Aggies conjure Olsen Magic to defeat SFA 6-5 in 12 innings

Game #4: Texas A&M 6, Stephen F. Austin 5

Olsen Magic can come in many different forms. On a Tuesday night at Olsen Field, it came in a rare form. As rare as an intentional walk gone awry.

The Texas A&M baseball team took the diamond again on Tuesday, fresh off of a weekend series with Bowling Green that can only be described as dominating. This time, the Ags welcomed the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks to town, and the game had a much different feel, as A&M had to fight from behind for a 6-5 win.  

In a back and forth game, the performance of the Aggie bullpen was a true difference-maker. SFA tagged Aggie starter John Doxakis for five runs, all earned, in the third inning of play, but the Jacks would not score another run all night long. The bullpen after Doxakis gave up only seven hits in nine and two thirds innings pitched. The pitching staff as a whole also issued only four walks. The backbone of the staff on Tuesday was the performance of relievers Cason Sherrod and Corbin Martin.

"Sherrod and Corbin gave us four good innings tonight and both were fantastic, " said head coach Rob Childress. "It was good to see Corbin get out of a couple of good jams there and that confidence will take him a long way."

After giving up five earned runs, the Aggie bats woke up. In the fourth inning, George Janca hit a triple over the center fielder's head that scored Blake Kopetsky and Joel Davis. In the fifth, Braden Shewmake tripled into the right center gap, then Walker Pennington promptly scored him on a sharp line drive single to left field.

The real back-breaker came in the sixth inning. Janca hit another triple, and then freshman Jorge Gutierrez pounced on a fastball and sent it off the scoreboard to tie the game. The home run was Gutierrez' third home run in just seven at bats.

"Just hard work, we work all week, every week and it is paying off, "said Gutierrez. "It has surprised me. If you would have told me I would have three home runs I would have laughed in your face. Obviously it is going out well for me so far, so hopefully it keeps going."

The magic itself came late, as the Aggies and Jacks pushed the game into the 12th inning.  With runners on first and third with one out, Lumberjacks pitcher Josh Ponder was all set to intentionally walk Aggie catcher Cole Bedford to load the bases. Fate had a different plan. Ponder bounced the first two pitches to the plate, and he then sailed the third pitch well over the catcher's outstretched arm. Shewmake turned on the jets and scored from third, beating the throw.

"You think you have seen it all, until you haven't seen it all, " said Childress. "Couldn't be more proud of our guys. After being down 5-0, we gave ourselves a chance to win there in the 12th."

The Ags will welcome the Pepperdine Waves to town for this weekend's series. Game one will be played at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Game two will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, and Sunday's conclusion will start at 1:00 p.m.