Texas A&M Baseball Strives for Redemption at the Astros Foundation College Classic

Texas A&M Baseball at Astros Foundation College Classic:

For the 25th annual Astros Foundation College Classic, the No. 1 team is set to take the field Texas A&M (5-2) will first face Arizona (5-3), then take on Oklahoma State (4-3) and finish with Rice (2-5) at Daikin Park in Houston, respectively, on Friday (7 p.m.), Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (6 p.m.).

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – After two consecutive home losses, the top-ranked Texas A&M baseball team may need a change of scenery. The Aggies will get that opportunity this weekend where they play three games in a Major League ballpark against what may be their best opponent yet.

As part of the 25th annual Astros Foundation College Classic, A&M (5-2) will first face Arizona (5-3), then move on to Oklahoma State (4-3) and finish with Rice (2-5) at Daikin Park in Houston. on Friday (7 PM), Saturday (7 PM) and Sunday (6 PM) respectively.

“I think you’re going to see us play for the competition,” Penn transfer Wyatt Henseler said. “It comes naturally to competitors. This is no disrespect to any of our opponents that we have played so far. But it will be good for us to play in a new environment against some other opponents. I think we will be prepared.”

A&M definitely needs an inspiring performance.

Through the first seven games, the Aggies looked nowhere near their national-championship threshold. His defense left much to be desired, producing a .955 fielding percentage with 11 errors. Their offense was disappointing, ranking 130th nationally in runs per game (6.7) and 158th in batting average (.258). His bullpen proved to be up and down, giving up 17 earned runs on 27 innings with a .297 batting average, 20

walks and 10 hits by pitch. Cal Poly and Texas State took advantage of those issues, defeating A&M in the series finale on Sunday (3-2) and midweek clashes on Tuesday (7-3), respectively. The Aggie offense had a tough time in those two games, managing just a .190 batting average (12-for-63) while striking out 15 times. “It’s up to me to get them right, and we will,” A&M coach Michael Early said. “We still have a long season ahead of us.” That’s the beauty of it. It feels horrible. It feels horrible. But at the same time, we’re not going to give up. There’s no one in that locker room to give up, and there’s no one here either, so we’re going to keep moving forward.”

While the Aggies were not perfect, injuries held them back.

Third baseman Gavin Grahovac, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, played the first six games with an

injured left (non-throwing) shoulder. He opted to undergo a season-ending injury to allow the injury to heal, which Early said would occur next Wednesday. Injured A&M left-handed pitcher Shane Sdao (throwing elbow) is also out for the season.

Right fielder Caden Sorrell has yet to appear in a game after pulling his hamstring in the preseason. Early said the preseason second-team All-SEC selection is not expected to play this weekend. They also ruled out key right-handed reliever Josh Stewart, who suffered a right knee injury in his season opener on Saturday.

“Gavin Grahovac is not just a great player, but also a fantastic person, teammate, and human being,” Early said. “Anybody who loses a player like that hurts. You can never replace a player like Gavin. But at the same time, I think we’ve got a lot of other good players.”

Standout freshman Terrence Keel II helped offset Sorrell’s lack of hitting, leading the Aggies with a .400 (6 of 15) batting average and .526 on-base percentage, while recording three RBI, Three walks, a hit-by-pitch, and two stolen bases.

To replace Grahovac, A&M relied on three players Tuesday: shortstop Caden Kent, freshman Sawyer Farr and Henseler.

Kent replaced Grahovac as the new leadoff hitter and got off to a solid start this season, hitting .292/.393/.542 while totaling two home runs, six RBI and four walks. Henseler moved from second base to third base and may have been the best hitter for the Aggies in seven games, hitting .370/.438/.593 while having one homer, three RBI, three doubles and four hits by pitch. In his first career start on Tuesday, Farr replaced Henseler at second and went 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Henseler was wise to third. In all four of his seasons (2021–24) with the Quakers, Henseler played strictly at the same position.

“Certainly not circumstances we wanted to see ourselves slide into there,” Henseler said. “But I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help win and be there for Gavin.” Early clearly liked what he saw in Henseler.

“We’re all seeing what kind of player Wyatt is,” Early said. “That’s what we expect from him. That’s what he expects from himself. We want the rest of our players to have the same mentality that he brings every time he plays. He’s a leader out there, so I’m confident that he, the other players and I will push these guys forward.”

The left-handed pitching trio of Ryan Prager (1-0, 0.00 ERA), Justin Lamkin (0-0, 2.70 ERA) and Miles Patton (1-0, 0.75 ERA) — who A&M is projected to start, respectively, for the third consecutive weekend — has been another bright spot.

This season, he’s been dominant on the mound, posting a 1.12 ERA over 32 innings with 39 strikeouts. Last weekend, he delivered an impressive performance, giving up just one unearned run while racking up 14 strikeouts across 18 innings.

At Rice, Payton is gearing up to face his toughest rival this weekend. According to the American Athletic Conference’s preseason coaches’ poll, the Owls are forecasted to finish at the bot

tom of a list of ten teams, and so far, they haven’t done anything to prove otherwise.

Prager and Lamkin are gearing up to face Arizona and Oklahoma State, along with two teams that D1Baseball ranked 21st and 17th in the preseason. The Wildcats are winning five consecutive games, scoring 49 runs during that span. The Cowboys have also impressed offensively, winning each of their last three contests by 35 runs.

“You love getting the tournament experience, three different teams,” Early said. “You take BP on Thursday, and you just come to the ballpark, hit the cage and go play. I think there’s some beauty to that.

“It’s obviously going to be really good competition. Arizona is a great team, Oklahoma State, the same thing, and Rice. “We have our hands full.”