Jim Schlossnagle stresses importance of finishing out non-conference slate at home

Following a 2-1 series loss to LSU over the weekend, Texas A&M bounced back on Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the regular season. Forcing a run-rule against Rice in a 16-3 win at home to remain a perfect 25-0 against non-SEC opponents this season for the first time since 2015.

The Aggies extended their record to 41-8 on the year with just six games and two series remaining before the postseason. And following their recent win over the Owls, head coach Jim Schlossnagle spoke about the significance of the win.

“I think it was good to get back in front of our fans,” Schlossnagle said. “Those trips, especially when you have to bus it over and back, it felt longer than it actually was. Just not used to that, not that we’re prima donnas or anything we can handle a bus trip, it’s just not something that we’ve done in the past. So got back later, it was hot down there, but tonight was great.”

Texas A&M dropped the first two games of their weekend series in The Bayou before snagging a 14-4 win over the Tigers on Sunday. Keeping their offensive momentum on the bus with them back to College Station with an impressive 16 runs on Tuesday.

The offense got started early for the Aggies with five runs in the first two innings, bookended by a five-run sixth inning that resulted in a run-rule the following inning. But Schlossnagle was most pleased with the depth his team was able to display, with 13 players making appearances in the batter’s box and five pitchers gracing the mound.

“It was good for us to get a lot of guys in the game, get a lot of the guys at bats. Really proud of Jack Bell, thought Eldridge (Armstrong) threw okay, (Zane) Badmaev threw strikes,” Schlossnagle said. “Because we’re gonna need more pitchers in the conference tournament, then we’re allowed to take 30 players, so we’re going to need other arms to help us as we get to that point.”

The SEC Tournament is less than two weeks away starting on May 21 and will surely test the bullpen depth of the Aggies and other teams in the conference. But before that, Texas A&M has a road series in Oxford this weekend against Ole Miss followed by a three-game home finale versus Arkansas. With their first game against the Rebels starting at 7:30 p.m. CT and airing on SEC Network.