Jace Laviolette injury update: Texas A&M baseball star leaves SEC tournament with hand injury

(This story was updated with new information)

As Texas A&M baseball continues to fight for its NCAA Tournament hopes, the Aggies have lost a key member of their team.

In the top of the fifth inning of Thursday’s SEC baseball tournament game vs. No. 10 Auburn, Aggies star outfielder Jace Laviolette exited the game with an apparent hand injury after taking a pitch off his hand from Tigers’ left-hander pitcher Carson Myers.

Laviolette is one of the more recognizable names in the Aggies’ offense, and entered Thursday’s game with a .259 batting average and 18 home runs. He is ranked as the No. 7 prospect in this year’s upcoming MLB draft by MLB Pipeline.

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Texas A&M is currently leading Auburn 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning at Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. A win on Thursday would advance the Aggies to Friday’s quarterfinals vs. No. 3 seed LSU, No. 1 nationally ranked team in the country.

Here’s the latest on Laviolette’s injury:

Laviolette left Texas A&M’s second-round game vs. Auburn on Thursday with an apparent hand injury. The SEC Network Broadcast showed Laviolette attempting to swing at a pitch before the ball came in on him and hit him off his knuckles and the nob of the bat.

After initially taking a pitch to his hand during an at-bat, Laviolette trotted down to first base while showing signs of pain. The SEC Network broadcast then showed Laviolette signaling to the Aggies’ dugout that he couldn’t stay in the game.

He was replaced at first by pinch runner Jamal George, who would then enter the game in Laviolette’s place in the lineup the next half inning. After a lengthy time away from the dugout for X-rays, Laviolette was shown on the SEC Network broadcast returning to the dugout in the seventh inning with his left hand all wrapped up with a splint.

ESPN’s Kris Budden reported earlier on the SEC Network’s broadcast that Laviolette left the Aggies’ dugout for further testing after initially entering and going to sit on the bench once he came off the field.

“There is an X-Ray machine onsite so he does not have to leave and go to the hospital to have it checked out. He has not come back here in the dugout,” Budden reported. “When that happened, this place was so silent that from across the field that I could hear Jace screaming out in pain.”

What is Jace Laviolette’s injury?

While it has not been confirmed by Texas A&M, it appears that Laviolette sustained a hand injury in Thursday’s SEC tournament game.

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