Game #16: No. 22 Texas A&M 14, Stephen F. Austin 1 (7 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (15-1, 0-0), Stephen F. Austin (11-7, 4-2)
WP: Ethan Darden (2-0)
LP: Noah O'Farrell (0-1)
Box Score
The saying “out with the old and in with the new” apparently applies to ballpark tunes, too.
On Tuesday night at Blue Bell Park, “Rattlin’ Bog” was officially replaced as Blake Binderup’s leadoff homer in the fourth inning was met with the debut of “Turbulence.”
Ringing out over the stadium loudspeakers three times throughout No. 22 Texas A&M’s 14-1 win over Stephen F. Austin, the EDM collab between Laidback Luke, Steve Aoki and Lil Jon is here to stay.
“On (Caden) Sorrell’s birthday, we all got together, and we were like, ‘Yeah, let’s switch it to that,’” Binderup explained. “It happened to be active tonight. … It’s just become a little thing.”
A third consecutive Tuesday run-rule victory was anything but turbulent for the Aggies.
A&M jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Gavin Lyons was stellar across 4.2 innings. The Maroon & White then used a 10-run sixth to pull away.
They’re now 15-1 on the season. They’ve handled business leading into this weekend’s conference opener at No. 9 Oklahoma.
However, the Aggies don’t expect the SEC slate to be smooth sailing.
“I thought, last week, we were fine,” A&M head coach Michael Earley said. “Like, we did what we had to do, and the message today was just like, ‘Hey, we’re just preparing for the rest of the year. Let’s get better today. Let’s be freaking in and interested in every single pitch of the entire game,’ and we did that.
“I think it’s a credit to our leadership in that locker room and those guys, and they know what’s around the corner.”
Indeed, there will be turbulence of a different kind at times throughout the spring, but there was only clean air on Tuesday.
In a 40-minute bottom of the sixth, the Aggies sent 16 men to the plate, and nine of the 10 runs scored with two outs. Binderup’s second home run of the night — a three-run blast that carried 454 feet — was followed shortly by Bear Harrison’s 459-foot solo shot.
“The baseball definitely looks pretty big right now,” Binderup said after crushing his third homer in two games. “I’m just trying to attack fastballs in the zone when I get them and just do damage to the ball and try to help the team however I can.”
While the hitters cue the new song, it’s actually the brainchild of A&M’s pitching staff.
“We played it one time before, I think (Aiden) Sims was starting, and [Jason Hutchins] put his hands up, and then when the beat dropped, he just started going crazy,” Lyons said. “Ever since then, we just keep playing it before games, and we do it, and it’s just, it’s good.
“Our team chemistry is awesome, man. Everybody is friends with everybody, and I think that’s really important to keep on winning. You need good chemistry to keep winning, and I couldn’t be happier where we’re at right now.”
“Turbulence” ends a nearly two-year run of “Rattlin’ Bog,” which debuted on April 14, 2024.
A&M used Irish folk song to gig and jig its way to a school record 136 home runs during a special campaign that saw the Aggies power their way within a win of the program’s first national title.
Now the 2026 club has found something that suits them, a song that might stand for clubhouse cohesion after a couple of turbulent years in Aggieland.
“Something like that can for sure bring everyone together,” Binderup said. “‘Rattlin’ Bog,’ it’s been really cool since it started to be a thing here, but it kind of feels like it’s in the past, and this new thing, it’s kind of us. It feels good. It feels special bringing the team together.”
For now, the Aggies are feeling good, even if the switch went unnoticed by some.
“I had no idea. Sounds good, though. I like hearing it,” Earley said. “Unless they’ve got a really good walk-up song, I don’t really notice it, but I heard it, but I just didn’t put it together that it wasn’t the ‘Rattlin’ Bog.’ It sounded good, though. Let’s keep playing it.”
That’s, of course, the goal.
But “Turbulence” of some kind is assured the rest of the way.
