Jonathan Childress blanks Incarnate Word, leads Aggies to tenth straight win
Game #10: No. 18 Texas A&M 4, Incarnate Word 0
Record: Texas A&M (10-0), Incarnate Word (4-3)
WP: Jonathan Childress (2-0)
LP: Michael Garza (0-2)
Save: Chris Weber (1)
Box Score
The weather wasn't the only "Chilly" that Incarnate Word struggled with on Wednesday night.
On a crisp night with temperatures in the mid-40s, Texas A&M starting pitcher Jonathan Childress blanked the UIW Cardinals over his five innings of work as the No. 18 Aggies cruised to a 4-0 win, improving to 10-0 for the first time since 2015 (A&M would start 24-0 that season). Following Childress' departure, Chris Weber picked up where he left off, hurling four innings of shutout ball himself.
The shutout victory comes one night after the Aggie pitching staff held Houston Baptist scoreless in an identical 4-0 final. It is the first time Texas A&M pitching has thrown back-to-back shutouts since May of 2016, the first of which came via Kyle Simonds' no-hitter vs. Vanderbilt.
"We didn't give up any runs, that's what I like most," said A&M head coach Rob Childress. "I thought both of those sophomores were outstanding tonight; threw a lot of strikes and didn't create a lot of problems for themselves."
Making his second start since Tommy John surgery, left-hander Jonathan Childress threw 70 pitches as the Aggies continue to build up his endurance and workload. The A&M starter allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out seven Cardinals in his second win of 2019, utilizing his curveball as his out pitch off of masterful location with his fastball. Childress faced just one batter over the minimum.
"I felt great all the way through my whole start, I still feel good now," Jonathan Childress said. "I haven't thrown 70 pitches in I don't even know how long. I didn't even throw 70 last year. It was great to extend out a little bit."
Chris Weber was fantastic in relief – he was the only call to the bullpen A&M would need. A freshman All-American in 2019, Weber would need just 58 pitches to work through the final four innings, allowing just two hits himself and punching out four UIW hitters. The lefty benefitted from stout defense, including a web-gem double play from a diving Trevor Werner and Bryce Blaum, who made a bare-handed catch on the flip, in the sixth.
Although Weber worked his way into the starting rotation at the tail end of 2019, he showed how vital of a weapon he can be for the Ags out of the pen.
"I thought he was fabulous tonight," Rob Childress said. "He made us keep him in the game for those four innings."
With the cold weather and strong north wind, the offense lacked any real pop again tonight, instead utilizing the aggressive base running style Chad Caillet and Co. hope to employ as the season progresses. At one point in the contest, Will Frizzell hit a sky-high pop that died harmlessly on the warning track in front of the visitor's bullpen. Under different weather conditions, that ball would've easily left the ballpark.
"I think we're putting good swings together altogether, it's just the ball has been getting caught up in the wind," said junior infielder Bryce Blaum. "We're doing good as an offense with the swings and catching barrels. We're going to keep it rolling."
In the bottom of the fourth inning tied 0-0, Zach DeLoach started the inning with a base hit through the right side. He would then steal second base before being knocked in on an RBI triple off the bat of Zane Schmidt. Mason Corbett would reach after being hit by a pitch and then steal second himself. Blaum would bring home Schmidt on an RBI groundout, and Cam Blake would plate Corbett on an RBI single to make the score 3-0.
A&M would add an insurance run in the 7th inning after Blaum began the inning with a double to the left-centerfield gap. Logan Sartori would then hit a double of his own that scored Blaum, making it 4-0.
Texas A&M will put their perfect record on the line this weekend as the Aggies face an uptick in competition while playing in the Frisco Classic. A&M begins the weekend with a Friday evening contest against Illinois before facing No. 10 UCLA on Saturday and Oklahoma State on Sunday. First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.