Rob Childress
Blake Allemand
Ryan Hendrix
Texas A&M Baseball
Aggie baseball survives scare, tops DBU 7-5 to stay perfect
GAME #13: Texas A&M 7, Dallas Baptist 5
RECORDS: Texas A&M 13-0; Dallas Baptist 6-2
WP: Andrew Vinson (1-0)
LP: Drew Smith (0-1)
S: Ryan Hendrix (3)
BOX SCORE: Link
The one argument against the success of the Texas A&M baseball team this year was that they hadn't passed a big test.
You can check that one off the list.
On Tuesday night with the wind blowing out at Olsen Field, the Aggies bested the Dallas Baptist Patriots in a back-and-forth tilt 7-5.
The Aggies opened the game as they have so many others this season, scoring in the first inning. Senior Blake Allemand blasted a triple off the right field wall to lead off the game. Shortly after that, Mitchell Nau punched home the RBI by grounding out to the shortstop.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Senior shortstop Blake Allemand turned two pivotal double plays late in the game to help secure the win.
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All went silent at the plate for a while, as DBU pitcher Jay Calhoun retired the next ten batters he faced. Texas A&M's offense exploded in the fourth, however, when Nick Banks knocked in a two-run double down the left field line.
Logan Taylor, the next batter up, one-upped Banks. Crushing a home run over the "400" sign in center field, he drove in two more runs to give the Aggies a 5-2 lead in the fourth inning.
The Patriots didn't go away easily. After a long home run of its own in the second inning, Dallas Baptist tacked on one run in the fourth and two in the fifth, closing the gap and making it a one-run ballgame.
The visitors scored again in the seventh. One batter after Ryne Birk bobbled a possible double-play ball that could have ended the inning, pitcher Ty Schlottman gave up a game-tying single to right field.
Birk didn't stay down for long.
In the bottom half of the inning, with men on first and second, Birk hit a line-drive single into left field to score the game-clinching run. Later in the inning, Hunter Melton walked with the bases loaded to score another.
Allemand took us through the night at the plate.
"(Coach Will Bolt) said 'Just keep coming. Back the ball up. Keep our approach.' We were going to hammer those off-speed pitches," he said. "We had to calm down, get back, see the ball deep and get back to our approach."
As clutch as the Maroon and White were at the plate, they were even more so on the mound and on the dirt. The Aggie pitchers gave up 14 hits on the night to a loaded Dallas Baptist line-up, but timely strikeouts and defense kept the floodgates from opening.
Freshman Turner Larkins started on the bump for the Aggies. Allowing 4 runs on 7 hits through 4.2 innings, he handed the ball to Kyle Simonds with a 5-4 lead. The Aggies spent the rest of the night pitching by committee.
After Simonds, Ty Schlottman, Andrew Vinson and Ryan Hendrix tried their hands at the Patriot line-up. The bullpen only allowed one run through the final 4.1 innings, continuing the stellar performance that has carried it throughout the young season.
Hendrix was particularly effective in the closing role. Helped out by two athletic double plays by Allemand, he threw 1.2 innings and allowed only 1 hit. Hendrix got the save and knew that his defense had his back in the final inning.
"We have a great infield," he said. "I knew I was going to throw a fastball out, and he was going to line a double play up the middle. So, I knew what was happening. I just had a feeling."
Head Coach Rob Childress talked about the increase in the level of competition.
"(It's) an offense that's a lot like ours. They don't quit," he said. "One through nine, you can't come up for air. We saw (the best) pitching we've seen all year, and may see for some time. There were a lot of punches thrown by both teams, and we were lucky to come out on top."
The Aggies will leave the friendly confines of Blue Bell Park for the first time this weekend, traveling to Houston for the Astros College Classic.
RECORDS: Texas A&M 13-0; Dallas Baptist 6-2
WP: Andrew Vinson (1-0)
LP: Drew Smith (0-1)
S: Ryan Hendrix (3)
BOX SCORE: Link
The one argument against the success of the Texas A&M baseball team this year was that they hadn't passed a big test.
You can check that one off the list.
On Tuesday night with the wind blowing out at Olsen Field, the Aggies bested the Dallas Baptist Patriots in a back-and-forth tilt 7-5.
The Aggies opened the game as they have so many others this season, scoring in the first inning. Senior Blake Allemand blasted a triple off the right field wall to lead off the game. Shortly after that, Mitchell Nau punched home the RBI by grounding out to the shortstop.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Senior shortstop Blake Allemand turned two pivotal double plays late in the game to help secure the win.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Senior shortstop Blake Allemand turned two pivotal double plays late in the game to help secure the win.","MediaItemID":53811}
Logan Taylor, the next batter up, one-upped Banks. Crushing a home run over the "400" sign in center field, he drove in two more runs to give the Aggies a 5-2 lead in the fourth inning.
The Patriots didn't go away easily. After a long home run of its own in the second inning, Dallas Baptist tacked on one run in the fourth and two in the fifth, closing the gap and making it a one-run ballgame.
The visitors scored again in the seventh. One batter after Ryne Birk bobbled a possible double-play ball that could have ended the inning, pitcher Ty Schlottman gave up a game-tying single to right field.
Birk didn't stay down for long.
In the bottom half of the inning, with men on first and second, Birk hit a line-drive single into left field to score the game-clinching run. Later in the inning, Hunter Melton walked with the bases loaded to score another.
Allemand took us through the night at the plate.
"(Coach Will Bolt) said 'Just keep coming. Back the ball up. Keep our approach.' We were going to hammer those off-speed pitches," he said. "We had to calm down, get back, see the ball deep and get back to our approach."
As clutch as the Maroon and White were at the plate, they were even more so on the mound and on the dirt. The Aggie pitchers gave up 14 hits on the night to a loaded Dallas Baptist line-up, but timely strikeouts and defense kept the floodgates from opening.
Freshman Turner Larkins started on the bump for the Aggies. Allowing 4 runs on 7 hits through 4.2 innings, he handed the ball to Kyle Simonds with a 5-4 lead. The Aggies spent the rest of the night pitching by committee.
After Simonds, Ty Schlottman, Andrew Vinson and Ryan Hendrix tried their hands at the Patriot line-up. The bullpen only allowed one run through the final 4.1 innings, continuing the stellar performance that has carried it throughout the young season.
Hendrix was particularly effective in the closing role. Helped out by two athletic double plays by Allemand, he threw 1.2 innings and allowed only 1 hit. Hendrix got the save and knew that his defense had his back in the final inning.
"We have a great infield," he said. "I knew I was going to throw a fastball out, and he was going to line a double play up the middle. So, I knew what was happening. I just had a feeling."
Head Coach Rob Childress talked about the increase in the level of competition.
"(It's) an offense that's a lot like ours. They don't quit," he said. "One through nine, you can't come up for air. We saw (the best) pitching we've seen all year, and may see for some time. There were a lot of punches thrown by both teams, and we were lucky to come out on top."
The Aggies will leave the friendly confines of Blue Bell Park for the first time this weekend, traveling to Houston for the Astros College Classic.
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