On Saturday, Oct. 15, Texas A&M baseball will preview its 2023 season in the first of two exhibition games against a team the Aggies faced earlier this year.
The Aggies host Lamar University at the corner of Bush and Olsen at 1 p.m. and will provide the 12th Man with free admission into Blue Bell Park as well as an opportunity to watch familiar faces from the 2022 squad and a handful of newcomers.
The impact of these returners, such as junior infielder Trevor Werner and senior outfielder Brett Minnich, will be crucial to the success of the Aggies with the upcoming season approaching, A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle said.
“The older teams are the ones that seem to be winning,” Schlossnagle said. “You can have a talented team but trying to be a freshman in this league and compete in this league is tough.”
On Feb. 22, A&M and Lamar competed for the 10th time in the two programs’ history — with one of the teams adding to its current nine-game win streak.
Two of the 14-letter-winning returners made a significant impact in the 9-3 victory against the Cardinals.
Junior infielder Ryan Targac went 2-4 from the batter’s box which included a home run in the first inning and a double later in the game. Senior designated hitter Austin Bost had the most impressive performance against his hometown college. Bost went 3-5 batting which included two doubles, one triple and an RBI in the top of the first inning.
After Lamar left College Station, the team went on to have a successful season in Beaumont. The Cardinals finished second in the Southwest Division of the Western Athletic Conference, or the WAC, one game behind Sam Houston. They had an overall record of 37-21, 20-10 in conference play.
The Cardinals are coached by Will Davis who — when the team is batting — will line up across the diamond from student assistant Braxton Boudoin. Boudoin and Bost graduated from the same alma mater in Port Neches and won the 5A Texas High School State Championship together during the 2016-17 season.
The Brazos Valley community may see more familiar faces then expected in this fall exhibition when the Cardinals fly in. Right-handed pitchers in College Station native Zach Williams and Bryan native Trent Tompkins will be entering their junior and sophomore seasons, respectively, at Lamar and could potentially be called to the mound come Saturday.
This will be Davis’s sixth season as the head coach and has a below-average record of 139-151. However, the Louisiana native has coached seven MLB prospects and has recruited the No. 1 class from 2022 in the Southland Conference, the conference Lamar was originally in before joining the WAC for just one season.
A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle is entering his second season as A&M’s coach, and has already gained the trust and respect of the Aggie family.
In his first season, he finished with a 44-20 overall record, and a 19-11 conference record. Schlossnagle coached the 2022 squad to an NCAA College Station Regional, Super Regional championship and brought the Fightin’ Farmers to the semifinals in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
“[I’m] excited to get back on the field with our team and our 20-plus new players,” Schlossnagle said. “The biggest difference right now is I think we have 15-plus returning players that now can be great examples of everything we do.”
Besides the players returning to the maroon and white, the entire coaching staff will be back for another season of Aggie baseball even after the number of phone calls they received over the offseason from other programs.
“I think it says a lot about Texas A&M that all those guys wanted to stay here,” Schlossnagle said. “It’s been a much smoother first three or four weeks of school and hopefully we can keep that way for a really long time.”
