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Texas A&M Baseball: What We Learned From a Close Loss to Texas

By Matthew Bartlett

Oct 1, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A Baseball glove and ball rest on the field prior to a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A Baseball glove and ball rest on the field prior to a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Texas A&M Baseball team dropped a close contest to the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday evening, losing 4-3 to their rivals from Austin.

The Aggies committed four errors, only collected four hits and were still within one more hit of walking out of Austin as winners. Braden Shewmake left the Longhorn Network announcers jealous – going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk. He turned a couple pretty plays in the field as well.

On the mound the Aggies used a committee. It’s not what you’d consider ideal for conference play, but in this case it might have been what was best for the team. Coach Rob Childress got five pitchers in the game and none of them gave up more than 3 hits. The only earned run was charge to freshman starter John Doxakis, who picked up his first loss.

A game against Texas isn’t just another game. That said, when the team evaluates their non-conference slate I think they’ll be pleased with the results. Coming into the first SEC series against Kentucky, we’ve learned a few things about this young ballclub that has regional aspirations.

To this point, Texas A&M has never entered the ninth inning trailing by more than one run. They’re 14-4 with losses to some good ball clubs. So what have we learned?

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Youth Doesn’t Equal Inexperience

Texas A&M has a handful of young players that are seeing regular at bats. Those numbers shouldn’t dip much going into conference play either. Braden Shewmake ranks in the top 10 nationally in batting average. Oh, He also leads the nation in hits. Beyond Shewmake, there’s Logan Foster who leads the team in extra base hits and Jorge Gutierrez who is atop the club in slugging percentage.

Ride Your Starters

Brigham Hill pitched more than 21 innings before allowing his first run of the year to Brown over the weekend. Stephen Kolek and Mitchell Kilenny have both had solid seasons in the rotation. None of Texas A&M’s weekend starters has an ERA above 2.75 and each has a strikeout to walk ratio better than 2.8. With the bullpen still uncertain the team would be best off if these three could go seven innings a start.

Some Questions Remain

At this point the entire infield situation feels a bit fluid. George Janca is having some fielding struggles that have kept him out of the lineup. Austin Homan, Shewmake, and Gutierrez all seem to be capable enough to cycle between second, shortstop, and third base. And I am not convinced that Joel Davis is the near term answer at first base.

Next: The Greatest NCAA Tourney Comeback of All Time

Texas A&M has solidified their batting order for the most part, but there’s a bite more work to do on the bullpen and the defense. They’ve got what it takes to be competitive in every series. They’ll start with the Wildcats this weekend. BTHO UK.

***Stats from NCAA.com, 12thman.com***