Texas A&M Baseball Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle met the media on Sunday after his team lost two of three games to Alabama at Olsen Field in Blue Bell Park over the weekend.
The Aggies (30-22, 12-15 SEC) won Game 1 on Friday (11-5) before the Crimson Tide 35-17, 13-14) picked up the win on Saturday (12-1 in seven innings) and Sunday (11-0). Here’s everything Schlossnagle said.
On the long weather day of Game 3 and how crazy the day was
“We came to the ballpark, lots of rain. We had four inches of rain this week. Three in the last 24 hours. I met with our administration, I met our guy in the field, I spoke to the meteorologist – all you can do is try to make the best decision you can with the information you have.
“We determined the ground was going to be unplayable, and the forecast was for more rain. Then I called their coach and he said, ‘I understand. No problem. Can we come and hit the batting cages in a bit? I said, ‘Sure, no problem.’
“I personally try to take into account everyone who is involved in this, including you guys (in the media). The people who work in the stadium, the concessions, the field team, it’s a party mothers – I’m not trying to avoid a game. We needed to play and we needed to win. We didn’t.
“So for 15 minutes I met the players and sent them home. And I don’t know what’s going on there in terms of (their) caretaker coach (jason jackson) and who makes the decisions. The interim coach is a really nice guy. But I don’t know who makes the decisions.
“Apparently their sporting director (Greg Byrne) got involved and the league put a stop to that. For a while we considered the ground unplayed. Then they wanted us to work on it for a while. And then of course the sun came out. That’s not why we lost the game, but I’m just answering your question.
How hard it is to send players home and then get them ready for a game
“Not as hard as Alabama having to leave the hotel at 1 a.m. and sit there until seven in the dugout, bus, visitor locker room or whatever they’re doing. But no, Alabama surpassed us today. (Pitcher Jacob) McNairy was amazing. Alright. So I don’t even know about any type of day.
“After what happened yesterday, this conference is not going to let you off the mat. You have to get off the mat yourself. This time last week, we were so close to sweeping Florida, which had just swept Vanderbilt. Mississippi State is buried in the bottom, they’re down 13-4 today and they come back and win. Which team has which identity? Who we are? I don’t know. Do you? I don’t. don’t know.
“All I know is this: the game always begins and ends with the throwing of the pitch. No one will ever convince me other than that. If you’re constantly playing from behind, it’s really hard to do. We have pitchers who need to check their hearts out and see how competitive they are going to be.
“We can write any story we want to write, and that’s what I told the team. This is in our control. That’s what I told the team. I I’m at TCU in 2015. I thought A&M was by far the best team on the field, and TCU won in the Super Regional. In 2016, I thought they were super talented. They’re a winning team. 23 straight SEC games Boomer (White) was the league’s player of the year I thought our team was good, but we beat them this weekend.
“And then the next year A&M didn’t have a great season, they snuck into a regional as the last team. They detoured their way, to their credit, to win a regional. They are supposed to go to North Carolina but can host Davidson at their home.
“So you have a lot of older players in there who are pretty hurt because they don’t want this to be their last game at Olsen Field. And that’s what I told them: if you want to play here again, then go play better. Go do well in Starkville, go win an SEC Championship and then let’s see what can happen.
“But you have to play well to get there, and it starts on the mound. We’ve scored one run in 18 innings, so it’s not just the pitchers. But it starts on the mound. That’s why they pay 40-year-old pitchers in the major leagues. They’re still paying them hundreds of millions of dollars because it’s so hard to find.
“You don’t get better hoping you’ll get better. There needs to be more of a sense of urgency, tenacity, courage, and a bounty hunter. It’s my job as a coach to try to take that out of it, challenge them and bring in more guys like that.
On if receiver Hank Baard is okay after being hit by a ball
“I think he’s fine. He wasn’t available to play. Nobody told me anything other than he just tied a knot on his head. In fact, I ended up in have one too. But mine was a peek. It was really scary, but I think he’s fine.
On the work the field staff did ahead of Game 3
“You can’t give these guys enough credit. They stayed here longer than us. They worked their hindquarters. They dug holes, pumped water and put it over the fence. I was also trying to keep them in the decision. We played the game, and we should have played the game. And that’s good.
“But all you can do in those times is try to make the best decision you can. And I try to keep everyone involved. In my mind, I hate making people sit still for eight , nine, 10. I don’t think that’s fair. Previously, it was the home school that made the decision. But apparently that’s not the case.”
