Texas A&M star on facing former coach: 'It's about the game'
Texas A&M baseball player Gavin Grahovac shares his mindset on facing former coach Jim Schlossnagle and the Texas Longhorns this weekend.
No. 15 Texas A&M (26-7, 7-5 SEC) suffered its first midweek loss of the season after falling to Texas State on the road 9-8 on Tuesday night, and while the offense looked the part, pitching continues to be an issue, as the Aggies went through half a dozen arms just to get through the game and have a chance to win at the end. Still, losing a midweek matchup is not the end of the world, but leading into this weekend's massive home series vs.
No. 2 Texas, the Lone Star Showdown is back in College Station for the first time in two seasons, while former head coach Jim Schlossnagle's dramatic exit to take over the Longhorns has yet to become a distant memory for every Aggie. On Wednesday, second-year head coach Michael Earley, junior first baseman Gavin Grahovac , and transfer outfielder Jake Duer spoke to the media before Game 1 on Friday night, and after missing last season's matchup in Austin, Texas, Grahovac was asked about facing his former head coach, providing an answer that should be the Aggies' calling card heading into the weekend.
"It's not about the coaches. It's not about anything else. It's about those 9 guys on each team that go out there and play.
" This is the right mentality for the team, even though a large portion of Aggies and Longhorns inside Blue Bell Park will be focused on more than the game, as Schlossnagle's memorable press conference, which included his viral back-and-forth with TexAgs reporter Richard Zane, made its way back to social media this week. So far this season, Gavin Grahovac has been available for all 33 games, batting . 350 with 43 hits and nine home runs.