Jim Schlossnagle addresses Texas A&M's struggles on the mound early vs. Stanford

The Texas A&M Aggies were struggling early in their Regional matchup against the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday night. The Cardinal blasted four home runs against the San Jose State Spartans in their first game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament and their bats continued to remain hot early on Saturday night. Stanford jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the fourth inning against Texas A&M on Saturday night. Aggies head coach Jim Schlossnagle took some time to speak with the ESPN2 broadcast crew about his team’s early struggles on the mound on Saturday night.

Jim Schlossnagle talked about his pitching staff’s struggles

Justin Lamkin only lasted 1.2 innings vs. Stanford. He allowed three earned runs and two hits, before exiting the game quickly. Stanford slugger Braden Montgomery belted a two-run shot off him in the bottom of the first inning.

“Justin (Lamkin) wasn’t throwing strikes,” said Schlossnagle. “Didn’t look like he had it today. And he’s been good for us most of the season. (Evan Aschenbeck) can land an off-speed pitch for a strike which is important against any team, especially against Stanford. But he’s not at his sharpest either right now so we were lucky to get out of that last inning. Let’s see if we can have a clean one here.”

Aschenbeck only lasted 2.2 innings, before allowing five hits. He did fire three strikeouts, but his unsteady start did not inspire confidence in his head coach. “He’s pitched at length for us this year, but if he doesn’t find a little rhythm in this inning we’re going to have to make a change to somebody else,” said Schlossnagle.

The Texas A&M head coach eventually made the switch to Brandyn Garcia. Stanford has shown some exceptional power in their batting lineup all season long, so it’s not surprising to see them pose some problems for the Aggies. The Cardinal feature six players that have belted double-digit home runs this year, including their superstar, Alberto Rios.

Schlossnagle and the Aggies were able to mount a rally later on Saturday night. Hunter Haas delivered five RBIs for the Aggies, and three of those were absolutely massive. With the game tied at 4-4 in the top of the eighth inning, Haas delivered a three-run double to give his team a 7-4 lead. Texas A&M took an 8-4 in the ninth inning, after Austin Bost tacked on another run.

The Aggies advanced to the Regional Final on Sunday evening after bringing home the win over Stanford, 8-5.

On3’s James Fletcher III also contributed to this article.