The poor get poorer, as in the main event of night two of the Astros Foundation College Classic, No. 1 Texas A&M baseball fell flat on its face against Oklahoma State. The Aggies lost their fourth game in a row after they were skunked by the Cowboys, 4-0.
“We’re going to make some significant changes,” coach Michael Earley said following the loss to Arizona.
The Aggies did just that with three new names in the lineup for the Saturday night showdown.
Senior designated hitter Matt Bergevin stepped in for graduate outfielder Hayden Schott, sophomore catcher Bear Harrison replaced junior C Jacob Galloway and true freshman left fielder Sam Erickson took senior INF/OF Gavin Kash’s spot in the lineup.
The trio of former starters for A&M went a combined 0-10 against Arizona, but despite the new names in the lineup, things went per-usual for the struggling Aggies. The replacements combined to go 1-9 from the plate, not adding any more fire power to the dud A&M offense.
“Just trying to shake things up a little bit,” Earley said. “You know, left handed pitchers have given a couple guys fits, but I think for us to be good, we need, you know, Hayden Schott and Gavin Kash to perform. So I just wanted them to, you know, take a second to see the game. … But we need those guys, and we need everyone.”
In the three previous combined losses it was the offense that caused A&M problems, this time around it was both sides of the ball making life harder for the Maroon and White. With a new season high of four errors and an equal amount of base hits, the Aggies never stood a chance against the Cowboys.
“I got eaten alive over there at third,” senior third baseman Wyatt Henseler said. “I’m an older guy, I’m a leader on this team so it starts with me, I take responsibility for that. I think you’d hear say, guys like Kent say the same thing, and we got to be better, … just take what the game gives us and stay aggressive.”
It was the same old-story on the mound for the Fightin’ Farmers as junior left-handed pitcher Justin Lampkin dominated the opponent at times. He managed to rack up 10 strikeouts in 6.6 innings pitched, while only allowing four runs on six total hits.
Lampkin did have a couple chinks in his armour throughout the night, including giving up a solo-homerun to freshman DH Garrett Shull in the top of the third. He then allowed an RBI-triple to junior second baseman Jayson Jones in the top of the fourth.
“I mean, the pitching has been great,” Earley said. “ Bullpen has been great. The guys on the weekend have done a phenomenal job. I mean, they’re doing their part.”
However, the Aggies would have needed Nolan Ryan to come running through the Daikin Park tunnel if they wanted a chance at winning today. The infielders did their best ‘Bad News Bears’ impersonation with throwing errors allowing the other two runs for the Cowboys.
It’s hard to say what direction the A&M goes from here following another close loss. The Maroon and White simply haven’t been able to get out of their own way in recent games, failing to even get the ball in play, leaving six runners on base throughout the night.
“I mean, just overall performing,” Earley said when asked about what specifically is causing problems for the Aggies lineup. “I don’t think I’m putting them in positions to perform, or obviously preparing them the way they need to be prepared. It’s my problem, It’s not their problem. Those guys are giving their all, and I just, I need to be better.”
In a season where A&M was supposed to be the Mike Tyson of college baseball, it has been much more like Glass Joe. If you take away the short lived two-hit ninth-inning rally attempt, the Aggies would have ended the night with more errors than hits.
“You know, baseball is a really hard game,” said Henseler. “…We’re just trying our best to take it day by day, pitch by pitch. I think baseball is a beautiful thing, because I’ve been on teams where you start hot, end cold and start cold, end hot. You know, I think you’re gonna see a pretty steady rise for most of us here.”
The 5-4 Aggies will look to end their four-game losing skid in the final game of the Astros Foundation College Classic on Sunday evening against Rice on March 2. The Owls have been run-ruled in their first two games here in Houston.
