Dynamic performance from Weber lifts Aggies over Prairie View A&M, 9-1
Game #5: Texas A&M 9, Prairie View A&M 1
Records: Texas A&M (5-0, 0-0), Prairie View A&M (1-3, 0-0)
WP: Chris Weber (1-0)
LP: Brian Williams (0-1)
SV: None
Box Score
After a rough outing on Saturday night, freshman pitcher Chris Weber tossed a gem on Wednesday night and got the late-inning run support he needed as the Aggies downed Prairie View A&M, 9-1.
The southpaw was scathed with for four runs in the ninth inning, the only frame he pitched in the Aggies 19-6 win over Fordham on Friday night. Weber bounced back on Wednesday night, blanking the Panthers in six innings pitched and allowing just five hits.
“He had been great for us all fall certainly answered the bell tonight, he went six shutout innings and pitched great,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “He was incredibly efficient and had a four-pitch mix. That’s the guy we recruited.”
The A&M offense took their time finding their rhythm as they were held scoreless for the first five innings. However, the bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth as Braden Shewmake, Logan Foster, Zach DeLoach, and Jonathan Ducoff were driven home. A&M slugger Will Frizzell said that the offensive explosion was a result of being a little bit too aggressive at the dish.
“It’s a different culture that we’re trying to set, the care level is just so high,” Frizzell said. “At the beginning of the game we started to press a little bit but we settled down later in the game.”
The Aggies built off of their sixth inning momentum with a two-run seventh. Frizzell smashed a double to left field plating Foster who reached base via a walk. Mason Corbett then came in to pinch run for Frizzell. Ducoff drove Corbett home on a fielder’s choice.
Allonte Wingate and Brett Brown both reached base in the eighth inning and highlighted a cast of pinch hitters that brought the Aggie offense a breath of fresh air. In total, a whopping 16 different Aggies dug in against the Panthers. Childress said those new looks are something he’s looking to get out of the first portion of the season.
“The first three weeks of the year we play five games a week so we get to see some guys that maybe you don’t get to see later in the season,” Childress said. “You might find a guy that you haven’t seen when the lights come on.”
The Aggies will look to keep their win streak intact as they host a three-game series against Illionis-Chicago at Olsen Field this weekend. The series will kickoff on Friday evening with first pitch slated for 6:32 p.m.
“They’re an older bunch and they have a lot of postseason aspirations,” Childress said. “We have played them before in Regional settings and their staff does an amazing job. We will have our hands full this weekend and it should be a great series.”