HOUSTON, Texas – The No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies got three hits apiece from Nick Banks, Hunter Melton and J.B. Moss to register a 7-2 win over the No. 25 Houston Cougars at Schroeder Park Tuesday evening.
The win marked the Aggies’ 25th consecutive midweek victory and it came against the team that gave A&M their last midweek blemish back in 2014.
Banks batted 3-for-4 with one double, one home run, one stolen base, two runs and two RBI. Moss hit 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs and one RBI. Melton went 3-for-5 with one double and one run.
For the 21st time on the season, the Aggies drew first blood. The Maroon and White put up four runs in the top of the first. J.B. Mossstarted the frame by hitting a wall-banger to leftfield, but a slick turf held him to a single as he slipped rounding the bag.Ryne Birk followed a grounder to first base, but Joe Davis’ throw to second base sailed into the outfield and leftfielder Corey Julks misplayed the overthrow, allowing Moss to score and Birk to advance to second.
An infield single to short by Hunter Melton put runners on the corners and Michael Barash plated Birk with a groundout to shortstop. Nick Banks capped off the scoring in the frame by hitting a 1-2 pitch off the top of the wall in leftfield for a two-run dinger, his third of home run of the season.
Houston (16-8) trimmed two runs off the lead in the bottom of the second. Justin Montemayor hit a leadoff single to leftfield and Corey Julks followed with a single to rightfield. Julks stole second base and Josh Vidales struck out swinging for the first out of the inning. A wild pitch allowed Montemayor to score and put Julks at third. Clay Corey drew a walk to put runners at the corners. Connor Hollis pushed a squeeze bunt back to the mound, but an error by pitcher Corbin Martinallowed Julks to score, trimming the Aggie lead to 4-2.
Texas A&M (22-3) tacked on a run in the top of the fifth. Austin Homan started the frame by punching a single up the middle and he moved to second on a passed ball. After Moss swung and missed at a full count offering for the first out of the inning, Birk roped a single to leftfield to knock in Homan, inflating the A&M cushion to 5-2.
Moss hit a moon shot over the leftfield fence to give the Maroon and White a 6-2 advantage.
Banks manufactured a run in the eighth inning. He started the frame with a double to the gap in left-center. With one out, Banks stole third and came home to score when the throw by the catcher was wide of the bag and bounced down the leftfield line, staking the Aggies to a 7-2 lead.
Aggie starter Martin worked 3.0 innings plus a batter in the fourth, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out four. Turner Larkins scattered two hits in 1.1 scoreless innings.
Brigham Hill (3-0) was credited with the win. He entered the game with one out and two on in the fifth inning and needed just one pitch to turn an inning-ending double play. He added a scoreless sixth inning to finish with 1.2 innings of scoreless ball with one strikeout.
Andrew Vinson pitched a shutout seventh in his first outing since March 8. Cason Sherrod worked 1.2 innings, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out one.
Mark Ecker retired the only batter he faced with bases loaded in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.
John King (3-2) was tagged with the loss, allowing five unearned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four in 5.0 innings.
Texas A&M continues its five-game road trip with a three-game series at No. 3 Florida starting Friday in Gainesville.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On the offense…
“I’m really proud of our guys. We set the tone early, scoring four runs in the first. It was really important. Their left-hander settled down after that and did a really nice job, so it’s good we were able to take advantage of that early opening. J.B. Moss had a great night. Nick Banks is starting to feel 100 percent and had another great night. Hunter Melton had a great night.
On the pitching…
“I think each and every pitcher we went to had a strong performance. Turner (Larkins) and Brigham (Hill) each went into the game with guys on base and got double plays. Brigham needed just one pitch to get his double play and that really settled things down. It was good to get Vinnie (Andrew Vinson) back out for some work. It was the kind of outing we needed to keep the momentum of last weekend going.
Junior outfielder Nick Banks
On the win against a ranked opponent…
“It was just another game that we were looking forward to playing. We look forward to playing every game. I think that’s what makes this team special. The look forward to every game no matter who we or playing or where we are playing.”
On the offense’s fast start…
“It’s big. It set the tone for the pitching. Corbin (Martin) did a real good job in the start and all the pitchers that came in after that did well. It was good to see how well they pitched.”
Senior outfielder J.B. Moss
On a road win against a ranked team…
“A really big win for us against a good Houston team. I’m really proud of our pitchers. The offense kept the pedal down all night.”
On the good start to the game…
“I think it speaks to the maturity of the team. On the road you get the first chance to throw a punch, so you have to try to land one. We were able to do that and it stood up for us.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics