Jace LaViolette’s Hand Injury Stuns Aggies in Critical SEC Tournament Game
I’ve got some tough news out of Hoover, Alabama — and it’s a real blow for Texas A&M baseball fans. Jace LaViolette, one of the Aggies’ most powerful hitters and a key piece of their postseason puzzle, was forced to leave Thursday’s SEC Tournament matchup against Auburn with an apparent hand injury. If you were watching the game, you could feel the shift in energy the moment it happened. It was the top of the fifth inning, and LaViolette was up against Auburn’s lefty pitcher Carson Myers. During the at-bat, Myers fired a pitch that rode in too far, and it struck LaViolette right on his left hand — his dominant hand — just as he checked his swing.
He didn’t go down immediately, but it was obvious he was in real discomfort. He made it to first base, but something wasn’t right. He removed his batting gloves using his teeth — clearly avoiding any use of the injured hand — and signaled to the dugout that he couldn’t continue. That moment said everything. Jamal George came in to pinch run for him, and just like that, one of the Aggies’ most explosive offensive weapons was out of the game.
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Let’s put this in perspective — LaViolette isn’t just another name on the roster. He entered the game with 18 home runs on the season and was hitting .259, numbers that have put him among the top prospects for this year’s MLB Draft. In fact, he’s ranked No. 7 overall by MLB Pipeline. Losing a player of that caliber during such a critical tournament run could shake any team.
The silence in the stadium after the hit was chilling. According to ESPN’s Kris Budden, you could hear LaViolette screaming from across the field. That’s not the kind of pain you brush off. Fortunately, there was an X-ray machine on site, so he didn’t have to leave for testing. Later in the broadcast, he was spotted back in the dugout with his left hand wrapped in a splint — not the image Aggies fans wanted to see.
Texas A&M was leading Auburn 3-1 at the time, thanks to a timely three-run homer by Kaeden Kent. But that score almost felt secondary compared to the uncertainty now surrounding LaViolette’s health and his status moving forward. The Aggies were looking to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals against powerhouse LSU, the top team in the country, but whether they’ll do it with or without their star outfielder remains the burning question.
It’s one of those moments in sports where everything hangs in the balance. For Jace LaViolette, we hope it’s a minor setback and not a season-altering injury. For Texas A&M, the road ahead just got a lot more uncertain.
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