Texas A&M rides strong bullpen outings to 6-3 victory over Auburn

Game #32: Texas A&M 6, Auburn 3

Records: Texas A&M 21-11 (4-7 SEC); Auburn 24-9 (8-3 SEC);
WP: Kaylor Chafin (3-1)

LP: Keegan Thompson (4-1)
S: Mitchell Kilkenny (3)

Throughout the early part of the season a lot of the questions surrounding the A&M baseball team centered around the struggles in the bullpen. For the time being, talk of bullpen struggles may need to be tabled.

On Saturday, the Aggies rode stellar bullpen performances from Kaylor Chafin and Mitchell Kilkenny to a 6-3 victory over the No. 11 Auburn Tigers.

A&M starter Corbin Martin struggled early on Saturday and threw 86 pitches, laboring through three innings of work. Auburn got to Martin early and got on the board in the top of the first inning with a three-run jack to left by catcher Blake Logan. 

The rally was started by a two-out walk. During the at-bat, Martin just missed strike three off the plate.

“We didn’t get a call in the first inning, and just like that it is 3-0. It looked like they saw his (Corbin Martin) secondary stuff, did a good job laying off it and were very competitive against him, took a lot of pitches against him,” said Rob Childress.

The Aggies didn’t wait long to respond, though. They started to get to Auburn starter Keegan Thompson in the bottom of the second inning. After Walker Pennington executed a sacrifice bunt to move two runners into scoring position, Jorge Gutierrez came to the plate and did not disappoint.

Gutierrez wrapped a double around the first base bag and down the right field line for two RBI that cut the Auburn lead to 3-2 after two innings. A&M took the lead for good, however, in the bottom of the third on a Hunter Coleman two-run home run to right-center to make it 4-3. It was Coleman’s first home run as an Aggie.

“I don’t remember much. I didn’t know if it was getting out. I just remember looking up and seeing the outfielders turn around without the ball. That’s when I knew,” said Coleman.

That was all the run support the A&M bullpen would need. With the Aggies holding a one-run lead after three innings, head coach Rob Childress had a choice to make.

“Made the decision after three innings to make a move. Fortunately, it paid off," he said.

It paid off, indeed. Over the final six innings of the game, the bullpen tandem of Chafin and Kilkenny were flawless, allowing just four hits, no runs and striking out eight.

Chafin was able to get out of a big jam in the bottom of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and one out. Chafin induced a swinging bunt from Auburn left-fielder Bowen McGuffin. Hunter Coleman fielded it, touched home and fired to first for an inning-ending double play.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen in 27 years a 2-3 double play. Maybe I have and forgotten it, but he (Chafin) just made big pitches. It’s not about him developing as a pitcher. He has just really grown up and been a rock for us out of the bullpen,” added Childress on his reliever's performance.

A&M added two more runs over the final four innings. One came in the fifth inning on a Cam Blake two-out RBI-single and another in the sixth when George Janca scored on a wild pitch to extend the A&M lead to 6-3.

Rob Childress turned the ball over to Kilkenny with two outs in the seventh. He retired seven of the last nine batters he faced and struck out four on his way to a seven-out save. 

“I love it. There’s a lot of energy and a lot of excitement in the crowd every time I come in. I just have to give it my all for a little bit, instead of a full game,” said Kilkenny on adjusting to his new closer role.

The Aggies will go for the series victory against Auburn tomorrow at Olsen Field. Stephen Kolek will take the mound for A&M in the rubber match, and first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.