COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Juniors Brigham Hill and Cason Sherrod combined on a two-hitter as the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies posted a 3-0 shutout of the Pepperdine Waves Friday evening on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
Hill (2-0) equaled a career-high with 10 strikeouts on the evening. He scattered two hits and one walk over 7.2 innings. Hill has not allowed a run in 2017, striking out 20 over 13.2 innings.
Sherrod entered the game with a runner on first and two outs and Texas A&M clinging to a 1-0 lead in the top of the eighth. He fanned Quincy McAfee on four pitches to end the frame.
Texas A&M (5-0) tacked on insurance runs in the home half of the eighth. Hunter Coleman worked a seven-pitch walk to start the inning and with one out Blake Kopetsky singled to centerfield. Braden Shewmake worked the count to 2-0 before punching a gapper to left-center to drive in Coleman. Walker Pennington sent Kopetsky home with a deep shot that was caught at the wall on the foul side of the pole for a sacrifice fly and a 3-0 cushion.
Sherrod hit the first batter he faced in the ninth before setting in to induce a flyout to left by Aaron Barnett and a game-ending 5-4-3 double play by Ben Rodriguez to record his first save of the season.
The Aggies broke the scoring seal in the first. With two outs, Shewmake bounced a single up the middle and Pennington followed with a six-pitch walk. Jorge Gutierrez blooped a single to shallow rightfield to knock in Shewmake, but the inning ended with Gutierrez thrown out at second going for a hustle double.
Shewmake led Texas A&M at the plate going 2-for-4 with one double, one run and one RBI.
Matt Gelalich reached twice for Pepperdine (3-1), going 1-for-3 with a walk.
Ryan Wilson (0-1) was the hard-luck loser for Pepperdine, yielding one run on six hits and two walks while striking out five in 7.0 innings of work.
The Aggies and Waves return to Blue Bell Park for game two of the series Saturday at 2:02 p.m.
Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress
Aggie RHP Brigham Hill
Aggie RHP Cason Sherrod
Aggie IF Braden Shewmake
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics