's been making some adjustments, not only mechanically but other things, like with where he stands. He is in a really good spot.
   
• We needed some length with Myles Patton. We know what we had with Wilson and Moss, who was a little under the weather. I was afraid that if we brought them in too early, I wouldn't be sure what we had at the back end of the game. I will take Patton any day. That's how I feel about any of those starting pitchers.
   
• Caden McCoy has a chance to start in the future. Evan Aschenbeck was unique because of his ability to bounce back. He could just keep pitching. McCoy is so impressive, and I am so happy with how he has progressed.
   
• Who is at first base will be matchups and based on defense. Gavin Kash and Blake Binderup are two guys who can change the game with their bat but also play really good defense. It will be matchups moving forward.
   
• The ball bounced our way. It was luck, but you don't have a chance unless you put the ball in play and bust your tail down the line. Jace LaViolette's hit was a big play. Something like that can get a guy going and get you back on track. We have adjustments we need to make, and we will get him going over the next couple of days.