Texas A&M star Jace LaViolette to start in right field against Florida

Texas A&M star Jace LaViolette will start against Florida in a College World Series semifinal contest on Wednesday night.

The Aggies turned in their lineup card ahead of the game and list LaViolette as the starting right fielder. He’s coming off a hamstring tweak that he suffered while taking on Kentucky in Omaha.

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“Jace tweaked his hamstring a little bit,” coach Jim Schlossnagle said on Monday. “Thankfully we don’t play tomorrow. We have a little less than 48 hours to see if we can get him functional to do something on the field.”

Time was kind to LaViolette, who will attempt to gut it out against the Gators. The good news is he was lifted immediately from the game against the Wildcats upon feeling discomfort, so he didn’t do any further damage to the injury.

Schlossnagle even explained that Jace LaViolette wanted to stay in the game.

“He wanted to stay in the game. Being up five helped a little bit. It wasn’t just the hitting and running bases; it was playing defense,” Schlossnagle said. “Being up five with the wind blowing in, the wind blowing definitely played a role. We were able to give him one more at-bat. He struck out, but we were able to get him one more at-bat so that spot in the lineup didn’t come.”

LaViolette is a monster when healthy. He is hitting .311 on the season and has notched 28 home runs, 16 doubles and three triples while bringing home 77 runs.

Needless to say, having him available will be huge for the Aggies.

But even in the event Jace LaViolette’s hamstring locks up and keeps him from finishing the contest, Schlossnagle felt confident with some of the team’s other options.

“(Gavin) Grahovac and (Jack) Bell both took balls in the outfield all week, including while we were here. I’ve seen Gavin play all three outfield positions,” Schlossnagle noted. “(Kaeden) Kent obviously has incredible value. He can play all four spots in the infield. And Jack Bell has played third, short and second for us this year. So we feel good about the versatility.”

The game on Wednesday night is a chance for Texas A&M to advance to the College World Series final, where Tennessee awaits. The Aggies must win one against the Gators over the course of the next two days, getting a second shot should Wednesday night go awry thanks to being in the winner’s bracket.