Rob Childress
Ryne Birk
Turner Larkins
Texas A&M Baseball
Aggies utilize explosive seventh inning to take down Yale, 10-2
GAME #12: Texas A&M 10, Yale 2
RECORDS: Texas A&M 11-1, Yale 0-3
WP: Turner Larkins (1-0)
LP: Kumar Nambiar (0-1)
BOX SCORE
Sometimes you roll out of bed feeling great, ready to take on the day. Sometimes you need some coffee, and it takes you a little while to hit your stride. Sunday was the latter for the Texas A&M baseball team.
After a groggy start, the Aggies eventually woke up during an explosive, nine-run seventh inning. Thanks to the late-game offensive showcase, Texas A&M defeated Yale, 10-2, and finished off the three-game sweep of the Bulldogs.
The first few innings of the game were anything but exciting for the Aggie faithful in the stands. While Kyle Simonds struggled with his command from the mound, the Aggie bats failed to produce much of anything during the first six innings.
Yale scored an unearned run in the second after a Simonds error and plated another off the right-hander in the fourth, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead going into the seventh. That's when the slumbering Aggie offense finally broke through.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Ryne Birk tripled and homered during the seventh inning, driving in three runs.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Ryne Birk tripled and homered during the seventh inning, driving in three runs.","MediaItemID":54274}
With Michael Barash on first, Ryne Birk stepped up to the plate and sent a home run into the right field bullpen. The two-run shot gave the Aggies the lead for good, but it didn't stop there -- not even close.
The rest of the inning was a nightmare for the visiting Bulldogs. Aggie hitters took out all the frustration of the first six innings during the seventh, batting around and racking up a total of 9 runs on 8 hits.
Birk took full advantage of his second opportunity, smashing an RBI triple into right center field. A few moments later, he came around to score the final run of the rally on a Joe Davis single. It was Birk's third triple of the weekend.
"You just kind of get lucky sometimes. You put it in the gap, and you get to run a little bit. I tried to show off a little speed for the guys (and was) messing around a little bit. It was a fun weekend."
It took a little while for the Aggies to find their way on the mound as well. Simonds threw four shaky innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks. With the Aggie bats struggling in the early-going, the Maroon and White needed a stabilizing presence in the field.
That's exactly what reliever Turner Larkins proved to be. The sophomore tossed three innings of shutout baseball and gave up only two hits before turning the ball over to Ryan Hendrix and Mark Ecker to close out the game.
"Turner Larkins did a great job of giving us a chance to come back and win the game with his hold," head coach Rob Childress said. "The big boys did what they needed to do at the end of the game."
It may have taken a bit longer than most expected, but the bottom line is that Texas A&M got it done on the diamond once again.
The Aggies will return to Olsen on Tuesday and Wednesday for two mid-week contests with Northwestern State.
RECORDS: Texas A&M 11-1, Yale 0-3
WP: Turner Larkins (1-0)
LP: Kumar Nambiar (0-1)
BOX SCORE
Sometimes you roll out of bed feeling great, ready to take on the day. Sometimes you need some coffee, and it takes you a little while to hit your stride. Sunday was the latter for the Texas A&M baseball team.
After a groggy start, the Aggies eventually woke up during an explosive, nine-run seventh inning. Thanks to the late-game offensive showcase, Texas A&M defeated Yale, 10-2, and finished off the three-game sweep of the Bulldogs.
The first few innings of the game were anything but exciting for the Aggie faithful in the stands. While Kyle Simonds struggled with his command from the mound, the Aggie bats failed to produce much of anything during the first six innings.
Yale scored an unearned run in the second after a Simonds error and plated another off the right-hander in the fourth, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead going into the seventh. That's when the slumbering Aggie offense finally broke through.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Ryne Birk tripled and homered during the seventh inning, driving in three runs.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Ryne Birk tripled and homered during the seventh inning, driving in three runs.","MediaItemID":54274}
The rest of the inning was a nightmare for the visiting Bulldogs. Aggie hitters took out all the frustration of the first six innings during the seventh, batting around and racking up a total of 9 runs on 8 hits.
Birk took full advantage of his second opportunity, smashing an RBI triple into right center field. A few moments later, he came around to score the final run of the rally on a Joe Davis single. It was Birk's third triple of the weekend.
"You just kind of get lucky sometimes. You put it in the gap, and you get to run a little bit. I tried to show off a little speed for the guys (and was) messing around a little bit. It was a fun weekend."
It took a little while for the Aggies to find their way on the mound as well. Simonds threw four shaky innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks. With the Aggie bats struggling in the early-going, the Maroon and White needed a stabilizing presence in the field.
That's exactly what reliever Turner Larkins proved to be. The sophomore tossed three innings of shutout baseball and gave up only two hits before turning the ball over to Ryan Hendrix and Mark Ecker to close out the game.
"Turner Larkins did a great job of giving us a chance to come back and win the game with his hold," head coach Rob Childress said. "The big boys did what they needed to do at the end of the game."
It may have taken a bit longer than most expected, but the bottom line is that Texas A&M got it done on the diamond once again.
The Aggies will return to Olsen on Tuesday and Wednesday for two mid-week contests with Northwestern State.
Never miss the latest news from TexAgs!
Join our free email list
