Texas A&M baseball team cancels Incarnate Word game to maintain NCAA regional chances

The game against Incarnate Word was supposed to be the Texas A&M baseball team's last regular-season game at the Blue Bell Park. However, both teams have made a decision to cancel the game.

The game's cancelation was made both to protect the program's chances of hosting an NCAA regional and ensure that the team's season would end on a positive note. Jim Schlossnagle, the head coach of the Texas A&M baseball team, said the decision was made to protect the team's chances of making the tournament.

Despite the team's poor season, Jim Schlossnagle said he would not hide from the decision to cancel the game. He admitted that the importance of the team's conference games and the NCAA's emphasis on the tournament's selection process were factors that he considered when making the decision.

"I'm not going to hide from it," Schlossnagle said. "I think, when the NCAA committee puts such an emphasis on RPI and different things and then conference games matter so much, when you get to this time of the year you have to manage that."

The Texas A&M baseball team's ranking in the RPI improved to 19th on Thursday. The team's rise in the rankings came after it had been as low as 223rd during the season's fourth week. However, despite winning the series against South Carolina to an apex of 12th, a loss on Sunday dropped the team to 24th.

According to D1Baseball.com, the Texas A&M baseball team is the 9th seed in the NCAA tournament. Baseball America also projects the team as a 13th seed. However, the team still hosts the tournament's opening round.

Unhappy with cancelation

Incarnate Word, led by Ryan Shotzberger, is currently ranked 194th in RPI. This team is currently on a 17-game losing streak.

Although he said he did not like to cancel a game, Schlossnagle also said that it was not in the team's best interests to play against Incarnate Word. He noted that the team's current situation and the schedule of the Cardinals made it challenging to play the game.

"I don't like canceling the game," Schlossnagle said. "There's a lot about canceling a game that can hurt you because you need to play and you need to develop pitching. But, given where we are in the season … and for where they are and what they are trying to do with their schedule, honestly, it didn't make sense to play the game and part of me really hates it."

The team's struggling pitching has been one of the reasons why it struggled throughout the season. Limiting the number of non-conference games that the team plays can provide the team with a full arsenal of arms in the crucial conference games.

Nathan Dettmer, a starting pitcher on the team, said that he liked having fewer non-conference games. However, he noted that focusing on the SEC was more important than playing other teams.

The game against Incarnate Word was the second non-conference game that the team had to cancel in a month. The first one was against Sam Houston on April 26. The game against the Bearkats was called off due to weather-related poor field conditions.

Schlossnagle said he focused on the team's future and not on the past. The head coach of the baseball program said he decided to cancel the game against Incarnate Word because of the team's current situation.