Rival or not, goal becomes survival
A&M’s Schlossnagle enjoys beating UT mainly to extend stay
OMAHA, Neb. — Jim Schlossnagle tries setting aside all outside clamor during the College World Series. But there are some text messages Texas A&M’s first-year coach cheerfully will not ignore — especially when they concern A&M versus Texas.
“I’ve gotten some interesting texts from some longtime Aggies, big donors, chancellor (John) Sharp. I know how much it means to them,” Schlossnagle said of A&M defeating UT in any sport. “(But) it means a lot more to me to stay here (at the CWS) longer. I’m glad it means a lot to them, and we’ll try to keep it up.”
The Aggies’ 10-2 clobbering of the Longhorns in an elimination game Sunday set up their latest win-or-head-home affair: 1 p.m. Tuesday against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish lost 6-2 to Oklahoma on Sunday night.
The Sooners, 2-0 in the CWS, await the winner of A&M-Notre Dame on their four-team side of the eightteam bracket. Only UT and Stanford, the latter after losing to Auburn on Monday, have been eliminated from the CWS to date. Per his standard, Schlossnagle is angling for any perceived edge for the Aggies, the highest national seed remaining at No. 5 following second-seeded Stanford’s exit.
“We’re coming in with some confidence, and Notre Dame will be coming off a loss,” Schlossnagle said.
The Aggies (43-19) rebounded from a 13-8 loss to OU in the CWS opener and have averaged nine runs per game 18 innings in. A&M fell behind OU 8-0 after two innings and 12-3 after four before holding the Sooners to a lone run the rest of the way while scoring five of their own over the final six innings.
“Our guys were embarrassed, and I was embarrassed the way we played, especially the first four innings of the Oklahoma game,” Schlossnagle said. “They know if we play good, clean baseball, we can play with anybody. We can also lose to anybody.”
Schlossnagle said Notre Dame (41-16) owns perhaps “the best depth of pitching
we’ve seen all season,” while he’ll go with on “all hands on deck” approach on the mound Tuesday. The Aggies used only three pitchers against the Longhorns: starter Micah Dallas (five innings) and relievers Jacob Palisch (2 2⁄3 innings) and Brad Rudis (1 1⁄3 innings).
“We’re an old team, and they’re older than us,” Schlossnagle said with a smile of Notre Dame’s development of players and solid use of the transfer portal in the offseason.
The Fighting Irish’s biggest accomplishment so far didn’t come in the CWS: They eliminated Tennessee, the nation’s top-ranked team for much of the late season, in an NCAA Tournament super regional in Knoxville, Tenn. Notre Dame has not lost consecutive games since late April.
“We’re a pretty mature group,” said first baseman Carter Putz, who had four of the Fighting Irish’s seven hits against OU. “(Monday’s) day off will give us time to get over (the loss) and focus on the next task at hand, which is Texas A&M.”
Schlossnagle is hoping the oft-sloppy, oft-slugging Aggies clean up their act in the field. Their 15 errors, including two each against OU and UT, are most in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re the worst defensive team here, as proven by our fielding percentage,” Schlossnagle said. “Hopefully, we make the plays when we have to make them. (But) we are playing our most competitive baseball. We’re here.”
Schlossnagle mentioned the thing that has caused him the most misery since arriving in Omaha last week: “We cannot keep giving up free outs, free bases. It’s miserable, and it’s hard to watch.”
Longtime A&M fans such as the chancellor, however, were just happy to see the Aggies win in Omaha. They earned their first victory in the CWS in 29 years, and to boot it came against their most despised rival.
Schlossnagle, who led TCU to five trips to Omaha from 2004-2021, now owns a third of A&M’s wins in the CWS, with the Aggies at 3-13 overall.
“You can see what he can do and what he’s done,” A&M designated hitter Austin Bost of Port Neches-Groves said of Schlossnagle’s swift stamp on the program. “He’s brought in a great group of seniors and a great group of transfers, and he’s going to keep doing that every single year.
“We’re going to be here a bunch. I know we are.”
For the Aggies to win their first national title, they must beat Notre Dame and then OU twice on their side of the bracket, then take two of three from one of three remaining teams on the other side of the bracket — Arkansas, Mississippi or Auburn (all SEC brethren) — in a championship series.
The Aggies, who won the SEC West, have proved at least one thing after losing two of three to Penn of the Ivy League in the season’s second series and starting 4-5 in SEC play: They are not to be counted out of any situation. They overcame a nine-run deficit, for instance, to defeat South Carolina in a league game this season.
“We just have the same mentality going into each game,” said A&M third baseman Trevor Werner, a former Klein High standout. “We’ll do our best as an offense to wear their pitchers down.”