Mark Wasikowski reacts to Braden Montgomery injury

Texas A&M and Oregon‘s opening matchup in the College Station Super Regional began with fireworks as all 16 runs scored within the first five innings of the 10-6 win. However, the Aggies had to do so without second baseman Braden Montgomery.

In the first inning Saturday, Montgomery was attempting to score from second base when he was tagged out by Ducks catcher Bennett Thompson on an awkward slide into homeplate. Immediately favoring his lower right leg after the slide, the Texas A&M training staff secured Montgomery in an air cast before taking him to the locker room, from where he would not return.

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“The first thing on my mind is, first congratulations to Texas A&M for winning the ballgame,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said postgame. “But the first thing on my mind is from Braden Montgomery. I hope the kid is okay. That’s a guy that we recruited, we saw quite a bit firsthand and upfront at Stanford and he’s obviously a very talented player and a pretty great person. I hope he’s okay.”

Montgomery spent the first two seasons of his college career battling the Ducks at Stanford. There, he was one of the premier two-way players in the country. In 2023, he batted .364 with 17 home runs, 61 RBIs and 51 walks. He also pitched in 10 games for the Cardinal last season, striking out 19 batters across 14.0 innings of work.

After moving on to Texas A&M out of the transfer portal during the offseason, Montgomery focused more on his batting efforts instead of pitching. However, head coach Jim Schlossnagle believes Montgomery is done for the season with the injury, which means he finished the year pitching just 2.0 innings.

The loss is a tough one for the Aggies, as Montgomery had been one of the most productive players in the country this season. He finished the season batting .322 including 27 home runs while knocking in 85 RBIs. Having an OPS well over 1.000 proved he was not only getting on base but recording extra-base hits consistently.

As Montgomery begins his recovery, he’ll be forced to cheer for his Aggies from the dugout when they take on Oregon on Sunday for game two of the best-of-three Super Regional series. After taking the 10-6 win on Saturday, Texas A&M is one win away from punching its ticket to the Men’s College World Series in Omaha.

Game 2’s first pitch between the Aggies and Ducks is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday and will air live on ESPN2.