Texas A&M's Justin Lamkin shares thoughts following the program's first College World Series Finals qualification: "I love this group of guys"
The Texas A&M Aggies secured a victory against the Florida Gators (6-0) on Wednesday, resulting in the program's first College World Series Finals appearance.
Starting pitcher Justin Lamkin was a major factor in the win as he pitched five shutout innings with three hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts on the mound.
After the game, he spoke with Michella Chester from NCAA Baseball and discussed the connection of the team's camaraderie to this achievement.
"I love this group of guys. We're playing for each other, just selfless baseball."
The sophomore southpaw struggled throughout the season but was able to go 3-2 with a 5.00 ERA in 63.0 innings thus far. He could potentially be a significant factor in the finals as a long relief option or even lining up for a start during the best-of-three series against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Will Texas A&M or Tennessee win the 2024 College World Series?
The Texas A&M Aggies and the Tennessee Volunteers picked up wins on Wednesday and advanced out of their respective brackets to reach the CWS finals. While the odds to win the best-of-three are yet to be released, the Tennessee Volunteers are -145 favorites to win Game 1 of the series.
These teams played last month during the SEC Tournament where Tennessee secured a 7-4 win. This game will be difficult for the Aggies as the Volunteers were statistically the best baseball program throughout the season.
Texas A&M has the pitching advantage, allowing just three runs in their three CWS games thus far. However, Tennessee has a lot of power—averaging 8.3 runs per game in Omaha this year.
This will be an entertaining matchup between SEC foes with different team-building philosophies.