Onto Omaha! Schlossnagle relives 'awesome' night at Blue Bell Park

For the second time in three years, Jim Schlossnagle is taking the Aggies back to the pearly gates of college baseball. The head coach joined Monday's edition of TexAgs Radio following the electrifying, Omaha-clinching victory over Oregon in the Bryan-College Station Super Regional.

Key notes from Jim Schlossnagle interview

• Well, I need to climb my butt out of bed. It was a long night at, let’s just say, a staff function. Mr. Liucci was leading the charge. It was awesome. What an awesome night. I heard the tail-end of Brauny taking.
   
• The emotions, the swing of emotions. We played so poorly early, not throwing strikes. Losing Shane Sdao was another emotional blow. Anytime you lose a big player, it hurts. Hopefully, nothing career-altering. Who knows?
   
• Kaeden Kent’s swing from last night. Kaiden Wilson got big outs for us. Evan Aschenbeck was Aschenbeck. The 12th Man was the story of the game. They affected Oregon. Anybody who says it didn't was not paying attention.
   
• I really, really could not be more proud of the team. To fight through what we did and for Kaeden. It’s not that he got that hit. He earned that hit. He earned the right to have that moment. Couldn’t be more proud of him. 
   
• Kaeden stays committed to a routine. He prepares as if he’s playing. He gets his ground balls at all four spots. There was a time when he was upset. He could say he didn't like to be around me. He wasn't that fun to coach. There was a point in the year when we had a conversation about, “If this isn't where you want to be, we will talk about it.” I said, “Let’s just enjoy it for what it is. Whether you believe it or not, I think the world of you. I do believe you will have big moments here.” 
   
• Kaeden finally let all that go. He controlled what he could control. It worked out for him. As soon as he released his upsetness about not playing, then everything became more enjoyable. He has been supportive. The game knows. The game knows who treats it the right way. 
   
• On the positive side, we had the pick-off in the first inning when the lead-off hitter got on. The one pitcher on the team you could run on was Grayson Grinsell. It’s a chess match. It’s a gamble. You are just picking a pitch to run on. That worked out with two outs because Hayden Schott got a two-out hit. 
   
• The pick play at third base was a big out for us. We left like Oregon was going to safety squeeze that run-in. It’s a high-reward, high-risk play. We do practice it, but that doesn't mean the kids will be perfect. 
   
• Kaiden Wilson got us out of that big inning. How about Zane Badmaev being the winning pitcher in a super regional game? I don't think I saw somebody cry more than him last night. What that guy has been through in his life, personally, if people only knew. Lots of storylines and just a lot of fun.
   
• Justin Lamkin would have been the starting pitcher if we had to play today. Once you get down, you think, A. How can we keep this close? B. Can we still use the fact that we won the first game to our advantage? 
   
• Chris Cortez said he felt great and said he could get us some outs. Brad Rudis got in there and right back out. Kaiden Wilson could have helped us. If we would have been losing, I wouldn't have used Evan. It would have been one of those games where we asked Lamkin to throw as long as he could and asked Evan to throw 60-plus pitches.
   
• As we got it to 8-6, I told Max Weiner, “Put Josh Stewart in the game.” Then we got it to 9-8, I said, “Screw it. We’re going for the deal. Aschenbeck is in this game.” Then Kaeden hit the grand slam, and it made it that much easier.
   
• I hope y’all have been talking about Hayden Schott. What he was done this season, all weekend... Losing Braden Montgomery, Shane Sdao and Schott is playing on one leg. Man, that backside homer turned out to be pretty big in the ninth inning because you need every run. 
   
• Look forward to seeing everyone in Omaha. Gig ‘Em.