The 2022 Fightin’ Texas Aggie baseball team has been down, and it has been out, but the team never quits.
Texas A&M has escaped elimination in the College World Series and, once again, proved pure resilience.
And the best part? The Aggies sawed Varsity’s horns off in the process. Twice.
“Nothing they do surprises me,” A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle said after the Friday, June 10 comeback win over Louisville in the super regionals.
“Just when you think they’ve taken another punch — and there’s so many teams that I’ve ever seen or been a part of — where you take that punch, and you fold. These guys just move on to the next play. They just move on to it.”
That is exactly what they did. Unphased by their first loss to Oklahoma, the Aggies buckled up for the ride and took down their orange and white rival on the biggest stage in college baseball.
“I know [beating Texas] is a big deal, but I want a national title,” Schlossnagle said.
In games after a loss, A&M is now 17-1, only losing back-to-back games once this season. It’s a team that shows resilience in every aspect: a direct reflection of the head coach.
Ahead of SEC play, Schlossnagle looked at the schedule and questioned the fight in his team, but once conference play hit, Schlossnagle hasn’t looked back.
“I called [Schlossnagle] after the Penn series, and I said, ‘Coach, it’s going to be OK. We don’t have to panic. This is a long-term build. This is a process.’ To have it flip like that and to be able to host and win the [SEC] West … an unbelievable turnaround in Year 1,” A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork told TexAgs.com.
The Aggies went on to win seven straight series against conference opponents. Whether the Aggies were down by nine to South Carolina or faced elimination in the College World Series, the group fought with pride, justifying the tenacity of the ballclub.
Even after midnight, the Aggies never slowed down, securing two wins after the clock struck 12 against Kentucky and Louisville.
In Schlossnagle’s debut year as A&M’s head coach, he has led the team to embody everything the 12th Man stands for: excellence, leadership, loyalty, respect and selfless service.
“They’re 1,000% bought in, and they’re a joy to coach,” Schlossnagle said. “I’ve said it since day one: If you could pay $1,000 to be in our dugout and could afford to do it, you should do it, because our guys are a joy to be around.”
Even with a whole new coaching staff and new transfers entering the program to start the season, every single member of the team has bought into what it means to be a Fightin’ Texas Aggie, and they aren’t done fighting.
“This team has never been one to back down from adversity,” senior left-handed pitcher Jacob Palisch said ahead of the College World Series elimination game. “We’ve certainly had our fair share of ups and downs throughout the year, gut punches left and right. If there’s one thing I know about this team, it’s that whenever we get punched we always get back up.”
