Earley & Co. to face Missouri in final home series of the regular season

On Thursday's edition of TexAgs Live, Texas A&M head baseball coach Michael Earley joined us to talk late-season strategy, adjustments and injury reports ahead of the Maroon & White's final home series of the regular season against Missouri at Blue Bell Park this weekend.

Key notes from Michael Earley interview

• We prepared just like a normal week. Monday is an off day. Tuesday, we had our pre-hitting and got on the bus. We found out it was canceled and hopped off the bus. Yesterday was a typical day, just like we do after a Tuesday game, preparing for the weekend.
   
• I always want to play. I hate games getting canceled. The rest was needed this week, and we made a positive out of it. We have had a lot of emotional weekends, so I think that little reset was good for us.
   
• We've put ourselves in a position where we are not worrying about the opponent. We are just worrying about playing good baseball for nine innings. Our guys will be ready to play. Missouri is not having the year they wanted to have, but they have played tight games against teams that have beaten us. I expect it to be a typical SEC weekend. Just like us, they have players that are really, really talented.
   
• It being the last home series will be exciting. I want them to take it in and enjoy it. They do that every time they step onto this field because this place is really special. I think it will give them a little extra energy. It's a pretty cool accomplishment to play all the games on our field.
   
• We'll honor the seniors before Game 2. We have a little something for them, and then we will get on with the game.
   
• Weston Moss is doing good. Every day, he is getting better. He's putting weight on and keeping fluids in him. He is on the upswing, getting closer to 100 percent. By this weekend, he'll be pretty close to 100 percent.
   
• We've made some adjustments to try to get Jace LaViolette right. He's got to, mentality-wise, go out there with a plan, execute and not deviate when it doesn't go his way. We need to get him back to not missing the strikes he should hit and taking pitches he shouldn't swing at. We've put in some work. Whenever you can win a series without a guy like LaViolette producing, my baseball mind thinks that it is coming, and he'll be on for the next one. He'll be ready to go this weekend.
   
• Ryan Prager had made a couple of adjustments with his back leg and where he stands on the rubber. Most of when he didn’t pitch well was because of two or three pitches. He just needs to execute more pitches than he did. He was just letting a few get away. He has executed at a higher level, that's the biggest difference.
   
• Missouri has some guys on the team who can really swing the bat. Jackson Lovich is a good player, a guy I would take on our team right now. They have talent. Baseball is tough. They have some arms. The offense is talented. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. Their record is not due to a lack of talent. We'll be prepared for them. LSU or Arkansas, it's no difference to us. It's going to be a handful, but we'll be ready for it.
   
• It's always good to match up left and right. Gavin Kash brings a different element of defense. He changed our team defensively. Blake Binderup got another opportunity and stepped up offensively. It is nice to have two guys and have to make a tough decision. I think it's likely you'll see them both play in a lot of games. It's nice to have two different guys you can count on. For me, it is about who gets on base the most and who plays the best defense.