Aggies offer signs of progress in Tuesday night win over HCU, 7-2

Game #24: Texas A&M 7, Houston Christian 2
Records: Texas A&M (12-12, 0-6), Houston Christian (14-8, 7-2)
WP: Clayton Freshcorn (2-2)
LP: Kyler Mentzel (1-1)
Save: Caden McCoy (1)
Box Score

"Just grind every day."

Ben Royo embodies an approach Texas A&M has been forced to take this spring.

And while wins certainly haven't come easily for the Maroon & White, Royo enjoyed the benefits of his grind during the Aggies' 7-2 victory over Houston Christian on Tuesday night at Blue Bell Park.

"If you stay ready, it's not that big of a difference to go in the game and compete and have fun and enjoy the moment," Royo said. "Any way to get in the game is awesome, so the glove kind of got me in there, and hopefully, I can get the bat going and just keep this rolling."

The little-used Rice transfer finished 2-for-2 with an eighth-inning home run, his first as an Aggie.

He also showed the ability to handle the bat with a second-inning sacrifice bunt.

His defensive abilities were also on display throughout the night at second base.

"First and foremost, he's in there to play defense," A&M head coach Michael Earley said of Royo. "He's got some sock in his bat, but at the same time, we need him to do other things and move baseballs when needed to move baseballs.

"He did a little bit of everything, and that's what we're going to ask him to do. ... Guys at the bottom of the order got to give us production, and he did that tonight."

Sure, 2025 has been far from perfect. Even Tuesday night was a grind at times.

A&M still struggled with runners in scoring position, finishing just 2-for-11 vs. HCU.

However, they only struck out seven times. That's progress since being on the wrong side of a weekend sweep at Vanderbilt, where they punched 49 times in three games.

"It's about committing to a plan. It's something we're going over and hammering," the Aggie skipper said. "At times tonight, you saw that. There are times tonight where you didn't see it, which I think will happen. I think it was a step in the right direction, but to me, I still think it could be better, and we'll continue to hammer it.

"Progress was made but still not at where we want it to be."

Indeed, the grind and progress must continue. At 0-6 vs. conference foes, the Aggies are stunningly fighting an uphill battle to reach the postseason.

Beyond Royo, Tuesday provided other signs of progress.

A&M's third outfield spot, aside from Jace LaViolette and Terrence Kiel II, has been a black hole. Sawyer Farr, who made his start in left, could be a short-term fix as Caden Sorrell nears a return.

The freshman made some nice plays roaming the outfield, including a sliding grab to end the top of the sixth.

"We've had him out there a little bit in practice, but not a ton," Earley said of Farr. "He looked really, really good. Looked like he had been doing it. He got his opportunity, and he caught the balls that were hit to him.

Raegan Huffman, TexAgs

Ben Royo’s eighth-inning home run was his first as an Aggie. In two seasons at Rice, he clubbed 14 total round-trippers.

"That's going to be game-to-game, day-to-day, and just depending on what our personnel for each game going into it."

Further, both Clayton Freshcorn and Caden McCoy were dominant on the mound vs. the Huskies.

Working with a 6-2 lead in relief of Brad Rudis, the right-hander utilized his fastball combined with a nasty slider to strike out the side in the fifth. He allowed no hits in three scoreless innings.

"Confidence is something that all of our guys try to instill in us, and it's something that you kind of need the experience in order to get some of that," Freshcorn said. "This game is more mental than physical, so being able to get back out there and compete with that sort of mentality is something that I think just made me better."

Also providing a trio of empty frames, McCoy only faced 10 batters and struck out four. The southpaw also did not allow a hit.

"It was definitely great to get that first SEC appearance," McCoy said of his Saturday outing in Nashville. "It's something that everybody wants if you haven't had it. You just got to build off that and keep going. It was definitely a good first outing I felt like, so I just want to carry that over to these next ones and keep it going."

A&M has often been forced to play from behind this season. Not on Tuesday.

Hayden Schott drove in a pair with a two-out single in the first. Kaeden Kent provided an RBI groundout and Farr scored on a wild pitch in the second. An inning later, A&M capitalized on a Huskie error as Matt Bergevin drove in Schott, and Bear Harrison scored on Kent's RBI fielder's choice.

That was more than enough to cover up the two runs Rudis allowed in the second.

It was also enough to allow A&M to coast to a victory.

However, a Tuesday cruise doesn't stop the grind, and the Aggies must keep progressing as Kentucky comes to College Station this weekend.

"They care, man," Earley said. "They are giving it their all to get done what we need to get done, and they're going to continue to do it, and we're going to continue to push them to do so."