Having dropped two consecutive Southeastern Conference series and falling out of the Top 25 rankings, Texas A&M baseball faces issues on all fronts. From cold bats to blown leads, something needs to be done. Fast. But what steps can be taken to get back on the quest for glory?

Here are a few ways coach Michael Earley and Co. can gather momentum and steer their ship into calmer waters before problems get too far out of hand.

Keep the hot hands dealing

Pitching, namely from the bullpen, has hindered the Maroon and White’s ability to close out games in the late innings. Already this season, three losses have come at the hands of a ninth-inning comeback for the opposing team, exposing the hole left behind from former NCBWA Stopper of the Year Evan Aschenbeck. Relief is hard to come by, and the trio of lefty starters can only contain an offense for so long.

Seven innings is about the max a starting pitcher can last in such a dominant conference, but when your relief is the torching arm of redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Luke Jackson, who is closing the door on batters, it may be wise you keep him in while he is in his groove, lest you see your tied score diminish in the final frame.

Young arms and savvy veterans will prove themselves on the mound as the season goes on, but in a game of momentum, stick to your working guns. Your 97-mile-per-hour guns.

Standardize the batting order

Unlike the 2024 season, the Aggie offense has only shown off its true potential a handful of times in this year’s campaign. Strong displays against the likes of Rice, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and others make it apparent what A&M is capable of, but in some contests, this fire simply disappears.

What helped last year’s success was the consistency in the batting order, which allowed for a planned attack in each game. Keeping the strength of the order at the top and spacing out clean-up hitters can provide a remedy for an ailing offense and make sure that runners are not continuously left on base. 

Perhaps with the return of the injured sophomore outfielder Caden Sorrell, the mix-and-match of batting can become more concrete, and a spark can generate from an anticipated strike. Making sure the four-hole hitter isn’t pitched around to strand the power of the first three batters is crucial to get the Aggies back on track.

Distribute the wealth.

Maintain the swagger

Baseball, above all sports, is all about swagger and groove. Whether it be Pringles, luggage carts or Rattlin’ Bog, the best teams have a group persona drafted by the players. Identity forged by the team’s chemistry and brotherhood, can carry themselves to new heights.

After a few weeks without a team signature, today, it is the shaved head. When fans see a blistering double deep into the park or an all-too-necessary RBI, it’s not uncommon to see the Aggie batter remove his helmet and display his lack of hair to his buddies in the dugout for a reward of cheers and claps — compliments of the team’s 12th Man, graduate designated hitter Hayden Schott.

This kind of thing is something that bonds a team, reminding them of their camaraderie and who they are at-bat for. It gets the team its mojo back after a brief lull and gets the crowd ignited and gets fans feeling like part of the team.

If the Aggies want their fans back on the warpath, give them something to cheer about and unite the 12th Man.

Develop and address technique

Strikeouts kill offense, plain and simple. A&M batters are no exception to this fact, having their fair share of runners stranded on base thanks to the ball not being put into play. Baseball is undoubtedly difficult, but sometimes all it takes is a slight adjustment to get the cogs turning in the RBI machine.

Look no further than the improvement that sophomore catcher Bear Harrison has made as a starter in the recent stretch of games since a victory over Corpus Christi. Harrison, having had just one hit all season, made a change in his swing starting March 18, going on a tear of three home runs and six RBIs in the four games since the adjustment.

Tuesday’s 7-2 win against Houston Christian may not have had the fireworks of a run-rule, but it gave a snapshot into quality at-bats and working out kinks in real time.

Perhaps it’s time some more struggling Aggie hitters take a page out of Harrison’s book and adapt their swing and technique to get their bats hot once again. Junior OF Jamal George has opted to bat right amid his own troubles, and even pitching has seen an adjustment out of necessity. Junior RHP Grant Cunningham has tweaked his pitching to become a steady arm in relief of starting pitching. 

Believe in the process

Things can look pretty bleak whenever a team starts as the unanimous No. 1 and then falls below .500, but there is no doubt that the talent and ability are there for the Fightin’ Farmers. A new head coach and staff, sky-high expectations and a daunting schedule create a storm that is not easily warded off.

The fact of the matter is that Ole Miss’s 2022 national championship team lost four-straight SEC series before rebounding their charge into Omaha, 2014 Vanderbilt rode ups and downs in their dance to the big stage and 2015 Virginia fell from the rankings in their path to an unlikely national title and exacted its revenge after being runner-ups the previous season.

It will take a lot of buy-in from the players and coaches alike, but with some improvement and belief, A&M baseball can see its season steady its way to an NCAA tournament berth and continue to search for redemption in the heart of conference play. 

There’s still margin for error, hope is not lost. But it’s time, Aggieland, to fight for the Maroon and White.