Aggies use big sixth inning, 13 total hits to defeat UTRGV, 16-7

Records: Texas A&M 10-3 (0-0), UTRGV 10-3 (0-0)

Texas A&M returned to the friendly confines of Olsen Field as they welcomed the UT-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros to town. The game was the start of a two-game series with the Vaqueros before the Ags take on Brown this weekend.  

Not five days after losing in heartbreaking fashion to both TCU and Baylor at the Shriners Houston College Classic, the Ags made some changes in the lineup and on the defensive end in hopes to ignite a spark.  

There may have been a slight hangover from the weekend's events, which may sound strange considering the score. However, the game was close for the first five innings. All told, the Ags combined to walk nine batters and the defense had two errors in the victory.  

"Certainly wasn't the cleanest of games, but we are not going to apologize for any ugly wins," said A&M head coach Rob Childress. "It would have been really easy for us to let that one get away, but we didn't do that."

John Doxakis drew the start but lasted only one and two-thirds innings, giving up four hits, four runs (one earned), and three walks while recording only two strikeouts.

Lee May Gonzalez replaced Doxakis but also lasted only one and two-thirds innings. His stat line consisted of one hit, one earned run, two walks, one hit batsmen, and a strikeout.  

It would feel like more of the same the rest of the evening.  

Freshman Jason Ruffcorn entered after Gonzalez and lasted one and one-third innings. The Cedar Park native surrendered one hit, one run, and walked two men. Veteran Cason Sherrod was the fourth Aggie hurler to visit the mound. His evening also lasted one and one-third innings, with one hit, two walks and one strikeout on seven batters faced. 

"Five of the first six innings, we walked the lead-off hitter to set up innings for them from the word go," said Childress. "It all starts on the mound, and we have ridden Doxakis all year and we need to let him hit the reset button to get fresh and pitch like he can. That is my fault."

A pleasant surprise on the evening was the collegiate debut of left-handed pitcher Tristen Bayless. The Hutto native chunked three innings of one-hit and one-run baseball. Despite pegging two batters, the freshman struck out four to lead the team on the evening. 

"I threw a 20-25 pitch bullpen this morning just to stay fresh, since this is my first outing. You just have to go through the rhythm," said Bayless. "I was waiting for my turn, and it feels amazing. Just to have the defense behind me is everything I could ever want. It is crazy and a real dream come true."

Some more good news? The Aggie bats showed up, as evidenced by 16 runs and 13 hits. A nine-run sixth inning was the key in the victory, but the Ags scored runs in the first (four runs), the second (one run), the fifth (two runs), the sixth (nine runs). Of those nine runs scored, seven came with two outs.  

Leading the Aggie offensive tirade was freshman Logan Foster. The Nebraska native went 2-6, with a double and a triple to his name. Foster also scored three runs and knocked in two himself.

"This weekend was a heart-breaker, but everyone was hungry even yesterday," said Foster. "We started in the first inning with a great approach at the plate, and everyone was ready to go. They bounced back, and you have to win the inning, which we did tonight."

In the end, nine Aggies notched hits, with four Ags having two hits. Those four Aggies were Logan Foster, Braden Shewmake, Blake Kopetsky and Cole Bedford. The key plays in the game all involved Austin Homan, however. The senior was hit by a pitch with one out in the fifth inning, then made a gutsy move going from first to third on a wild pitch, and finally score on a passed ball. 

"The turning point of the game was in the bottom of the fifth. Austin Homan gets hit, then hustles on a passed ball all the way to third," said Childress. "I felt like that gave us some life and energy. We ended up running away from them in the sixth inning." 

With the victory, the Aggies notched their tenth win of the season. The team will be back out at Olsen Field tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. as they take on UTRGV again in the final game of the series. Left-hander Kaylor Chafin will be starting the game on the mound for the Aggies.