No. 3 Aggies Clash with Florida in College World Series Opener

13 days ago

KBTX

No 3 Aggies Clash with Florida in College World Series Opener

The No. 3 Texas A&M baseball team squares off against a familiar foe in Florida in its opening game of the College World Series starting tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.

OMAHA – The No. 3 Texas A&M baseball team squares off against a familiar foe in Florida in its opening game of the College World Series starting tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.

Saturday’s contest will air on ESPN and can also be heard locally on SportsRadio 1150AM/93.7 The Zone. Fans can also follow along with the games on X, @AggieBaseball.

The Aggies (49-13) are making their eighth trip to the College World Series and second in the last three seasons after sweeping their way through the Bryan-College Station Regional and Super Regional. The Super Regional title marked the fifth in program history and the fourth at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

In its previous trip to the Greatest Show on Dirt, the Aggies won two games and advanced to the semifinals for the first time in program history. Four players return from the 2022 squad in Brad Rudis, Chris Cortez, Ryan Prager and Ryan Targac. All four made an appearance at the 2022 College World Series.

In its 38 NCAA Tournament appearances, the Maroon & White have compiled a 100-83 record. Under Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle, Texas A&M is 14-4 in the postseason and 2-2 in Omaha.

Saturday’s contest marks the 31st meeting all-time and fourth this season between the Aggies and Gators. Despite dropping the three-game set back in March, the Maroon & White lead the all-time series 16-14. In a neutral venue, Texas A&M is 1-1 against Florida. Saturday’s meeting marks the first between the two clubs at the College World Series.

The Maroon & White have been well represented on the three All-America teams that have been released thus far. Outfielder Braden Montgomery and reliever Evan Aschenbeck have garnered first team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), Perfect Game and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings. Sophomore Jace LaViolette earned first team honors from the NCBWA and second team from the ABCA/Rawlings.

Catcher Jackson Appel (NCBWA – First Team), Prager (NCBWA – Second Team) and third baseman Gavin Grahovac (ABCA/Rawlings – Third Team) rounded out the remaining All-Americans for the Aggies thus far. Grahovac has also garnered Freshman All-America honors from the NCBWA and Perfect Game, while fellow rookie Caden Sorrell also earned a spot on the Perfect Game Freshman All-America Team.

In addition to his All-America recognition, Aschenbeck was named the 2024 NCBWA Stopper of the Year, which recognizes the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball. The lefty, who leads the nation in ERA (1.66) and WHIP (0.80), is the first player in program history to receive the honor.

Under first year pitching coach Max Weiner, the Aggie pitching staff has lowered its ERA by nearly two runs. The Maroon & White rank first in shutouts (11), first in 1-1 strike percentage (69%), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.25), sixth in ERA (3.94), sixth in WHIP (1.26), 10th in 0-0 strike percentage (62%), 12th in walks allowed per nine (3.31) and 15th in hits allowed per nine (8.0). The staff’s 11 shutouts are the second most in program history.

Nationally, Texas A&M ranks first in walks (396), fourth in homers (132), fourth in homers per game (2.13), seventh in runs (546), eighth in slugging percentage (.557), 13th in scoring (8.8) and 18th in on-base percentage (.420).