Team effort carries Aggies to 12-inning win against Cal, 4-3

GAME #60: Texas A&M 4, California 3
RECORDS: Texas A&M 48-12 (3-1), California 36-20 (2-1)
WP: Jason Freeman (4-0)
LP: Lucas Erceg (0-1)

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COLLEGE STATION- Sports fans are similar to adrenaline junkies.

You often risk your sanity in hopes of the ultimate payoff.

For Aggies, the top of the ninth and onward in Sunday’s 4-3 win was that ultimate high.

First, there was the starting pitcher, who’s return to a starting role after a torn ACL looked like a pipe dream most of the season.

Making his first start of the year, Tyler Stubblefield did not have the dream opening frame. After an opening bunt tested his repaired knee and scored a lead off single, Cal took advantage with a single and sacrifice fly to jump ahead 1-0.

After that, Stubblefield was nothing if not gutsy.

He worked five innings and gave up just the single run. In a moment of such intense magnitude, that is all A&M head coach Rob Childress could have wished for.

“I was hoping we would get three innings out of him, just get us off to a solid start.” Said Childress. “Far and away, he exceeded those expectations.

During that time, A&M struggled to get anyone on base for four of the lefty’s five frames, the one exception being the fourth.

With a 1-0 count, Ryne Birk led off the inning with a line drive homerun to right and A&M had its second run in 18 innings against the California pitching staff. From that point, neither team scored until the seventh.

That’s when the blood really began to pump.

Two outs gone, Jonathan Moroney, making his first start of the regional, laced a double up the middle to extend the inning. After Logan Nottebrok walked, Michael Barash singled up the middle and gave A&M its first lead of the game at 2-1.

The lead lasted an entire third of an inning before Cal climbed back.

The same man who crushed the Aggies one night ago, Mitchell Kranson, gave it his best shot again with a lead off homerun that just cleared the wall in right and brought the score to a 2-2 standstill. While the Golden Bears wouldn’t score another run in the inning, the drama was far from over.

Kyle Simonds took the hill from Corbin Martin and relinquished it to Blake Kopetsky one walk later. That move is one Childress was not pleased about.

“I was mad at myself for not letting Blake (Kopetsky) start that inning with two lefties coming up. Corbin Martin’s stuff had been really sharp and you want to save the guys you can, but at this point, you have to empty the chamber.”

With the bases loaded, Kopetsky forced a grounder to Hunter Melton that resulted in a must have out at home. In came Mark Ecker, reeling off his recent substandard outings. Four pitches and one strikeout later, his whole mindset had changed.

“Coach Childress came up and told me to just ‘Bring it.’ That got me back on the horse and got me going.”

Despite the tied score, it felt like the Aggies had seized the momentum. Things quickly switched again after A&M left a runner stranded on third in the top of the eighth inning.

Cal seized their chance when Chris Paul lifted the first pitch he saw to left field. Logan Taylor lost the ball in the lights and could only flail as it landed some 30 feet behind him. Paul rounded third and nearly decided to go home before retreating to third. He scored one play later and A&M found itself three outs from finished.

With one out, Logan Nottebrok singled over the short stop and was quickly pulled for the swift footed Nick Choruby. The other move Childress made was pulling Barash in favor of Ronnie Gideon, a decision he discussed after the game.

“We felt like he had a chance to pop one. He sat there for a long time today, but we talked about staying committed to your team,” He continued. “So that when your opportunity comes, you’re probably going to have success.”

I believe ripping a first pitch fastball down the left field line to score the tying run from first classifies as success. The folks at Olsen Field certainly did as Olsen exploded with reinvigorated enthusiasm.

For three innings, both teams traded blows with strikeouts and critical saves until the 12th inning.

With two outs, Mitchell Nau singled through the left side and was joined on base when Logan Taylor’s ground ball was thrown high and pulled the first baseman from the bag.

That set the stage for Nick Banks, who was intentionally walked his previous two at bats.

“I thought I would get my opportunity before that, but I was craving for it”

His cravings were satisfied with an RBI single to center that nearly wasn’t. Logan Taylor, coming from first was tagged out stretching to third. The glove met the body just moments after Mitchell Nau crossed home.

Ironic as it was, California would not have the same luck the next half.

With a runner at second, Chris Paul grounded to the right side of the infield, where Melton was pulled off first. He saw Mitchell Nau at home and fired that way, catching Aaron Knapp in a pickle.

After a toss to Ronnie Gideon, the Aggies were shorthanded and likely would have played another inning if Gideon didn’t go for the all out chase.

“I gave a pump fake, which we usually don’t do, but it gave me enough time to get him.”

That split second proved to be all A&M needed to live another day as Gideon lunged forward in time to secure the game winning out.