No. 1 Texas A&M baseball’s frigid Friday afternoon 6-1 victory against Cal Poly saw Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park look completely different from last weekend’s opening night.
The Aggie faithful braved an unsympathetic 39-degree temperature at first pitch. Most fans would sit this one out, but Section 203 was out in full force. The season ticket holders, not so much. Only the 12th Man’s most dedicated members speckled the remaining bleachers, decked out in blankets, hoodies, beanies and everything in between.
Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Prager got the nod for the Aggies. In his five innings, the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List member allowed four hits, two bases on balls and struck out two batters. Prager’s performance extended his 18-inning streak of no runs allowed in Olsen Field during the regular season.
“As tough as it is to hit, it’s tough to throw,” coach Mike Earley said. “It feels like you’re holding a cue ball.”
It did not take long for the Aggies to strike. Junior center fielder Jace LaViolette reached base on balls early, and a grounder to first base from graduate designated hitter Hayden Schott brought the runner home.
Mustangs’ sophomore RHP Griffin Naess struggled to grip the baseball in the numbing conditions. In his four innings pitched, the Laguna Beach, California native sent two pitches into the bodies of waiting Aggie batters.
Senior second baseman Wyatt Henseler was on the receiving end of one of those pitches in the third inning.
“I’ve gotten hit like five times in four games, and that’s kind of normal,” Henseler said. “I told [Earley] that I would probably lead the team in hit by pitches, because I’ve led every team in hit by pitches.”
When the temperature started dropping in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Aggies began to heat up. Sophomore third baseman Gavin Grahovac got the inning going with a 367-foot bomb over the left-field wall. With both LaViolette and Henseler on base, Schott delivered a single that sent both runners home to increase the Aggie lead to four.
Grahovac was a magnet for pitches for both Naess and his reliever, sophomore RHP Reece Bueno. Grahovac took the hits like a champ before LaViolette sent him home on a double that bounced off of the 44 Farms logo in left-center field. Bueno’s night came to an early end after hitting Henseler in the helmet, his second hit-by-pitch of the night.
Between the two teams, there were eight total hit-by-pitches.
The Mustangs got on the board in the top of the seventh inning when freshman left fielder Dante Vachini made it home after sophomore 3B Alejandro Garza hit into a double play.
The Aggies continued to pour it on, bringing in another run in the bottom of the seventh.
As the game progressed and the mercury continued to drop, the stands grew increasingly sparse. Members of the 12th Man who stuck out the whole game never wavered in spirit and made up for those who left with their rowdiness.
Henseler led A&M’s offensive effort, going 3-3 that afternoon with a double and multiple standout defensive plays.
The Aggies and Mustangs face off in game two of the series on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. It will be another chilly one for those in attendance, with a projected high of 46 degrees Fahrenheit.
