Olsen Magic took the form of senior shortstop Kenny Jackson’s 10th inning walk-off single Friday night as the No. 14 Texas A&M baseball team downed FIU 6-5 at Olsen Field in the opener of the three-game series between the schools.
The victory is the second last at-bat, extra innings win for the Aggies this season, improving their overall mark to 11-3.
While the Aggies’ plated the final run of the game, it was the Golden Panthers (11-4) who jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the contest by plating a pair of runs in the top of the first inning.
Aggie designated hitter Matt Juengel cut the FIU lead in half when he collected his first of two RBI on the day with a run-scoring ground out in the bottom of the first. The Houston Clear Brook High School product raised his season RBI total to 14, tying teammate Tyler Naquin for the most runs batted in on the squad.
An RBI ground out by senior third baseman Andrew Collazo tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the second and the Aggies were able to take their first lead of the night with a pair of runs in the home half of the third. Juengel tripled for the third time this season to plate a run in the frame and came across to score himself in the next at bat on a ground out by first baseman Jacob House.
FIU’s Jeremy Patton pulled the Panthers even once more, this time at 4-4 in the top of the fifth with a two-run homer off A&M starter John Stilson. The long ball was the first allowed by Stilson this season, as the Texarkana, Texas, native got a no-decision after tossing six innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits while walking three and striking out one.
House put A&M back on top in the fifth when he connected on his second home run of the season, a solo shot over the wall in right. The long ball was the second in as many games for House, who also went deep Tuesday against Centenary.
The Panthers roared back to once again tie the game in the top of the seventh at 5-5 as Garrett Wittels notched an RBI single down the right field line.
Boosted by a lift from the Aggie bullpen which limited FIU to no runs after the seventh inning, the game went into extras.
Senior catcher Kevin Gonzalez, as he has done much of the year, came up with a clutch hit for the Aggies to lead off the 10th inning when he singled into right off FIU reliever Aaron Arboleya (1-1). After a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt by freshman Jace Statum moved Gonzalez to scoring position, he was lifted for pinch runner Kirby Taylor.
A wild pitch from FIU’s Bryam Garcia, who took over for Arboleya, moved Taylor to third and brought Jackson to the plate with the winning run just 90 feet away. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native took advantage of the opportunity when he was able to sneak a ball by the draw-in infield to plate Taylor and send the 3,131 in attendance home happy.
Senior right-handed pitcher Joaquin Hinojosa (1-0) picked up the win in relief tossing a perfect 1.1 innings.
The series picks back up Saturday as the two teams return to action with a 2:05 p.m. contest at Olsen Field. Sophomore right-hander Michael Wacha (2-1) takes the ball for the Aggies against FIU’s R.J. Fondon (1-1).