In the Saturday, March 4 nightcap of the Shriner Children’s College Classic, the Aggies took on the hometown team in the Rice Owls, looking to rebound from a tough loss at the hands of the Louisville Cardinals.
A&M flipped the script from Friday night, with the offense coming alive early and racking up 13 runs in a run-rule victory highlighted by multiple extra-base hit performances from junior SS Hunter Haas and senior 2B Austin Bost. The pitching staff also took care of business against the Rice offense behind a season-best outing from sophomore LHP Troy Wansing.
After only scoring five runs, all in the seventh inning, on six hits Friday night, the Aggies more than doubled their offensive production. A&M scored 13 runs on 14 hits against the Owls, scoring at least two runs in each of the first four innings.
“Most of our hits were the opposite field,” coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Jack using the whole field, Hunter Haas, right-center field. Anybody who has been around our program in the last couple weeks, that’s who we are. As soon as we start seeing balls hooked into dugouts and pulled ground balls, that’s not who we are.”
Wansing pitched his first shutout performance of the season while also securing his first win of the season in his five inning performance, throwing five complete innings with seven strikeouts, only allowing four hits with two walks.
“His breaking ball is outstanding, and he had just enough fastball command,” Schlossnagle said. “I wish he had [command] a little bit better. He threw a couple good changeups late, but he’s got a really good breaking ball. When he’s sticking that thing for strikes and then his ability to expand the strike zone, he’s pretty tough to hit.”
The Aggies’ starting lineup differed from Friday’s matchup, as A&M started freshman Kaeden Kent at third base, sophomore Tab Tracy in centerfield, junior Hank Bard at catcher, junior Ryan Targac at first and junior Jack Moss as the designated hitter.
“Werner is sick, hopefully he’ll be OK tomorrow,” Schlossnagle said. “Bard, he’s earned the right to get in there and have some good at bats. Tab Tracy has had a lot of really good at bats as well. There’s depth to this team; it doesn’t mean anybody has lost a job; the depth of our club allows us to play different lineups when we face a certain pitcher or certain team.”
A&M will close out the Shriner Children’s College Classic tomorrow at 7 p.m. against the No. 24 Texas Tech Red Raiders, a team the Aggies have not faced since the College Classic in 2017.
“Tomorrow is a big challenge for us,” Schlossnagle said. “We need to be able to [stack at bats] against a top 10, 15 team that Texas Tech is, and we’ve got a chance to win a weekend; last weekend we didn’t.”