SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

May 28, 2022

Jim Schlossnagle

Jack Moss

Hoover Metropolitan Stadium

Texas A&M Aggies

Postgame Press Conference

Florida 9, Texas A&M 0

JIM SCHLOSSNAGLE: I don't know what to say about that ballgame. We got the rear end kicking returned right back to us in every shape and size. Congratulations to Florida. They did an awesome job. Manning, what a great job he did. I don't think he's pitched since April, I think, correct?

They looked like the team that had played the extra game. We looked like the team that had played the extra game, not them. And then the other guy came in, only had seven appearances the whole season. He did a great job. So credit -- I don't know what else to say, credit to the Gators.

Q. Tough night at the yard, obviously, but when you look back at your week here and then what's to come, what's the conversations like in the dug out and the clubhouse between you and your teammates?

JACK MOSS: Yeah, I think it was awesome to come out like we did and get the two W's that we got, and then today, just one of those days at the yard, but at the end of the day it's all a learning experience. If you want to take any positives away from it, I'd much rather it be now than next week and in the future. We've got a lot to get better at, and we're going to chip away this week and get ready to get after it.

Q. What did make Manning effective?

JACK MOSS: He just commanded the zone. I think that's really what makes any pitcher good. I think when you establish a fastball early in the count, you can pitch off it pretty easily, and that's when you get some guys that are taking some pretty bad swings. I know he made me look pretty foolish a couple times, but he just pounded the strike zone, and yeah, not much else.

Q. Kind of the same thing I asked Jack; this week and then going forward, is it easier to put this kind of loss in the rear view with kind of what you guys have done and then what's ahead?

JIM SCHLOSSNAGLE: Yeah, I haven't really thought that far ahead. Was just trying to win a ballgame just 10 minutes ago, so I haven't thought that far ahead about it. But just want to play good baseball. You're never as good or as bad as you appear. That's everything in life. We're not the greatest team and we're not the worst team. Tonight we played like the worst team. There's been -- the other day against Florida we played like a great team.

It's going to come down to how well we play. You've got to have good starting pitching. You've got to play defense, and you've got to have timely hits. That's the bottom line.

What's the message going to be? The message is we've got a lot of work to do. We didn't get to practice because of the rain, different things. That's no excuse. But what I'm saying is it's not like we're going to go home and just sit around. We have work to do. We have to get better, because we've had a great regular season, no question about that, we played well for two to three ballgames in this tournament, but two out of three doesn't get you help next week. The following week it does.

But we just need to get home. We've been on the road now for 10, 11 days between Oxford and here, and we've just got to get back to College Station and catch our breath and then get to work.

Q. What were your overall impressions of the tournament, the atmosphere, the venue, the crowds?

JIM SCHLOSSNAGLE: Yeah, yeah, this is my first time, man, it was awesome. It was just really great. Hospitality, obviously the way the players are treated, the fans. I definitely want to publicly thank the grounds crew and the people that put this tournament on because the late nights, the tarp on and off, getting the field ready, there's a whole heck of a lot of people that went into these kids having the experience they've had, and for me to have the experience I had. Certainly hope we can get back and stay a little bit longer.

But this is my first time to Hoover. Been to Birmingham, stayed at the Winfrey a few times when I was at Tulane in UAB's conference, but never been in this ballpark, never even seen it. For my own personal life experience, been in the game for 32 years, 51 years old, this is why I made the change I made, and that's no disrespect to TCU, but it was to have some new experiences before I finished coaching, and this was awesome.

Q. What are some positive takeaways from your young staff today?

JIM SCHLOSSNAGLE: I mean, everybody that pitched in the game today is technically a freshman. Robert Hogan I think threw three or four innings today, so we threw four freshmen today. I thought Rudis did a nice job, Hamilton did okay. But I mean, they got experience, so hopefully that'll give them a better chance to have success next week.

Q. You have kind of a plan for next week when you get back to College Station, what the week will look like getting ready for a regional?

JIM SCHLOSSNAGLE: Yeah, I think obviously we'll travel tomorrow, take the day off. We'll do something on Monday. We have a lot of pitchers that got to get in that bullpen, and we can't do it too close to the weekend. We'll have a couple light workouts. We'll obviously spend a lot of time -- not like we don't already, in the infield, but at this time of year it's finding a balance between getting the work in you need and making sure you're rested and ready and sharp for a regional.

Some of it will depend on who we're playing, what those matchups look like.