Head coach Michael Earley talks about Aggies’ mindset ahead of Game 1
Texas A&M head coach Michael Earley knows they have a target on their back. He tells reporters it doesn’t matter as the approach stays the same.
COLLEGE STATION — Don’t look now, but it appears Texas A&M baseball might be getting hot.
The currently unranked Aggies, once deemed the No. 1 team in the country, are riding high on a three-game winning streak — highlighted by a dominant doubleheader performance Saturday to capture a series win over top-ranked Tennessee.
It was the first conference series win of the season for the Aggies (17-15 3-9 SEC).
A lot must happen for the Aggies to play themselves back into the conversation for postseason play, but for head coach Michael Earley, not much has changed despite the recent success.
“I’ve truthfully said all year, I just have massive belief in our players,” Earley told reporters Wednesday. “You knew at some point, these guys were too good and have too much pride to continue in that direction. But the past does not equal the future, good or bad. So we gotta continue it tomorrow.”
The Aggies have scored 104 runs in their last nine games, capped off by a 14-run onslaught against Sam Houston on Tuesday. They’ve surrendered 54 runs defensively during the same time frame, thanks to solid efforts from weekend starters Ryan Prager, Justin Lamkin and Myles Patton.
“I think the cool thing about this team that I’ve really enjoyed is just nothing has ever changed the approach and mentality has never changed,” said Patton, who has a 3.92 ERA this season. “It’s always been the same throughout the struggling or winning games like this; it’s never changed. I think that’s something that makes us special and makes us able to deal with failure a lot better than other teams.”
Next up is South Carolina (20-14, 2-10 SEC), one of just three teams below A&M in the conference standings.
With a home weekend series starting on Thursday rather than the typical Friday, the Aggies will maintain their regular rotation and lineup.
“It’ll be the same, No. 1, because we still have huge belief in Prager, but also from a rest standpoint, you can’t really make any changes because guys would be making massive jumps in their workload,” Earley said. “Everything is the same and I think we still got three of the best starting pitchers in the country, so I’m excited to watch them go out there and compete.”
For Patton, who saw his usual Sunday start get bumped up to Saturday night against the Volunteers, the change in schedule allows him to stay in rhythm.
Familiarity is something he, like many pitchers, is grateful for.
“It’s definitely nice. Yeah, definitely, I’d call it a silver lining,” Patton said of the way his schedule aligned. “Didn’t really think about it until kind of getting into this week but yeah, for sure going to be nice to just have a normal schedule.”
The Aggies welcome the Gamecocks to Blue Bell Park on Thursday, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:02 p.m.
Reach Texas A&M Beat Reporter Tony Catalina via email at ACatalina@gannett.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Access all of our best content with this tremendous offer.