It’s Aschenbeck Time

Last Tuesday night Evan Aschenbeck was occupied so he missed the Major League debut of one of his baseball heroes.

The native of nearby Brenham and the product of Blinn College was called on to get the final two outs as the Aggies snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a midweek tilt against the Tarleton Texans. 

Meanwhile, 1,850 miles away, in Oakland, California, former Blinn Buccaneer and Texas A&M Aggie pitcher Bryce Miller was fulfilling a lifelong dream as he made his first career appearance in the Seattle Mariners’ 2-1 victory against the Athletics. Miller became just the third player in MLB history to record 10 or more strikeouts without issuing a walk in their MLB debut.

“I went back and watched the highlights,” Aschenbeck said. “It was awesome watching him pitching so good on that level. He is a great example for the pitchers at Blinn and Texas A&M.”

Playing baseball at Brenham High School while Miller was toeing the rubber at Blinn, Aschenbeck became enamored with the local cheese monger.

“When I got to Blinn, the jersey number I chose was Bryce’s,” Aschenbeck said. “He wore No. 23, so I wanted No. 23. Everybody was like ‘you’ve gotta fill those shoes’ jokingly. But I took it seriously because this was really where I wanted to be. So I put my head down and I grinded and ended up here.”

The save against Tarleton was a classic Aschenbeck performance as he entered the game with bases loaded, one out and the Aggies clinging to a one-run advantage. He took the mound. He threw strikes. He needed just two pitches, both strikes, to seal the victory, inducing a 5-4-3 double play as the 12th Man was able to exhale. 

Aschenbeck, who has been the Aggies’ most valuable pitcher this season, took the mound two more times this weekend as the Maroon & White grinded out a series victory over a No. 4 Florida Gators squad which features a full arsenal of power bats.

As often happens in the game of baseball, Texas A&M lost Friday night in what was one of their best all-around performances of the season. Aschenbeck retired all six batters he faced in 2.0 innings, including two strikeouts, but the Aggies were on the wrong end of a 6-5 decision.

“I think we took a lot of momentum even from Friday with the brand of baseball we played,” Aggie pitcher Will Johnston said. “I think it was the best game of baseball we’ve played as a team this year. You hate to lose those tight ones, but those are going to happen. If we play that brand of baseball, it’s huge.”

Bullpen arms were not of the essence when the Aggies evened the series Saturday with a 15-2 bludgeoning of the Gators.

Once more, Aschenbeck will have to watch the highlights of Miller’s second career outing from Sunday. This time Miller stymied the Houston Astros allowing just two hits while striking out five in 6.0 shutout frames while the Aggies were embroiled in a series deciding game at Blue Bell Park.

In the rubber match, the trio of Johnston, Aschenbeck and Brandyn Garcia permitted the pitching staff to put a star next to its name in one of the biggest series wins of the season for the Maroon & White. They combined to yield just five hits and three walks while fanning 11 as Ol’ Sarge’s charges earned a 3-2 win with a walk-off balk.

Aschenbeck entered the game with a runner on second, one out and a 2-0 count on the hitter in the fifth inning of a 1-1 ballgame. Once again, he threw strikes, punching out the first two batters he faced.

“I brought him in with a 2-0 count,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “I said ‘I’m sorry. Pick me up.’”

He allowed a leadoff home run to projected first round draft pick Wyatt Langford, but responded with 2.0 more innings of relief, finishing his outing with one run on two hits and one walk while striking out five in 3.1 innings.

“He brings a calming, consistent approach,” Johnston said. “He’s going to fill the strike zone and he will locate all three of his pitches in any count. He’s kind of the ace of spades. There’s nothing but confidence on the mound when he’s in the bullpen. Knowing he’s the guy coming out to pick you up. When I saw him coming in, I knew we were in good hands.”

Unheralded when the season started, Aschenbeck has earned mound time through grit and hard work. 

“I put my head down and throw strikes,” Aschenbeck said. “That’s what I’ve done my whole life – throw strikes. I don’t have overpowering stuff. Being able to locate is more important – filling up the zone and limiting free bases.”

He owns a 6-1 record with one save, a 3.55 ERA and 60 strikeouts over 50.2 innings in 18 appearances, all out of the bullpen. The victories and strikeouts lead the staff.

“He didn’t have the best fall in terms of performance, but he was a strike thrower,” Schlossnagle said. “Some guys perform great in the fall and don’t do so well in the spring. Every now and then you get the opposite – when the lights come on, he gets better. That’s what he’s been for us.”

While Aschenbeck and Miller are forever united in the Blinn-Texas A&M pipeline, their styles on the mound are night and day. 

Miller is a flaming throwing right-hander with two sliders from the same arm slot. Aschenbeck is a proverbial ‘soft tossing’ lefty.

On the Texas A&M Coaches Report provided to television and radio talent by associate athletics communications director Ben Rikard, associate head coach Nate Yeskie states simply for Aschenbeck – “Fastball 86-91; Slider 77-80; Changeup 80-83 . Throws a bunch of strikes from multiple arm slots.  Pitching ahead and deception are key.  Good fielder with advanced feel for the game.”

“I’ve always been a guy who knows what he is,” Aschenbeck said. “I’m not a power guy. I throw my pitches. I’ve always been able to throw three or four pitches for strikes. That’s what got me here was being able throw strikes. I’ve developed a slider that has been getting better every time I go out. It’s awesome what the coaching staff has done to help me be successful.”

In addition to the Blinn connection, Aschenbeck has received mentorship from former Brenham Cub and Texas A&M Aggie hurler Chandler Jozwiak.

“I talked to Chandler through the entire process,” Aschenbeck said. “I looked to him on information on the new staff. He had nothing but good things to say about them. He said A&M was the place to be. I can’t thank him enough for everything that he’s done.

As a Brenham resident, Aschenbeck also had the duty of serving as an extra tour guide on the Aggies’ annual tour of the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory.

“It was great,” Aschenbeck said. “I knew a lot of people there. Everybody that worked there was somebody I knew or have heard of before. It was fun going back and sharing a little piece of my hometown with my teammates and having a great time.”

Claiming the series against the highly touted Gators was huge for Texas A&M’s postseason resume. Stumbling out of the gates with a 1-5 mark in SEC play, the Maroon & White have won five of their last six series and own an 11-13 league ledger as they wrap up the regular season with series against Alabama and Mississippi State.

“We knew this weekend was going to be a big weekend,” Aschenbeck said. “We knew last weekend was going to be a big weekend, but we didn’t play our caliber of baseball. We flushed it and moved on. We came out here and just played our kind of baseball. We took the momentum Tuesday, played good baseball on Friday and finished it off with a good weekend. If we play like this the last two weekends, we have some good things to look forward to.”

During the 2019 and 2020 seasons, when Miller was one of the SEC’s top relief pitchers, Aggie fans were greeted with a ‘Miller Time’ highlight montage on the videoboard upon his entrance. That time has passed. Now it’s ‘Aschenbeck Time’ in Aggieland.