Die-hard Aggie Boomer White adjusting to pro ball as Dust Devil

Boomer White still wears his Aggie Ring on his right hand most nights while taking batting practice for the Tri-City Dust Devils — hardly bizarre considering he superstitiously wore the ring during games while he was at Texas A&M.

The San Diego Padres 10th-round draft pick and Dust Devils third baseman stopped wearing the ring during live games when he turned pro after someone pointed out the potential for injury. But White is still undoubtedly a die-hard Aggie.

“Getting that ring means you’re now in the Aggie family, and growing up loving it, it’s tough to explain, but it means a lot,” White said. “My godfather, who raised me, was a yell leader for Texas A&M, and he raised me as an Aggie, so that’s where my love comes from.”

In his 11 years with the school, Texas A&M baseball coach Rob Childress said White was the only player he’d seen wear his Aggie Ring during a game.

White sat out the 2015 season for the Aggies after transferring from TCU. When he was finally eligible to play out his junior year in 2016, he made a huge impact for the Aggies, leading the team in batting average (.386), doubles (19) and on-base percentage (.462). He also struck out just 16 times in 259 at-bats.

But entering Saturday’s game, White was batting just .186 in his three weeks as a pro. He struck out seven times in 70 at-bats against Northwest League pitching that he said isn’t any better than what he faced in the SEC. The struggles White has faced as a Dust Devil, he said, are as difficult for him as an 0-for-28 slump he had during his freshman year at TCU.

“Not many big slumps — I went through a little one at A&M, but still, nothing bad,” he said. “I had a couple 0-fer games, and I thought that was the end of the world, and here it’s unfortunately been kind of regular. I think I’m just letting it pile on myself. I’ve just got to stick with an approach and keep pushing.”

Childress praised White’s approach at the plate and mentality during games — things White hopes will eventually lead him out of his hitting woes.

“There’s just not a specific way to get him out,” Childress said. “His approach is to the middle of the field; he stays through the ball very well. He can make adjustments throughout the course of games and series to continue to get hits, take his walks and continue to have solid days.”

White said one of his biggest problems in the past few weeks is allowing one poor play to affect his performance for the rest of a game, and even throughout the remainder of a series. To clear his head between games, White said he likes to get outside and golf, fish and hunt. He has played a few rounds at Sun Willows and Canyon Lakes since landing in the Tri-Cities.

LUCCHESI TO MAKE THIRD START

After Joey Lucchesi threw 111 innings for Southeast Missouri State last season, the plan for the San Diego fourth-round pick was to keep him in the Tri-City bullpen as to not tax the lefty’s arm.

Lucchesi made that plan tough to stick to. He has a 3.00 ERA and is averaging a strikeout per inning for the Dust Devils (15-13). He’s expected to make his third start Sunday night in the Dust Devils’ fifth and final game of their series against the Eugene Emeralds (19-9).

The Tri-City coaching staff is managing to keep Lucchesi’s pitch count low in his new role in the starting rotation — he went three innings last Monday against Vancouver. Manager Ben Fritz said he wanted to see more of the same from the 23-year-old (0-1), who allowed a hit and no runs against the Canadians.

“He really has three ‘plus’ pitches, and they’re in the zone,” Fritz said. “If he continues doing that, I think success will be there more times than not. Pitch with confidence, pitch in the zone, and he’ll be good.”

Lucchesi will face Eugene’s Pedro Silverio (1-1, 6.23 ERA) on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

LATE FRIDAY’S GAME

After the Dust Devils put up five runs in the first inning and led 6-0 after three, Fritz blamed complacency from himself and his players for the 9-7 loss they suffered at the hands of the Emeralds on Friday night at Gesa Stadium.

“Obviously we gave that game away,” Fritz said. “Everybody knows it; it’s a part of the game that sucks. My biggest thing is how we respond to it, not any talk about last night, just how we respond.”

Eugene tied the score with six runs in the top of the fourth, and the Emeralds put it away in the eighth with two more. Wladimir Galindo was a tough out for Dust Devil pitchers all night as he knocked two triples and scored two runs.

Former Coastal Carolina player G.K. Young continued to shine for the Dust Devils, driving in White on a double in the fifth. Entering Saturday’s contest, Young had hit safely in all three games he had played in and was batting .455.

This story was originally published July 16, 2016 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Die-hard Aggie Boomer White adjusting to pro ball as Dust Devil."