Junior Ross Stripling pitched eight strong innings and the top three spots in the Aggie batting order combined to go 11-for-15 on Saturday as the No. 9 Texas A&M baseball team defeated Dallas Baptist 14-2 in front of 3,828 fans at Olsen Field.
“I was proud of the way we played today,” Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “On the mound, Ross Stripling was outstanding and we were able to score early in what was a great offensive performance, maybe our best of the year. We didn’t score there in the middle innings, but we were able to have a big inning in the eighth. On the day we didn’t strike out any and walked three times so it was a pretty good performance by everybody.”
The top third of the A&M batting order set the tone for the offensive production all day long as Tyler Naquin went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, Krey Bratsen went 4-for-5 with four runs and four RBI and Matt Juengel went 3-for-4. Freshman Charlie Curl batted for Juengel in the eighth inning and responded with a two-run single.
Naquin’s performance extended his career-best hitting streak to 24 games and moved the Spring, Texas, native into a fourth place tie on the all-time A&M list with Jose Duran, who also hit in 24 straight games during the 2008 season. Former Aggie baseball player R.J. Englert holds the school record with a 28-game hitting streak back in 1972.
The Aggies wasted no time jumping on the Patriots as they scored a run in the bottom of the first inning on a RBI single by designated hitter Gregg Alcazar.
Texas A&M (32-16) made it 3-0 in the home half of the fourth as Naquin scored on a throwing error and junior first baseman Jacob House contributed a sacrifice fly.
Bratsen plated two more Aggie runs with a single through the left side in the fourth inning and Juengel added a RBI double in the frame as the lead stretched to 6-0.
Dallas Baptist (32-15) battled back with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to cut the home advantage to 6-2, but Stripling and the Aggies did not allow the hot-hitting Patriots to cut into the lead any further.
The two scores would be the only runs that DBU could scratch across against Stripling (10-2), who earned his team-leading 10th victory of the season. The Southlake, Texas, native scattered six hits during his eight-inning outing and struck out seven while not issuing a single walk.
During the bottom of the eighth, the Aggies broke the game open by piling on eight runs to open a 14-2 advantage. Bratsen and Curl each contributed two-run singles in the inning, which also featured RBI from Naquin, Kevin Gonzalez, Brandon Wood and Kenny Jackson.
Senior reliever Nick Fleece completed the win by tossing a scoreless top of the ninth in his team-leading 25th appearance of the year.
In addition to the 17-hit outburst, Texas A&M did not have a batter strike out in the contest, a feat that had not happened since a 21-4 win over Prairie View A&M on April 22, 2009.
Texas A&M baseball is back in action on Tuesday at Olsen Field when it hosts Texas State in a 6:35 p.m. contest.
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