A&M Boys vs. Condon: Powerful superstars set to rock Blue Bell Park
In rock music, a "power trio" speaks for itself.
Many three-musician lineups, such as Rush, have found fame and fortunes for their loud, impressive sounds.
But this weekend, a different type of power trio will take center stage as Texas A&M stars Braden Montgomery and Jace LaViolette meet Georgia's Charlie Condon in College Station.
Instead of a battle of the bands, it’s a battle of the bats, which will produce loud, impressive sounds of their own.
“I’m a fan too,” A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle told TexAgs Radio on Thursday morning. “When a season’s over, you look back like, ‘What just happened, and did I truly appreciate that?’ Because it’s not always going to be like this. Those are very rare players to have in a program, and they’re very rare to get in college baseball. I’m a fan too.”
In a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series at Blue Bell Park, Southeastern Conference baseball fans might expect an awe-inspiring power display when the top-ranked Aggies (36-5, 13-5) host the No. 20 Bulldogs (30-10, 9-9).
Of course, three men will be at the forefront. And it's not Lee, Lifeson and Peart.
Together, these modern-day warriors make up three-fourths of the SEC's top hitters. Only Florida's Jac Caglianone will be absent this weekend.
These kinds of matchups are somewhat rare.
“I was in the ACC with Jason Varitek and (Nomar) Garciaparra at Georgia Tech, but that was 30 years ago almost,” Schlossnagle said at a Thursday afternoon press conference. “Last year, you had games where you had [Wyatt Langford], Tommy White, (Dylan) Crews and Caliganone. They’re out there.
“There are great players. There’s just more great players now. It’s not just Condon, Jace and Braden. It’s all the guys. It’s the supporting cast.”
Of course, A&M is chasing its program record for homers in a single season. The Aggies have mashed 88 in 41 games, which is on pace to surpass the 128 clubbed in 1999.
Georgia has jumped the yard 101 times. That’s only eight shy of their school record.
The three players in question have played key roles in that damage, and their numbers speak for themselves.
Montgomery ranks fourth nationally in home runs with 22. LaViolette's 20 are good for sixth.
The A&M Boys are the first 20-home run pairing in program history.
They're also slugging .890 and .815, respectively.
As impressive as they are, those statistics somehow falter compared to Condon's.
In a most unlikely rise to collegiate superstardom, the former walk-on has amassed 26 bombs and is slugging a mind-boggling 1.097 in 2024.
A redshirt sophomore who bats second for Georgia, Condon leads the nation in average (.477), hits (74), home runs, slugging percentage and total bases (170).
“He’s a good hitter. He uses the whole field for the most part,” Schlossnagle said. “You’re going to have to give something up. He covers both sides of the plate. He handles off-speed pitches.
“You just have to limit damage done by the people around him. …If you start thinking about one guy, all of the other ones will beat you.”
Two of the three are quickly closing in on professional futures.
According to MLB.com's Wednesday update, Montgomery and Condon are both among the top five draft-eligible prospects ahead of July's selection process. LaViolette projects to join them as a first-rounder in 2025.
Condon’s meteoric rise continues to trend toward being July’s top pick. Ironically, Cleveland — "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World" — selects first in the upcoming MLB Draft.
For now, all three appear on the Golden Spikes Award's midseason watchlist. Each is a first-team all-conference shoo-in and an All-American candidate.
And for three days in late April, they'll share the "Limelight" on the same diamond.
The only individuals likely not looking forward to such a show are the pitchers tasked with facing them.
“They’re probably going to get their hits as they come along,” Schlossnagle said. “You just got to make sure they’re not bunched together or surrounded by walks and errors. All you can do is control what you can control, and that’s executing pitches.”
Oh, and forecasts call for a southwind to blow out of Olsen Field this weekend.
Not that this triumvirate needs any help...