Tennessee faces battered Texas A&M – Orange County Register

Billy Amick, left, and the Tennessee Volunteers will face Ryan Prager and the Texas A&M Aggies in a best-of-three series for the College World Series title beginning Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photos from The Associated Press)

By Eric Olson AP Sports Writer

OMAHA, Neb. – Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle remembers how he felt when he saw Braden Montgomery, one of college baseball’s biggest stars, break his ankle while sliding to the plate in the NCAA super regionals two weeks ago.

“Yes, my heart sank,” he said Friday. “Everything went down at that point, mostly just for Braden.”

The Aggies’ problems were just beginning. Their No. 2 starting pitcher suffered a season-ending arm injury the next day, the right fielder who made a game-saving catch against the wall in his College World Series opener sprained his hamstring. hamstring running around the bases earlier this week, and his catcher and designated hitter have overcome nagging injuries for weeks.

Schlossnagle and his staff have had to get creative with their lineup and release plans, and everything they’ve tried has worked.

They are now two wins away from Texas A&M baseball’s first national championship. The Aggies (52-13) open the best-of-three CWS final Saturday night against Tennessee (58-12). Both teams finished 3-0 in the double-elimination bracket.

The Volunteers are the first No. 1 national team since 2009 to reach the finals and are trying to become the first to win the championship since 1999. It would also be the Vols’ first baseball title.

Tennessee is the favorite, according to BetMGM. The Volunteers are minus -185 on the moneyline, meaning a bettor would have to bet $185 to win $100. The Aggies are plus-140, meaning a $100 bet would return $140.

It is the second year in a row, and the third time in four years, that the finals pit teams from the Southeastern Conference. The SEC has had at least one team in the finals in 15 of the last 16 years.

Texas A&M will start Ryan Prager (9-1) against Tennessee’s Chris Stamos (3-0), whose role has been starter before AJ Causey (13-3) takes over early in games.

The teams have not met in a regular-season series since March 2023. Their only meeting this season came in the conference tournament last month, a 7-4 Tennessee victory in Hoover, Alabama.

Vols coach Tony Vitello said it’s probably a good thing for both teams to have the finals played at a neutral site.

“Their place has its own unique brand, how they do things. And I would be remiss if I didn’t say there’s a lot of noise in that stadium,” Vitello said, adding that his team’s stadium was “absolutely crazy” during the decisive game against Evansville.

Texas A&M’s Montgomery, a projected top-10 pick in next month’s Major League Baseball amateur draft, had started every game in right field since transferring from Stanford after last season and was hitting .322 with 27 home runs when he broke his right ankle against Oregon on June 8.

No. 2 starting pitcher Shane Sdao was 5-1 with a 2.96 ERA when he injured his left (throwing) arm in the second game of the super regional.

Jace LaViolette sprained his hamstring running the bases against Kentucky on Monday. LaViolette was the player who stretched with his back against the wall to make the catch that robbed Florida’s Cade Kurland of a two-run home run in the ninth inning when the Aggies were ahead by one run in their first CWS game.

Designated hitter Hayden Schott has been playing with a torn meniscus and All-SEC catcher Jackson Appel has been “really banged up,” Schlossnagle said, although the nature of Appel’s injury was not revealed.