By: Thomas Dick, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies rode a stellar pitching performance from Jonathan Childress and held off a late Samford charge to complete the series sweep of the Bulldogs, 5-2, Saturday afternoon in game two of the doubleheader on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
The win stretched the Aggies win streak to 10 games as the Maroon & White improved to 14-4.
Childress (2-1) was perfect through six frames, not allowing a baserunner until Mike Pinto reached on an infield single in the top of the seventh. The Forney, Texas, product registered career highs in innings (7.2), pitches (101) and strikeouts (13), while yielding one run on three hits and no walks.
Alex Magers stranded two runners while recording the last two outs of the eighth. Joseph Menefee closed out the game, allowing one run on two hits while fanning a pair in 1.0 innings.
The staff recorded 15 strikeouts on the day, marking their 15th double-digit performance in 18 games.
Offensively, the Maroon & White added another two home runs to their dinger-filled series. The Aggies tallied 11 long balls on the weekend. Mike Hoehner and Ray Alejo did the damage in the series finale. Alejo smashed a solo bomb in the fifth, marking his first home run in Aggieland, while Hoehner was 2-for-3 on the day with a home run in the sixth, one run, and two RBI.
The Maroon & White struck first with one-run in the home half of the second. The Aggies went on to score four more with a two-run third, one-run fifth, and a one-run sixth. The Bulldogs made a late surge, scoring one in the eighth and ninth, but the Aggies were able finish it off.
Texas A&M out hit their opponent, 7-6, increasing their record to 13-0 when outhitting their opponent.
TOP PLAYERS
Mikey Hoehner – 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Ray Alejo – 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Jonathan Childress – 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 13 K
SCORING SUMMARY
B2 | Logan Britt was struck by a pitch to lead off the frame. Ty Coleman pushed Britt to third on a lined single to leftfield. Mikey Hoehner broke the ice with two outs, roping a single to leftfield to plate Britt. A&M 1, SAM 0.
B3 | With two outs, Austin Bost reached on an infield single to shortstop. Britt moved over Bost with a lined single to leftfield, before both scored on a misplayed fly ball hit by Ty Coleman. A&M 3, SAM 0.
B5 | Ray Alejo smacked a leadoff first pitch offering off the scoreboard in leftfield. A&M 4, SAM 0.
B6 | Hoehner took a 1-1 offering yard down the leftfield line with two-outs. A&M 5, SAM 0.
T8 | Crockett led off with a single to centerfield and advanced to second on a groundout. With two outs, David plated Crockett with a single up the middle. A&M 5, SAM 1.
T9 | Howe led off with a single up the middle and moved to second on a groundout. With two outs, Crockett singled to rightfield, scoring Howe. A&M 5, SAM 2.
UP NEXT
The Aggies travel to Houston to take on the Cougars for midweek action Tuesday with first pitch slated for 6:32 p.m.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On finding consistency going into conference play …
“I absolutely do. You think about how we got off to such a slow start. For us to rebound and get back together the last couple of weeks, we couldn’t have played much better. We are leaving the field tonight with a lot of confidence in every facet of the game. You can feel it in the dugout, you can just feel the pulse of the game. We are in a very good place right now.”