T-minus two days until Aggie Baseball is back in action. On February 17, the Texas A&M Baseball team will take on Bowling Green at Blue Bell Park in their opening game of the season. The boys in maroon and white will compete in the Southeastern Conference for the fifth year.
The Texas A&M Baseball team started off strong in last year’s season, winning consecutive tournaments against competitive conference teams such as Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, and Florida. In a history making game against Vanderbilt, Kyle Simonds was the 11 Aggie pitcher in history to throw a no-hitter earning a win for the team.
The Aggies earned their first ever SEC baseball tournament title since joining the conference in 2012, when the team took on defending champions, the Florida Gators, last May. Homeruns were hit, errors occurred, and history was made. As a result, Texas A&M earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Collegiate World Series.
In the super tournament the university hosted, the Aggies faced off against the TCU Horned Frogs. Infielder Boomer White was actually a transfer student from TCU, and the third basemen sat out the 2015 season in College Station in order to play for the Aggies. Ending their inspiring season with a 4-1 loss against the Horned Frogs, the Texas A&M baseball players saw light at the end of the tunnel.
Eight Aggies were selected during the 2016 MLB First Year Draft. Teams such as the Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Angels picked the athletes on the second day of the draft. The Aggies continued to earn recognition for their hard work during the 2016 season. Junior outfielder, Nick Banks, earned the MVP of SEC of the Tournament and All-SEC Tournament First Team. Boomer White also collected many accolades such as the prestigious SEC Player of the Year, First Team All-American by Baseball America, First Team All-SEC, a Dick Howser Trophy finalist, and a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award.
With the loss of several starting pitchers and key players, the young Texas A&M team has their goals set to meet and exceed the accomplishments of the 2016 season, but not without the help of the Fighin’ Texas Aggie 12th Man. So bring out those bubble machines, it’s time for some good ole Olsen Magic.
