COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M baseball is preparing for a challenging SEC weekend against Florida, relying on a confident pitching staff and a one-game-at-a-time mentality.
Head Coach Michael Earley said the team is facing a talented roster with major league prospects.
"I think typical SEC weekend, a really good team that has a ton of talent and a ton of guys that are gonna play in the major leagues, in my opinion," Earley said.
Earley noted that Florida is well-coached and consistently features strong pitching.
"Guys that are gonna pitch in the big leagues are gonna be high round draft picks and shocker, Florida has awesome arms," Earley said.
The Aggies will roll with the same pitching rotation this weekend, leaving Sunday's starter as to be announced. Earley praised his pitching staff for their recent performances, noting their competitive nature and ability to execute.
"I think we were super competitive and threw strikes and limited damage and just executing pitches when they needed to be executed," Earley said.
Pitcher Gavin Lyons has seen his role expand this season, utilizing a unique fastball that features up to 25 inches of horizontal movement.
Lyons said his arm slot plays a significant role in how the pitch looks to hitters, catching them off guard.
"I think just the movement and the uniqueness of it," Lyons said. "These guys see a lot of ride fastballs, and I think I just come in and throw a little bit of a different shape, and it kind of catches them off guard a little bit."
Catcher Bear Harrison praised Lyons' ability to throw strikes in any situation.
"He's one of my favorite guys on the staff to catch ever since he stepped foot on campus last year," Harrison said.
Harrison also credited Troy Claunch for helping him improve his receiving skills behind the plate since transferring from St. Mary's. Offensively, Harrison has focused on getting on base and helping the team score runs.
"I'm just trying to help the team win, no matter what the score of the game is, I'm trying to get on base and hit the ball hard," Harrison said.
After a midweek game was canceled, the team used the time to rest and practice indoors. Earley said pitchers threw, and hitters used iPitch machines to mimic at-bats against velocity and breaking pitches.
"We just wanna make sure their eyes don't get sped up," Earley said.
Despite winning 11 of their last 12 games, the team remains focused on the immediate task ahead.
"We take one game at a time and we don't look at the past success or we don't think about the future," Lyons said.
