Texas A&M baseball is riding high with seven straight wins, making the Aggies 10-1 over their last 11 contests while allowing two or fewer runs in five straight games and scoring an average of nine.
After starting the season 1-3, A&M’s record currently sits at 11-4, which shows in the SEC standings. Aside from Missouri at 4-9, every other team in the league has a winning record and no more than four losses. SEC play opens up for the Aggies next week against the fifth-ranked Florida Gators who are currently 11-3.
A&M head coach Rob Childress said he and his team are excited to try and get a second straight series win, this time against a sneaky, competitive mid-major university in Samford. The series begins on Friday, March 12 with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
“They’re a big, physical team, they play for the home run,” Childress said. “They’ve got a first baseman who can change the game on one swing of the bat. We’ve got to minimize damage and be as stingy as we can be on the mound.”
Childress is referring to sophomore Sonny DiChiara, whose 21 home runs his freshman year set a school record two years ago. Childress also said the Aggies have previously practiced at Samford’s facilities in Alabama for the SEC Tournament in Hoover, and he’s gotten to know head coach Casey Dunn well over the years.
The Aggies’ defense has played a big role in this recent win streak, and junior Austin Bost said he’s confident in the team A&M has.
“We’ve got some great guys all with great gloves,” Bost said. “If you make a play on a hard ground ball it helps your pitcher out and can get the offense going.”
Freshman Ryan Targac has performed nicely in recent days with a combined 2-of-7 hitting and 2 RBIs against Prairie View A&M and A&M-Corpus Christi and said hitting has been a smooth transition so far in college.
“The easiest part of the transition has just been the hitting aspect,” Targac said. “I know that’s probably weird to say with the SEC caliber arms.”
Senior catcher Mikey Hoehner and the Aggies’ pitching staff have been on the same page over the last week or so, with A&M’s runs allowed sitting low in the month of March. Hoehner said the group has great mental toughness and doesn’t get distracted.
“I feel like our pitching staff is extremely focused but also very loose,” Hoehner said. “Maybe some calls won’t go their way, but they don’t let that affect the rest of their inning and the rest of the game.”
Childress said the typical three-man rotation of Dustin Saenz, Bryce Miller and Jonathan Childress will once again start games one, two and three, respectively. Saturday’s game is set for 2 p.m., and the series will wrap up on Sunday at noon from Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.