HOUSTON–Austin Bain was solid in relief for LSU Friday night, but his efforts were not enough as the Tigers were unable to take down top-ranked TCU – the bane of Texas A&M baseball the past two years.
The Horned Frogs and Aggies meet again on the diamond Saturday night for the first time since TCU dogpiled on Olsen Field after beating A&M 4-1 in last June’s Super Regionals to send them back to the College World Series for the second year in a row.
While TCU denied A&M of reaching Omaha the past two seasons by defeating the Aggies in a pair of rugged, emotional three-game series’, some redemption lies Saturday night when the ‘Encore Pt. II’ takes place at Minute Maid Park.
Even through the strong feelings felt on both sides, A&M is taking a business approach to the rematch with its nemesis, TCU.
“A lot of people try to hype that game up, but you know, it’s just another game,” senior first baseman Joel Davis said after the Aggies’ 9-0 win over Texas Tech Friday. “We can’t really have external factors for it, but it’s going to be a good game.”
Davis missed the decisive game three in last year’s Super Regional after suffering an injury late in game two. Davis was instrumental in A&M’s offensive outburst during their 7-1 victory over TCU.
Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.com said before the season that TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle told him last fall he believed the Aggies may have won the rubber match with Davis’ hot bat had he not gotten hurt the night before.
With the competition picking up this weekend, the Aggies definitely started off on the right foot with an impressive 9-0 win over No. 11 Texas Tech. Brigham Hill was masterful for A&M and said Friday’s win was a key component in putting together a positive outing at the highly-competitive tournament.
“I feel like today is so important because it sets up all the success for later on this weekend, Hill said. “I’m glad I gave the guys a good start.”
On the mound tomorrow for the maroon and white is sophomore Stephen Kolek (1-0). Hill got rocked during his outing against the Frogs last year, but is confident in Kolek’s ability to shut down the powerful TCU lineup.
“He’s been awesome and I know he’s going to have success out there,” Hill added.
Facing A&M is TCU’s stud freshman southpaw Nick Lodolo (2-0). With Logan Foster headlining Friday’s win over Tech with a 4-for-5 outing and Braden Shewmake continuing to produce at a high level, maybe the newcomers to the ongoing rivalry can write a new chapter in the Aggies’-Frogs’ saga.
“Obviously Braden’s done a nice job this year playing with confidence,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “Every time we take the field [the freshmen] are growing a little bit more and we’ve still got a way to go, but I’m proud of the way they’ve done so far.”
With an Omaha-like atmosphere taking stage in every game this weekend in Houston, the Aggies will have their chance to avenge themselves. That is of course if they can give TCU a dark night.