COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Five Aggie pitchers combined to hold Incarnate Word to four hits as Texas A&M recorded a 7-0 win Wednesday evening on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
With the win, the Maroon and White remained perfect on the season with a 9-0 start. It marks the best start for the Aggies since they went 10-0 to commence the 2006 campaign.
Brigham Hill (1-0) earned the victory in his first career start. After allowing the first batter of the game to hit a single, the freshman cruised through the rest of his outing, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out nine in 5.1 innings of work.
As it has done most of the season, the A&M bullpen put on a lockdown performance, facing the minimum 11 batters in 3.2 innings of work. The relievers allowed one single, but responded with a double play. In the last three games, Aggie relievers have allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out seven in 9.2 scoreless innings.
Ty Schlottmann was the first out of the pen. He entered the game with a runner on first base and one out in the sixth, but induced a groundout and fly ball to get out of the frame. It marked the 11th consecutive inherited runner left stranded by the Aggie bullpen.
Schlottmann finished with 1.0 scoreless inning in the books. Jason Freeman struck out one of the two batters he faced in 0.2 innings. Lee May Gonzalez made his first career appearance, allowing a hit, but inducing an inning-ending double play to get out of the eighth inning. Mark Ecker closed out the game striking out one of the three batters he faced in the ninth.
The Aggies drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Ryne Birk threaded a single through the right side of the infield and Mitchell Nau punched a single to centerfield. GR Hinsley worked a six-pitch walk to fill the bags with Ags and Blake Kopetsky drew a five-pitch walk to stake A&M to a 1-0 lead. UIW starting pitcher Cody Richey avoided further damage in the frame by inducing Ronnie Gideon to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Texas A&M scratched out another run in the fourth. Kopetsky reached on a leadoff single to centerfield and stole second base. After Gideon was issued a base on balls, Blake Allemand attempted to put down a sacrifice bunt. His offering hugged the line for 90 feet before hitting third base for the bases-loading single. Jonathan Moroney knocked in Kopetsky with a sacrifice fly for the 2-0 lead. Another A&M rally failed to reach its full potential as the frame ended with a pair of groundouts.
The Aggies took advantage of a pair of Cardinals errors in the sixth to blow the game open. Allemand reached on an error by the UIW shortstop to start the inning. After Moroney singled to rightfield, Patrick McLendon attempted to sacrifice the runners into scoring position. Catcher Colton Besett’s throw to first was in the dirt and the error gave A&M saturated bases for the third time in the game.
With the infield drawn in, JB Moss nearly hit a Baltimore chopper over the third baseman’s head, but Brance Kahle was able to snare it with a leap. Kahle tried to retire Allemand, who broke on contact, at home, but the throw was late, giving Moss the RBI fielder’s choice. A wild pitch allowed Moroney to score for the 4-0 lead. With two runners in scoring position, Nau ripped a pitch off the pitcher’s abdomen. He was able to reach first on the infield single, but the runners were unable to advance, giving A&M loaded bases again. A balk brought McLendon home and Hinsley plated Moss with a grounder to short as Texas A&M scored its first six runs of the game without an RBI hit.
Gideon put the finishing touches on the game with a leadoff home run to leftfield, his third whammy of the season. It marked the 13th of the year for the Aggies who didn’t hit number 13 until the 36th game of the season in 2014.
Nau went 3-for-4 to lead all hitters. Moroney and Birk each added two hits for A&M. The Aggies registered 10 hits on the evening, reaching double-digits for the eighth time in nine games.
Incarnate Word (4-6) was paced by Mark White head who logged two of the Cardinals’ four hits.
Cody Richey (0-3) was saddled with the loss. He allowed two runs on six hits and five walks while striking out two over 4.1 innings.
The Aggies return to action on Friday when they host the Dartmouth Big Green in a three-game series. First pitch times are 6:35 on Friday, 2:05 on Saturday and 12:05 on Sunday.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head coach Rob Childress
Thoughts on the game….
“I thought our pitching and our defense was outstanding tonight and it all started with Brigham Hill. The leadoff hitter of the game singled I think he retired thirteen in a row after that and just a marvelous performance. I’m very, very proud of him tonight.”
On Patrick McLendon getting his first start at second base…
“He’s a great defender and a great baseball player. He is a big part of everything we are trying to do whether he is starting or coming off the bench. I thought he played really well tonight.
Freshman pitcher Brigham Hill
On the first career start…
“It felt amazing. I was a little nervous out there at first but it was nice when your teammates make plays. Mitch (Nau) saved me a lot, framing up pitches and blocking a lot of balls in the dirt. It allows to me have to have the confidence to go out there and throw strikes. It felt good.”
On the defense behind him…
“They were incredible. That’s what gave me confidence out there, knowing they were behind me making plays and cheering me on.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics