Michael Earley joins TexAgs Live to recap A&M's showing at Daikin Park

Texas A&M baseball dropped 13 spots to No. 14 in D1Baseball's latest poll after a 1-2 weekend in Houston. Head coach Michael Earley joined TexAgs Live to discuss the offense's weekend, what his squad learned through the losses and much more.

Key notes from Michael Earley interview

• There's no denying we went through a rough patch. We have to get better than that. You can't forget it. You just have to learn from it. I'll never be happy not winning a series because that's not the standard. We're trying to move forward with it, and I liked the vibe we had before the game. To me, the best part of the game was we got down 3-0, and we never changed the plan we had going into the game.
   
• What I've learned about myself over the last seven games is that I hate losing. I think I already knew that, but it's just tough. When players are struggling, I always feel for them, and then you put the fact that I'm the head coach, and it just makes it worse. I know this game is hard, and I'll never forget it. The ups and downs and the swing of things are real. You have to play and coach just one pitch at a time. I've also learned to celebrate the wins and learn from the losses a little more.
   
• Hayden Schott and Gavin Kash had a noticeable difference in their body language during at-bats yesterday. The message to them was, “You have to relax,” which is hard when you're not hitting. You think when you're hitting good, you're having fun, but what you forgot is you're having fun and that made you hit well because you're just relaxed. That rollercoaster is hard to get back in the right swing. They took a step in the right direction, and I thought their approaches were really good. Whatever happens, happens. They stuck with it. They didn't hit any panic buttons. Overall, I thought yesterday was productive, and we can grow from it.
   
• The guys we have in there are fully capable, but when you're in a lineup when guys are struggling, I have to believe that if you had Gavin Grahovac and Caden Sorrell in there, it might help a little bit with the lull we got into. Having Josh Stewart out is obviously a hit to us, too, but some guys have really stepped up and done their job.
   
• At the same time, you have Terrence Kiel II. You can't be playing much better than that guy is. He's a different type of player than Grahovac and Sorrell, but he's playing his role, and he's doing it really well.
   
• We've been challenged. We knew it was going to come, but you never know when. That's the beautiful thing about this game is you never have it figured out, and the moment you think you do, it'll slap you right in the face. I don't think we've felt like that, but I don't think anybody anticipated getting challenged this early. I believe it will be a really good thing for us going forward.
   
• One game can be a catalyst for what this team can really be. Just how one game and a non-performance can spiral in that direction, which you have to get ahold of. Hitters need to get hits. Jace LaViolette capped two balls last night and got two hits. You need that. You can have a terrible swing and have a terrible body, but if you're the most confident player in the world, you can get hits, and vice versa.
   
• Matt Bergevin didn’t have a hit last night, but he had competitive at-bats. Sawyer Farr did the same. He had a nice line drive yesterday that the guy caught. He just needs to get more comfortable, being a freshman, but I think that guy has a lot of room to grow in a positive way, and I think we'll see that throughout the course of this season.
   
• Sam Erickson got thrown in there. It was a tough matchup, but Erickson is going to be fine. He's good. I thought he was competitive, and he didn't get the results that he wanted, but I don't question his effort.
   
• How I judge a player, specifically in this case a pitcher, is how are you doing when things aren't going your way? The big part of that is I believe we're really going to hit, so when you keep us in the game and give us a chance, we're going to pick you up. That's what I believe this team has to be. There will be situations where maybe they're getting hits, or we're not making plays, but you keep pitching, keep executing, keep us in the game, and we'll pick you up in the backend. I was really impressed with Justin Lamkin, just the poise. Same thing with Myles Patton. Our starting pitching is awesome.
   
• I'm going to talk to Clayton Freshcorn today. He's a pretty confident kid and has a pretty good perspective. He looks good, and I wanted to get him back out there yesterday and keep throwing. He's definitely had some unlucky stuff, but he'll come back around.
   
• Kaeden Kent has played some really good baseball during a difficult stretch. From the first day he stepped on campus to what he is right now, he's a completely different player. That's because of his work ethic. He probably hits too much, but I'm not going to slow a guy down like that. He means a ton to our team, and he just continues to get better. We've had glimpses of it, but him having the opportunity to play every single day, he can breathe a little bit, and he can just go out there and play. He's been great. He's going to continue to grow and get better as the season goes on, so I'm just really pleased with how he's been playing.
   
• I feel like I understand more how to coach them after the last seven days. That's the biggest part. That's what I feel like I'm good at. Anyone can coach guys when things are going well, but I get excited about the turnaround and helping guys through struggles. That's what coaching is. It's not always fun, and I think that's why it's not for everyone. We just want to help them, and it's easy to help guys when there's not a lack of effort or a lack of care. They've been great to work with.
   
• I love the process of the season. Win or loss. Clearly, you want to win, but just helping guys get better and keep them positive. At the same, hold them to a standard on things that they can control. It's weird. It's miserable and fun at the same time. You're trying to solve problems, and that's the fun part, but you hate that you're in that situation.
   
• It sounded different in the dugout after last night. I think I'm right, and I hope I'm right, but I think the exhale happened before the game. It was a moment, and we had some good talks. It was the same in the first and the second when we didn't score, as it was in the sixth, and that was the beautiful thing about it. They were into the entire game. They were having fun. I didn't want them to walk into the park yesterday like we had lost four in a row. I wanted to make sure we all dress the same and look the part. Crank the music up. Walk into the park like you belong because you do, and they did that.
   
• In the past, I have not liked double midweeks. I don't like them at all except for right now. I think it's exactly what we need. I don't think we could draw it up any better than what's in front of us. We need to play. Off today, and then game, game, off, game, game, game, off, game. It's a lot of work, but it is what it is. Right now, we just need to keep playing. I wish we played again today.
   
• It's going to be a busy week. You're probably going to see some new guys pitch. Gavin Lyons is a freshman, and he's really, really good, but he hasn't pitched yet. I probably should have put him in at this point, but you'll definitely see a guy like that in the next couple of days. Then, Aiden Sims and Caden McCoy. I'm not sure who we're going to start yet. I'm ready, and they're ready. We just want to get back out there as soon as possible.