No. 1 Texas A&M weathers frigid temperatures to beat Cal Poly, 6-1

Game #4: No. 1 Texas A&M 6, Cal Poly 1
Records: Texas A&M (4-0, 0-0), Cal Poly (1-4, 0-0)
WP: Ryan Prager (1-0)
LP: Griffin Naess (0-1)
Box Score

Parka weather at the ballpark.

With temperature in the low-to-mid 30s, No. 1 Texas A&M battled through difficult weather conditions to take the series opener from Cal Poly, 6-1.

Indeed, the frigid weather made pitching and hitting hard to manage.

Yet, the Aggies powered through in front of 4,922 at Blue Bell Park on Friday.

"Those conditions are tough to do anything in," A&M head coach Michael Earley said. "I thought our guys, mentally, played above the weather a little bit, and I think it showed."

Ryan Prager turned in five scoreless innings, working around four walks to earn his first win of the season. The left-hander has now tossed 10 frames without allowing a run to begin 2025.

Early on, the Aggie ace stranded five Mustangs through two, leaving the bases full in the second.

"We won, so that was fun," a defrosting Prager joked. "It almost feels like the ball is frozen.

"As the game went on, it just got colder and colder and colder, but we've got great stuff in the dugout to keep us warm; warm enough."

Behind him, Weston Moss and Brad Rudis were effective for two innings apiece, with the only Cal Poly run of the evening coming on an unearned marker in the seventh.

Meanwhile, the A&M offense did more than enough despite the frosty hitting conditions.

The 2-3-4 hitters Jace LaViolette, Wyatt Henseler and Hayden Schott combined to go 5-for-11 with four RBIs and three runs scored.

"You always want to be strong in the middle with those guys," Earley said. "They're all guys with a ton of at-bats under their belts. We need that out of them. We need it one through nine."

The Aggies scored in the first on a Schott RBI groundout. They added three more in the fifth before adding single markers in the sixth and seventh.

Schott drove in a trio, while Henseler finished 3-for-3 with a double and a pair of hit-by-pitches.

The Emmaus, Penn., native appeared unphased by the chill.

"You're never really used to the cold," the Penn transfer said. "I think playing up there, being from Pennsylvania, I think I knew a little bit about it.

"Caleb (Longley) and I did a lot of work this week on making sure I get my swing off. Going into that game, I felt freed up."

Henseler was the only Aggie to enjoy a multi-hit night, though LaViolette and Jacob Galloway joined him by registering a double.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

By going 3-for-3 on Friday, Wyatt Henseler is now hitting .357.

A&M's only other extra-base hit was Gavin Grahovac's leadoff homer in the bottom of the sixth.

The line drive to left field left his bat at 111 mph.

"He's got that kind of power," Earley said of Grahovac. "That's why I'm not giving a take sign there because I know if he gets a pitch he can hit, he can drive it."

Through four games, A&M is 4-0, though the elements have yet to cooperate.

Last week, the Aggies played through a misty rain on Opening Day before wind and cold on Sunday. This Friday was the coldest yet.

The rest of the weekend vs. Cal Poly won't offer a reprieve either. Aggieland won't warm up until Monday.

"I want it to be cold tomorrow. That's what we want. That's what we're going to get," Earley said. "We are looking forward to the future, but tomorrow, I'm ready to get cold again and get a win under our belt, hopefully." 

The Ags and Mustangs will bundle up once again on Saturday when the series resumes at 12 p.m. CT.