TEXAS A&M BASEBALL OMAHA, Neb. — When Texas A&M ace Ryan Prager left his super regional start against Oregon after 1 2/3 innings, he saw, in his terms, simply a pitcher. Monday, as Prager left Omaha's Charles Schwab Field after carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning at the College World Series, he witnessed something more transcendent than just a pitcher — he saw a competitor.
With a steady dose of pitches low in the strike zone and a gale blowing in from center field, Prager (91) had his best performance of the season when the Aggies needed it most. The 5-1 victory over Kentucky sends the unbeaten Aggies into a Wednesday night rematch against the winner of the game earlier Wednesday between fellow SEC foes Florida or Kentucky. "That's something that we talk quite a bit about," A&M pitching coach Max Weiner said.
"Pitchers care about details and their delivery and the environment.Competitors don't care. They say, 'Give me the ball.
I'm attacking the zone. I'm going to do a one-inning save, one pitch at a time.' I thought Ryan did a beautiful job of bringing that to life.
" Prager needed help from his teammates for the Aggies to rescue a super regional-opening win against Oregon on a day where everything eluded him. He gave up six runs on seven hits and had just one strikeout in 41 pitches. The Aggies would go on to win 10-6 with reliever Chris Cortez having a gem of a performance.
"I think after last week, as soon as I came out, there was some frustration," Prager sa.