Senior Andrew Collazo ended a drama-filled title game at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Texas A&M Baseball team a 10-9 victory over Missouri.
“What a game,” Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “That’s what you’d want as a fan, to come watch a good baseball game. We found ourselves down 6-0, feeling like it’s not our day. I felt like the turning point was the third inning with (Derrick) Hadley getting out of the bases-loaded, one-out jam. For us to come in and score five runs gave us a little bit of life and momentum. I’m really proud of the toughness our team showed this week. We didn’t play our best baseball in three of the four games, but we never quit and kept coming. For Andrew (Collazo), it was just kind of fitting. You make an error in the ninth inning and you’ve got your head down and everybody hates you. I went out there and told him, `Somebody’s going to make a big play, you’re going to get another one hit to you and we’re going to be OK. We’re going to win this game.’ He’s the one that’s the hero today.”
Texas A&M (42-18) added the league’s postseason title to its trophy case after sharing the Big 12 regular season crown with Texas. It’s the third overall and second straight tournament championship for the Aggies, who also won the 2010 Big 12 Championship with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning of the title game.
For his late-game heroics, Collazo was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and joined fellow Aggies Kevin Gonzalez, Jacob House, Tyler Naquin and Michael Wacha on the All-Tournament Team.
The Tigers, who entered the game red hot and had the motivation of playing for their postseason lives, jumped out to an early lead in the contest when MU designated hitter Jonah Schmidt cashed in on an early opportunity with a two-run double in the top of the first.
Missouri (27-32) continued its hot start in the top of the second as four more runs came across to score, extending the lead to 6-0. Once again it was Schmidt who provided the inning’s biggest hit as he followed his first inning performance with an encore two-run double.
The six-run deficit was the largest that Texas A&M faced in the tournament as the Aggies had to come from behind in each game during their championship run.
The tide turned during the bottom of the third as the Aggies found their groove against Tiger starter Eric Anderson. A&M notched five hits in the inning and was aided by a Missouri error which paved the way for five A&M runs, four of which were unearned, to cut the lead down to 6-5.
A sacrifice fly by outfielder Krey Bratsen plated the first Texas A&M run and was quickly followed by back-to-back RBI singles from Juengel and House. Junior third baseman Adam Smith put the finishing touch on the explosive inning with a run-scoring double to the wall in left center.
Bratsen continued to comeback rally with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game and Juengel put the Aggies for the first time at 7-6 with an RBI single in the next at bat.
Missouri’s Conner Mack pulled the Tigers back even as he connected on a solo home run of A&M reliever Derrick Hadley in the top of the sixth, tying the game at 7-7.
Hadley shook off a rough start in the contest and gave the Aggies a solidifying outing out of the pen. The freshman from Navasota, Texas, allowed four runs but tossed five innings after starter Dylan Mendoza was pulled during the second.
An RBI fielder’s choice during Kevin Gonzalez’s at bat in the bottom of the seventh regained the lead for Texas A&M at 8-7 and the Aggies went to reliever Nick Fleece to close out the game.
The scrappy Tigers has other plans as they strung together three hits and took advantage of an error by Collazo in the top of the ninth to jump back on top at 9-8.
With the drama of trailing for the first time since the fourth inning, the Aggies came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Juengel drew a one-out walk but was erased on a fielder’s choice as the Tigers narrowly missed turning a game-inning double play. Junior Scott Arthur entered the game to run at first base and the speedy infielder swiped second to put the tying run in scoring position.
Senior Gregg Alcazar took his swings as a pinch hitter in the next at bat and worked Tiger reliever Phil McCormick to a full count. With A&M down to its final strike, Alcazar came up clutch and singled on a chopper over the head of Missouri’s third baseman to score Arthur and tie the game at 9-9.
Fleece (6-1) worked around a leadoff walk in the top of the 10th to send the game to home half of the extra inning still tied.
Missouri again went to its bullpen, bringing in Dusty Ross (3-5) to work to the Aggies in bottom of the 10th. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, the stage was set for Collazo to make his impression on Aggie baseball history.
After falling behind in the count 1-2, the Paterson, N.J., native connected on a Ross curveball and drove the pitch into the stands beyond the left field wall for the game-winning homer. Ironically, the pitch landed in almost the identical spot where former Texas A&M shortstop Brodie Greene homered for a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning of last season’s Big 12 Championship title game.
Texas A&M will make its school-record fifth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances next weekend when the Aggies host the NCAA College Station Regional at Olsen Field.