Childress flirts with perfection, offense rolls in twin-bill sweep
Game #17: Texas A&M 21, Samford 4
Records: Texas A&M (13-4), Samford (7-8)
WP: Chandler Jozwiak (1-1)
LP: Jesse McCord (0-3)
Box Score
Game #18: Texas A&M 5, Samford 2
Records: Texas A&M (14-4), Samford (7-9)
WP: Jonathan Childress (2-1)
LP: Zach Hester (0-1)
Box score
Play two, win two.
Texas A&M baseball won both games of a Saturday doubleheader against Samford as the Aggies dominated the front end, 21-4 before winning the nightcap, 5-2. A&M's offense bludgeoned Bulldog pitching in the opener before Jonathan Childress's masterpiece captivated the finale.
"We're leaving the field tonight with an awful lot of confidence in every facet of the game," said Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress. "We're in a very good place right now."
The second of two was more dramatic as those inside Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park speculated whether or not Jonathan Childress would achieve baseball's pinnacle and retire 27 consecutive batters.
"After the fifth, nobody was talking to me and kind of ignoring me," Jonathan Childress said about realizing he was staring at a possible perfect game. "I looked up at the scoreboard, and it was like, 'Oh, OK.'"
Jonathan Childress carried his bid for perfection into the seventh inning before a dinky Max Pinto infield single to the third-base side of the mound wrecked his date with destiny.
"I was just not a good enough athlete to make that play," Jonathan Childress said with a laugh.
Still, the Forney product shined as he allowed just one run across three hits in 7.2 innings while striking out a career-high 13 batters without issuing a single walk.
"It's just a product of Coach Childress and what he nails into us all fall and all spring," Jonathan Childress said. "We're going to fill it up, and whatever happens, happens."
While the perfect game and no-hit bid went for not, Jonathan Childress's gem added a tenth victory to A&M's winning streak with conference play and the sixth-ranked Florida Gators looming next week.
"I think it was just a masterful performance," Rob Childress said. "I would say it was the best performance of his career."
A&M's offense scored early in the second game, giving Jonathan Childress the run support he needed. Still, five runs pale in comparison to the three-touchdowns worth A&M scored in the first game.
"It was just awesome to sit back and watch just a relentless offensive performance," Rob Childress said. "The offensive performance could not have been better."
The Maroon & White scored in every inning during the 21-4 drubbing of Samford, accumulating 21 hits and 19 runs batted in. Twelve Aggies registered a base hit, while eight drove in a run. As a team, A&M hit .500 (12-for-24) with runners on and .500 (7-for-14) with runners in scoring position.
"Everyone's swinging the bat and everyone's finding barrels," said Texas A&M catcher/designated hitter Taylor Smith. "Once you get on a roll, it's hard to get out of it. Everyone's having fun, and it's an enlightening mood in the dugout."
The longball was an often used facet of the offense as well as A&M hit eight home runs in the two games, six of which came in the first game. Both Smith and Hunter Coleman blasted a pair.
"It's a great feeling, and it’s one of the best feelings I would say," Smith said of crushing a tape-measure 456-foot bomb in game one.
Following a 1-3 start, the Aggies are now 10 games over .500 with conference play beginning on Thursday. Confidence levels are rising within the A&M clubhouse.
"Think about how we got off to such a slow start, for us to rebound and get it back together over the last couple of weeks, we couldn't have played much better," Rob Childress said.
Before heading to Gainesville to begin SEC play next weekend, the Aggies venture to the Bayou City to face Houston on Tuesday night. First pitch from Houston's Schroeder Park is scheduled for 6:30 p.m CT.