Rob Childress
Boomer White
Andrew Vinson
J.B. Moss
Texas A&M Baseball
Aggies fight through early struggles to take down Ole Miss, 11-5
GAME #53: Texas A&M 11, Ole Miss 5
RECORDS: Texas A&M 41-12 (20-9 SEC); Ole Miss 39-16 (17-12 SEC)
WP: Stephen Kolek (3-0)
LP: David Parkinson (4-3)
S: Andrew Vinson
BOX SCORE
There's something to be said for being able to take a hit and hit back almost immediately. From boxing to football to baseball, responding to adversity is admired throughout the world of sports.
Let's just say the Texas A&M baseball team can take a punch.
Fighting back from an early deficit, the Aggies hit back hard every time No. 7 Ole Miss took a shot at them on Friday night, displaying toughness on both the mound and at the plate en route to a series-clinching win, 11-5.
Ole Miss landed the first punch, and it was a doozy. Shelling Aggie starter Turner Larkins for three runs on two hits and two walks in the top of the first inning, the Rebels took an early lead and got into the A&M bullpen after just four outs.
Stephen Kolek entered the game in the second to stop the bleeding, but it was the Aggie bats that really turned the game around.
Abigail Cook, TexAgs
White gave the Aggies a shot in the arm, going 4-5 on the night.
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In the bottom of the second, Texas A&M delivered a haymaker and tattooed Ole Miss starter David Parkinson for six runs. Helped out by a Rebel error, the Aggies recorded five hits in the inning, including a three-run bomb from Boomer White, his fourth of the season.
Ole Miss struck back in the fourth and scored a run after the lead-off hitter doubled off of Kolek, but the Aggies did the Rebels one better in the bottom half of the frame.
Austin Homan laid down a bunt single to start the rally and scored quickly on another single from J.B. Moss. White followed that with a double, and Hunter Melton dropped a single into right-center to extend the Aggie lead to four, 8-4.
The Rebels finally chased Kolek in the fifth, scoring another run and leaving two men on base with no outs, but the Aggies were ready to deliver the knockout blow.
Andrew Vinson took the ball from Kolek and stopped Ole Miss in its tracks, striking out two and finishing the inning in masterful fashion.
Vinson carried the Aggies the rest of the way, throwing a total of five innings and allowing just one hit while striking out an impressive eight hitters. As the senior puts it, he lives for big games and big situations.
"It's what I came here to do," Vinson said of playing for an SEC championship. "I love the intensity out there when the fans get into it. It makes it very easy to pitch and very fun to pitch."
The Aggies weren't finished at the plate, either. Jonathan Moroney hit a two-run shot to left field in the seventh and Ryne Birk hit an RBI-single in the eighth to push the lead to six and complete the surprisingly comfortable win, 11-5.
"(I saw) a lot of toughness out of our guys for continuing to respond after we were down," head coach Rob Childress said. "It would have been easy to say, 'It wasn't our day,' but we punched back in a hurry."
With the win, the Aggies secured a bye in the SEC Tournament and kept their regular season SEC championship hopes alive. Another win over the Rebels tomorrow would clinch at least a share of the title.
They just have to keep punching.
RECORDS: Texas A&M 41-12 (20-9 SEC); Ole Miss 39-16 (17-12 SEC)
WP: Stephen Kolek (3-0)
LP: David Parkinson (4-3)
S: Andrew Vinson
BOX SCORE
There's something to be said for being able to take a hit and hit back almost immediately. From boxing to football to baseball, responding to adversity is admired throughout the world of sports.
Let's just say the Texas A&M baseball team can take a punch.
Fighting back from an early deficit, the Aggies hit back hard every time No. 7 Ole Miss took a shot at them on Friday night, displaying toughness on both the mound and at the plate en route to a series-clinching win, 11-5.
Ole Miss landed the first punch, and it was a doozy. Shelling Aggie starter Turner Larkins for three runs on two hits and two walks in the top of the first inning, the Rebels took an early lead and got into the A&M bullpen after just four outs.
Stephen Kolek entered the game in the second to stop the bleeding, but it was the Aggie bats that really turned the game around.
Abigail Cook, TexAgs
White gave the Aggies a shot in the arm, going 4-5 on the night.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"White gave the Aggies a shot in the arm, going 4-5 on the night.","MediaItemID":69590}
Ole Miss struck back in the fourth and scored a run after the lead-off hitter doubled off of Kolek, but the Aggies did the Rebels one better in the bottom half of the frame.
Austin Homan laid down a bunt single to start the rally and scored quickly on another single from J.B. Moss. White followed that with a double, and Hunter Melton dropped a single into right-center to extend the Aggie lead to four, 8-4.
The Rebels finally chased Kolek in the fifth, scoring another run and leaving two men on base with no outs, but the Aggies were ready to deliver the knockout blow.
Andrew Vinson took the ball from Kolek and stopped Ole Miss in its tracks, striking out two and finishing the inning in masterful fashion.
Vinson carried the Aggies the rest of the way, throwing a total of five innings and allowing just one hit while striking out an impressive eight hitters. As the senior puts it, he lives for big games and big situations.
"It's what I came here to do," Vinson said of playing for an SEC championship. "I love the intensity out there when the fans get into it. It makes it very easy to pitch and very fun to pitch."
The Aggies weren't finished at the plate, either. Jonathan Moroney hit a two-run shot to left field in the seventh and Ryne Birk hit an RBI-single in the eighth to push the lead to six and complete the surprisingly comfortable win, 11-5.
"(I saw) a lot of toughness out of our guys for continuing to respond after we were down," head coach Rob Childress said. "It would have been easy to say, 'It wasn't our day,' but we punched back in a hurry."
With the win, the Aggies secured a bye in the SEC Tournament and kept their regular season SEC championship hopes alive. Another win over the Rebels tomorrow would clinch at least a share of the title.
They just have to keep punching.
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