ARLINGTON, Texas – A three-run outburst in the top of the 10th inning proved to be the deciding margin as the No. 5 Texas A&M baseball team won its seventh straight contest on Wednesday night at Clay Gould Ballpark by defeating UT Arlington 7-4.
The victory improved the Aggies’ overall record to 20-5 heading into this weekend’s three-game series at Kansas State where Texas A&M will put its first-place Big 12 record on the line.
The Mavericks (14-11) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth as right fielder Preston Beck connected on his second long ball of the season with a runner on base.
Texas A&M used the long ball to even the score in the top of the second as Matt Juengel and Jacob House slammed back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches. The last time the Aggies hit back-to-back big flies was on May 26, 2010, against Texas Tech, when Juengel and Adam Smith went yard consecutively.
UTA took a 3-2 lead in the home half of the third but the Aggies scored twice in the top of the fourth on a RBI ground out by Kenny Jackson and a run-scoring single by Smith to establish their first lead of the night at 4-3.
The advantage would be short-lived, however, as a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth against A&M reliever Brandon Parrent came around to score in the inning to knot the game at 4-4.
Texas A&M starter Dylan Mendoza pitched just three innings in the contest, allowing three runs runs on four hits, as the Aggies used six pitchers in the game. UTA also got a lot of work out of its bull pen as eight Maverick pitchers saw action.
After both teams combined for five scoreless innings after the fourth, the game went into extra innings where the Aggies broke the game open in the top of the 10th.
House led off the inning with a double for his fourth hit of the game, but was erased on a fielder’s choice on the next at bat. A walk to Jackson gave the Aggies a pair of base runners and a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt allowed the go-ahead run to score from second.
Freshman Charlie Curl and sophomore Brandon Wood notched back-to-back RBI singles to give the Aggies a three-run cushion.
Senior Joaquin Hinojosa slammed the door in the bottom of the 10th with a 1-2-3 inning for his fifth save of the year. Nick Fleece (5-1), who tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth innings, picked up the win in relief.