Freshman Chance Bolcerek’s eighth-inning RBI triple sparked a late-game Aggie rally Friday night as the No. 9 Texas A&M baseball team defeated TCU 4-1 in front of 5,412 fans at Lupton Stadium.
The victory improved the Aggies’ overall record on the season to 29-12 while the Horned Frogs fell to 23-15.
Runs were hard to come by early in the contest as Texas A&M freshman starter Daniel Mengden and TCU hurler Brandon Finnegan each found grooves and traded zeros on the scoreboard.
Mengden, who was making his first start on the mound after 15 relief appearances, controlled the game by retiring the first 12 batters he faced before TCU third baseman Jantzen Witte led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to left field. The hit would be the only base runner allowed by Mengden during his six inning, 62-pitch outing as he struck out two while walking none.
Finnegan, meanwhile, worked out of several jams during the early frame and pitched into the sixth inning before leaving with a 1-0 lead.
The Aggies’ fortunes turned during the top of the eighth as they scored two runs to claim their first lead of the night at 2-1. Senior second baseman Scott Arthur led off the inning with a single through the right side. Following a TCU pitching change, Bolcerek connected on the first pitch he saw from reliever Kevin Allen (2-2), driving the offering into the right center gap for a game-tying triple.
Senior Matt Juengel, making his third straight start as first base, followed and capitalized with Bolcerek on third and no outs by singling through the left side to plate the go-ahead run.
Arthur, who went 2-for-4 in the contest for his fifth multi-hit game of the season, kept the Aggie offensive surge going during the top of the ninth as his two-out single and steal of second sparked another two-run rally for the visitors. Juengel added his second RBI knock is as many innings during the frame, while sophomore Jace Statum made it 4-1 Texas A&M with a run-scoring single of his own.
Junior Kyle Martin (5-3) recorded the final seven outs on the mound for the Aggies, allowing only one base runner while tying a career-high with five strike outs.
Freshman designated hitter Mitchell Nau singled in the fourth and eighth innings for his first career multi-hit game.
The Aggies are back in action this weekend when they face arch-rival Texas in a three-game series. The opener of the set will take place Friday night at 6:35 p.m. on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park and will be televised on Fox College Sports. After Friday’s opener, the series will shift venues to Austin’s UFCU Disch-Falk Field for the final two contests with game two of the series broadcasted on FSN.