Tigers Nip Aggie Baseball to End Regular Season at Blue Bell Park

Review By: Justin DeLuca, Journalism Intern | BCS Chronicle

What You Need To Know:

• Texas A&M Baseball entered into their last home SEC series with the last-in-conference Missouri Tigers in a three-game series from May 9-11th at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas.

• The Tigers defeated the Aggies in all three games, with A&M allowing Mizzou a notable comeback in the first game of the series.

• Fans described their disappointment with the series as well as the season, but emphasized that they continue to believe in the future of Aggie baseball under head coach, Michael Earley.

After starting the season as the #1 ranked team in the country, the Aggies' season has been one best described as inconsistent and underperforming on expectations. However, after their recent series win against the #2 LSU Tigers, fans were hopeful that the maroon and white could turn it around for a late postseason push. Things were looking good for Texas A&M early in the series. Fan favorite and top MLB draft prospect, Jace LaViolette, opened the game with his first career leadoff home run to give A&M the quick 1-0 lead. Missouri was able to tie the score at 1-1 with an RBI single in the second inning, but it was LaViolette who continued to shine in the 3rd when he and Wyatt Henseler hit back-to-back solo homers to stretch the lead to 3-1. Blake Binderup later hit a 3-run homer in the same inning to give the Aggies a 5-run lead.

Unfortunately for A&M fans, the Aggies suddenly went cold, and Missouri was able to capture momentum. After a two-run homer by the Tigers in the 5th to cut the lead to 6-3, the Aggies were held to just one hit over the final 5 innings. In the 9th, Missouri loaded the bases and got 6 runs across in the inning alone, securing the comeback to take the first game of the series 9-6. After this initial disappointment, things were looking up for Texas A&M going into game 2 of the series, as it was Senior Day for the Aggies. Before the game, Texas A&M honored their 8 seniors on the team, but sadly the Aggies still struggled to get anything going and were only able to get 2 hits all game, which saw them lose to Mizzou 4-1. Game 3 featured more of the same play that characterized the previous two games, and the Missouri Tigers crushed the Aggies 10-1 to close out the series sweep.

In a word, the Aggies looked disjointed throughout the whole series. Outside of game 1, A&M struggled to find their swing and got crushed on the stat sheet as Missouri out-hit A&M 38-11 throughout the series. Getting swept by the team ranked last in the SEC is one thing, but when their only 3 wins in conference games all come from victories over A&M, that is a hard stat to turn away from.

Although the sweep is incredibly disappointing for Aggie fans, I believe it points to a broader and more prevalent question: “When is it going to be A&M’s time to live up to expectations?” After losing in the College World Series a year ago and watching head coach Jim Schlossnagle abscond to arch rival Texas, fans were still hopeful about the Michael Earley era in College Station. The Aggies started the season as the preseason #1 team in the country and had national title expectations to live up to. Not only did the Aggies not live up to those expectations, but they did not even come particularly close. Inconsistent play and injuries were pervasive throughout A&M’s up-and-down season. Whether it was star third baseman Gavin Grahovac going down early in the year with a season-ending shoulder injury or the streaky nature of A&M’s hitting. Earley’s tenure has had some very high highs including beating Tennessee, Arkansas, and LSU while they were each ranked as the second team in the country, but losses against UTSA, Kentucky, and Missouri highlight the dichotic nature of the season. 

After Sunday’s loss, A&M fans expressed their disappointment, but also emphasized their remaining optimism about the team's future. Jai Shah, a junior at A&M and avid Aggie baseball fan said, “The team itself has definitely underperformed severely from expectations.” He later noted that he does not believe that the team is a bad team and that they still have a blueprint for future success.

Brandon White, a freshman at A&M, also sees the potential for A&M baseball and specifically head coach Michael Earley,  “I think he is learning and will be better next year… I think there was too much pressure on a first-year head coach; everybody expected us to go undefeated, and that was never going to happen,” said White.

Fans are patient for now; however, after this sweep, the Aggies' chances of making the NCAA tournament took a massive hit. It was a costly weekend for a team that was seemingly on the fence going into the series. While optimism still abounds in College Station, it remains to be seen if Aggie fans will still support head coach Michael Earley if A&M continues on its current trajectory.