Texas A&M's Matt Dillard previously considered giving up baseball, now in SEC title game

After almost giving up the game of baseball, Matt Dillard has become an important piece of a Texas A&M team one win away from an SEC Baseball Tournament title.

The Aggies pitcher gave his all for Texas A&M on Saturday, leaving his heart on the field as he stifled the Arkansas Razorbacks. Dillard amassed six strikeouts and only allowed two hits and zero runs over four innings of work, which skipper Jim Schlossnagle credited to his pitcher having his change-up working.

“Thought he did a great job. Great job,” explained the Aggies manager, while speaking with SEC Network. “Got his change-up going, which is a big pitch against these guys, both left and right. Competed, really happy for him. 53 pitches, that was beyond more what he’s thrown for us this year. Just trying to stay ahead of it.”

Additionally, Schlossnagle put it all into perspective, elaborating on the fact that Dillard kept playing baseball for a moment like Saturday, and it all came to fruition.

“So happy for him, because he almost gave up baseball. We talked him back into it, and he’s getting to realize a dream, and hopefully there’s more baseball ahead for us,” added Schlossnagle.

Texas A&M kept their lead over Arkansas, defeating the Razorbacks by a score of 5-4 in large part due to Dillard’s performance. Afterwards, the Aggies flamethrower explained his feelings when he almost walked away from the game of baseball.

“There were a lot of underlying reasons,” stated Dillard. “I was dealing with a season-ending injury. Didn’t know what was going to happen with that. Based off of what the doctor was telling me, rehab, talking with Coach, and yeah, I was just waiting for answers with that pretty much.”

Nevertheless, Matt Dillard came back for moments like the one Texas A&M achieved on Saturday. Only the Vanderbilt Commodores stand in their way now, as an SEC title is more real than ever for the Aggies.

“It’s amazing,” added Dillard. “I was telling the guys before the game, I was like, this is what you lay in bed at night at 11:00 and think about, dream about. This is so much fun. You want to be in moments like this.

“When Coach gave me the opportunity, I was thrilled to have his respect and his trust to go out there in a situation like this, semifinal game. It’s awesome.”