A&M’s 25-run statement sets stage for weekend litmus test
Game #8: No. 23 Texas A&M 25, Lamar 5 (7 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (8-0, 0-0), Lamar (5-4, 0-0)
WP: Gavin Lyons (1-0)
LP: Gage Burdick (0-1)
Box Score
It’s a big week of tests on Texas A&M’s campus.
The same goes for Aggie baseball, and Tuesday served as a review session before the pressure is turned up.
With 5,223 gathered at Blue Bell Park, 23rd-ranked A&M outclassed Lamar to the tune of 25-5 in seven innings.
The Aggies worked 14 walks. They turned 16 total freebies into 10 free runs on 18 hits, a dozen of which came with men on base.
“The biggest thing, besides the hits, was just the plate discipline was elite,” A&M head coach Michael Earley said. “When they swung the bats, they did damage and just did a really good job controlling the strike zone, so it was really, really good to see.
“I was just really proud of their effort tonight. It was great.”
In short, they did what an SEC club expects to do vs. a Southland club, and now, a true litmus test awaits.
Competition level increases drastically this weekend at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington. A&M will face Virginia Tech (7-1), No. 1 UCLA (6-2) and Arizona State (8-0) across three days at Globe Life Field.
At least the Aggies will carry plenty of momentum into the metroplex.
“We have to have a good practice tomorrow and prepare,” Earley said. “We’re gonna get tested up there a lot. You get three different looks. Those tournaments are different than a weekend.
“It’s gonna be a good test, a good experience, and I think we’re ready to go.”
A&M’s pitching has dominated, and the offense appears re-centered following Earley’s stern message on Saturday evening.
Perhaps the biggest question remains whether they’ll be healthy before facing their first power conference opponents of the year.
When it comes to Caden Sorrell, who still has stitches in his right hand, there is no doubt that he’s back to full strength.
“I felt good today,” the outfielder said. “A little sore. Kind of just feels like a little cut. It’s not too bad.
“Wasn’t seeing the ball too great for two of those games and then had those two games kind of to reset and refocus, look at the things I was doing wrong, and then today, I was seeing the ball well. Worked on a couple of things in the cages with Earley and had a good day.”
A laceration to the top of his right hand kept him out of the lineup on Saturday and Sunday, but against the Cardinals, he resumed mashing baseballs, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs.
A second-inning solo shot cleared the centerfield batter's eye, while his fourth-inning grand slam was part of a 12-run frame as the Aggies posted crooked numbers in the first (4), second (5), fourth and fifth (3).
Now imagine if Chris Hacopian and Wesley Jordan were available to get in on the action.
“They seem to be progressing great, and we’re hopeful to have both back for the weekend,” Earley said.
Of course, Sorrell wasn’t the only source of offense.
Travis Chestnut hit his first homer of the year. Blake Binderup smashed a pinch-hit three-run shot in the fifth.
Fourteen Aggies reached base. Thirteen scored, and eight drove in a run.
“It’s just about controlling your heart rate,” Earley said. “Taking that step by step, hitting’s a progression, doing the same thing you do in a front toss that you would on a guy who’s throwing 95 and just controlling that heart rate.
“When you do it one through nine, that consistently, a little luck on your side, controlling the zone, stuff like that can happen.”
A consistently patient offensive approach from the entire lineup, combined with the pitching dominance exhibited against Penn, should be a winning formula for Earley’s Aggie.
Except that remembering formulas can sometimes be tricky when the test begins.
