Jim Schlossnagle on Texas A&M's Whammy Wagon: 'I promise the Hyatt Place it'll return'
The Hyatt Place in Hoover might notice a luggage cart is missing, but it isn’t far away. The cart is currently at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex for the SEC Baseball Tournament, where it has been transformed into what Texas A&M calls the “Whammy Wagon.”
The Aggies have used the cart to celebrate home runs at the tournament, pushing any player who hits a homer through the dugout as he high fives his teammates. The “Whammy Wagon” has been a staple for Texas A&M at its home games this season, but players had to get creative to find a new one on the road.
Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle spoke on the celebration during a second round matchup against Arkansas on Wednesday, hilariously denying involvement while assuring the hotel its property will return in tact.
“Buddy that has nothing to do with me, I promise ya,” the coach said. “There’s some laundry cart they use at home, so I guess they figured something else out, here. I promise the Hyatt Place it’ll return.”
Aggies left fielder Ryan Targac got the chance to ride the wagon Wednesday against the Razorbacks after hitting a home run in the top of the fourth to put the Aggies up 4-1. It was the second home run of the tournament for A&M after Jace LaViolette went yard on Tuesday in a 3-0 win against Tennessee.
The Aggies rank just 12th in the SEC with 79 home runs on the season so far. However, with the Whammy Wagon serving as a way to have fun and motivate the team, they’ll hope to get hot and make a postseason run.
Texas A&M falls to Arkansas in extra innings Wednesday
All the hype from the Whammy Wagon in the early going couldn’t help Texas A&M stave off a late push from Arkansas, as the Razorbacks claimed a 6-5 victory.
Jared Wegner got things going for Arkansas with a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to take a 5-4 lead. The Aggies responded with another home run in the ninth from Austin Bost to once again tie the game and send it into extra innings.
After a scoreless 10th inning, Razorbacks designated hitter Kendall Diggs put the game away for good with a walk-off home run to start off the 11th.
With the loss, the Aggies move on to face South Carolina in an elimination game on Thursday. That contest will begin at 9:30 a.m. CT.