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The Texas A&M baseball team has become accustomed to playing away from the friendly confines of Olsen Field over the past two weeks. In fact, the Aggies have called a hotel room home 11 of last 14 nights.

So a short road trip to Fort Worth for another three or four days should almost seem second nature.

Second seed A&M (36-22) will begin play in the NCAA Forth Worth Regional against third seed Oregon State (35-17) at 2 p.m. Friday at Texas Christian's Lupton Stadium. Top seed TCU (36-16) will play Wright State (33-28) at 7 p.m.

"We've been on the road for 10 days, and we are going to be on the road the rest of the year," A&M senior center fielder Kyle Colligan said. "And we've acknowledged that. We're not at Olsen being comfortable, so it's a grind from that aspect."

A&M has played its last six games on the road and eight of its last nine. The Aggies won the first of those eight and the final two. In between, the five losses may have cost them a shot at hosting a regional for a third consecutive season.

Despite the troubles, which included getting swept at Oklahoma in the final Big 12 series of the regular season, the Aggies are counting on a little bonding and the momentum of winning their final two games of the Big 12 tournament helping them feel at home this weekend.

"[The last two weeks] definitely tested us. That's for sure," Colligan said. "It didn't start off the way we wanted it to, but it made us better because it ended the way we wanted it to. We showed we could face some adversity and come out on top. I definitely think it brought us closer and made us a better team."

In his fourth year at A&M, head coach Rob Childress spent plenty of weekends on the road as the pitching coach for Nebraska, but many of those were early in the season. He still believes the same purpose may have been served with A&M's late travels.

"Having the opportunity to go on the road a lot of times gives you a chance to bring your team closer together," he said. "And there's not many distractions. You are around each other 24 hours a day, and we have had that opportunity for the last 10 days, being in Oklahoma and on to the Big 12 tournament."

While A&M will be away from home, the Oregon State Beavers might feel like they're in another country after traveling nearly 2,000 more miles than the Aggies to get to Lupton Stadium.

The mileage doesn't worry OSU head coach Pat Casey as much as the team the Beavers will face on the field.

"We know that [A&M] was ranked No. 1 in [one] poll to start the season, so we definitely know how talented they are and all of the weapons they have," Casey said. "They have 80 home runs and 74 stolen bases. They are dangerous in all aspects of the game."

Only one of those homers came in the final two games when the Aggies proved they can score without the long ball, crossing the plate 28 times.

The hit parade gave the Aggies a needed boost. They had been all but shut down by the Sooners in Norman, Okla., and again by Missouri in the opener of the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.

"We have to keep doing what we are doing," Colligan said, adding that A&M's tournament victories over OU and Texas Tech helped the Aggie hitters regain their confidence. "We can't stray away from the approach, and I think it will work out for us."

Oregon State has a 27-6 record in the NCAA Tournament under Casey, who led the Beavers to back-to-back national championships in 2006-07.

Only a handful of the players on the 2007 title team play a significant role on this year's team, which will start freshman right-hander Sam Gaviglio against A&M. Gaviglio has started only five games for the Beavers but has the best ERA (2.84) of any OSU pitcher with more than one start.

The Aggies will start sophomore Brooks Raley, who was named an All-American on Thursday by Collegiate Baseball. The left-hander is 7-2 with a 3.74 ERA but has been roughed up his last two outings, both against Oklahoma.

"He hasn't pitched very well," Childress said. "He's not tired, not fading. He just hasn't pitched well. I consider it a blessing he went 45 pitches [in his last outing], and he's got a full week of rest. No doubt about it, he's our guy."

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ROBERT CESSNA                  Stories | Blogs

 

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