Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Baseball
Away We Go: Texas A&M readies for postseason push
COLLEGE STATION — In every walk of life, confidence is key.
Sports psychologists have built mansions on the importance of it alone.
What they preach is that no matter the situation, you must have the ability to cultivate your own confidence. The moment you draw it from outside sources might be the moment you never get it back again.
Outside influences might have the ability to shake Texas A&M’s swagger as it enters the NCAA tournament.
Everyone has talked about how they dropped four of five series, got bounced in the SEC tournament and were told they were not a top eight team.
Bad news for everyone else, it would appear the Aggies weren’t listening.
“We’re relentless. In everything we do, every game we’re in and every at bat we have, it is a fight until the end. We’re not going to give up.”
That is how senior Mitchell Nau described his team’s mindset, and he wasn’t done yet.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Coming off his first complete game, Matt Kent will pitch game one
“You’re always going to get our best shot and if we our down to our last strike, down two runs in the ninth, you still aren’t in the clear. That is what we’ve done all year. That is what got us here, so there’s no reason to change it.”
It is awfully difficult to argue with the Aggies mindset up to this point. The resiliency they showed all season has them hosting a regional and ready to make a run through the postseason.
That run starts Friday against Texas Southern and there to greet them will be Matt Kent. Rob Childress touched on the decision to start the lefty when he met with media.
“Matt Kent will start game one and Grayson Long will start game two.” He continued on, “I feel like Matt has a chance to slow down their running game (135 steals), pitched well against them last year and I feel like he gives us the best chance to win.”
There’s the chance Kent could be needed again over the weekend, but that would involve losing a game. Something he is not going to spend time thinking on.
“We’re taking it one game at a time. To take a look that far ahead, you’re talking about losing a game.” Said Kent. “We’re not coming in trying to lose a game. We’re going to go game by game, starting with Friday.”
With much speculation over who would get the game one nod, Kent is grateful for the opportunity and feels good after his recent performances
“(Confidence) is really high right now. I know what I can go out and do. All I have to do is execute my pitches and give my defense a chance to make plays, then let the offense take over.”
He knows things can turn around in a split second, but he’s happy with where they are right now.
“Baseball is a roller coaster, so you try to minimize the ups and downs. Vanderbilt was an up, so we’re going to see how long we can keep that on a level track.”
"Once A.J. Minter went down, he just said, 'Get on my back. I'm going to lead you into every week that we have.' Very proud of the man he's become from his freshman year to this junior year, he's really grown up."
"In this park, it plays somewhat similar to ours. You're never out of the game, but you have never secured it either. It is a double edged sword. You're sweating bullets for nine innings, whereas the last few years in the park we played in, the wind blew straight in your face and the high seemed baseball, it was almost impossible to hit a homerun."
"Maybe having that type of tournament atmosphere, some feel like they get a feel for how they will use their rotation, the schedule of getting up and scouting other teams in a tournament setting. I don't think I am a big fan of playing 30 league games and then declaring a champion after one weekend."
"I don't even know what to call Texas A&M, other than the best team in the country. This is our reward for winning the SWAC championship, we get Texas A&M. I watch them almost every night on the SECN. I get a chance to watch them and salivate at A&M. I know they have a chip on their shoulder and we have something to prove. It makes for an exciting first round match-up."
Sports psychologists have built mansions on the importance of it alone.
What they preach is that no matter the situation, you must have the ability to cultivate your own confidence. The moment you draw it from outside sources might be the moment you never get it back again.
Outside influences might have the ability to shake Texas A&M’s swagger as it enters the NCAA tournament.
Everyone has talked about how they dropped four of five series, got bounced in the SEC tournament and were told they were not a top eight team.
Bad news for everyone else, it would appear the Aggies weren’t listening.
“We’re relentless. In everything we do, every game we’re in and every at bat we have, it is a fight until the end. We’re not going to give up.”
That is how senior Mitchell Nau described his team’s mindset, and he wasn’t done yet.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Coming off his first complete game, Matt Kent will pitch game one
It is awfully difficult to argue with the Aggies mindset up to this point. The resiliency they showed all season has them hosting a regional and ready to make a run through the postseason.
That run starts Friday against Texas Southern and there to greet them will be Matt Kent. Rob Childress touched on the decision to start the lefty when he met with media.
“Matt Kent will start game one and Grayson Long will start game two.” He continued on, “I feel like Matt has a chance to slow down their running game (135 steals), pitched well against them last year and I feel like he gives us the best chance to win.”
There’s the chance Kent could be needed again over the weekend, but that would involve losing a game. Something he is not going to spend time thinking on.
“We’re taking it one game at a time. To take a look that far ahead, you’re talking about losing a game.” Said Kent. “We’re not coming in trying to lose a game. We’re going to go game by game, starting with Friday.”
With much speculation over who would get the game one nod, Kent is grateful for the opportunity and feels good after his recent performances
“(Confidence) is really high right now. I know what I can go out and do. All I have to do is execute my pitches and give my defense a chance to make plays, then let the offense take over.”
He knows things can turn around in a split second, but he’s happy with where they are right now.
“Baseball is a roller coaster, so you try to minimize the ups and downs. Vanderbilt was an up, so we’re going to see how long we can keep that on a level track.”
Texas A&M (45-11, 18-10)
- Seed: 1
- Conference: SEC
- Coach: Rob Childress
- Mascot: Aggies
- Bid: SEC at-large
- Friday Pitcher: Matt Kent (7-1, 3.42 ERA)
- Leading hitter: Logan Taylor (.349 Avg, 10 HR, 47 RBI)
"Once A.J. Minter went down, he just said, 'Get on my back. I'm going to lead you into every week that we have.' Very proud of the man he's become from his freshman year to this junior year, he's really grown up."
Coastal Carolina (38-19, 17,7)
- Seed: 2
- Conference: Big South
- Coach: Gary Gilmore
- Mascot: Chanticleer
- Bid: Big South at-large
- Friday pitcher: Alex Cunningham (6-0, 2.56 ERA)
- Leading hitter: Michael Paez (.330 Avg, 7 HR, 41 RBI)
"In this park, it plays somewhat similar to ours. You're never out of the game, but you have never secured it either. It is a double edged sword. You're sweating bullets for nine innings, whereas the last few years in the park we played in, the wind blew straight in your face and the high seemed baseball, it was almost impossible to hit a homerun."
California (34-19, 18-12)
- Seed: 3
- Conference: PAC-12
- Coach: David Esquer
- Mascot: Golden Bears
- Bid: PAC-12 at-large
- Friday Pitcher: Daulton Jefferies (5-5, 3.12 ERA)
- Leading hitter: Lucas Erceg (.316 Avg, 11 HR, 40 RBI)
"Maybe having that type of tournament atmosphere, some feel like they get a feel for how they will use their rotation, the schedule of getting up and scouting other teams in a tournament setting. I don't think I am a big fan of playing 30 league games and then declaring a champion after one weekend."
Texas Southern (31-17, 16-7)
- Seed: 4
- Conference: SWAC
- Coach: Michael Robertson
- Mascot: Tigers
- Bid: SWAC league champion
- Friday Pitcher: Ryan Rios (6-1, 2.92 ERA)
- Leading hitter: Robert Garza (.348 Avg, 4 HR, 31 RBI)
"I don't even know what to call Texas A&M, other than the best team in the country. This is our reward for winning the SWAC championship, we get Texas A&M. I watch them almost every night on the SECN. I get a chance to watch them and salivate at A&M. I know they have a chip on their shoulder and we have something to prove. It makes for an exciting first round match-up."
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