COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 24 Texas A&M Aggies got their first taste of Olsen Magic in 2020 with Zane Schmidt delivering a walk-off single in the ninth inning to defeat the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, 5-4, Tuesday evening on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
The Maroon & White were down 4-3 until the seventh inning when Hunter Coleman laced a two-out RBI single up the middle to tie the game. Bryce Miller held off the Islanders in the ninth, inducing a ground out and fly out with a runner in scoring position.
Texas A&M loaded the bags in the home half of the ninth with one out, giving Schmidt the opportunity to walk it off with a pinch-hit RBI single down the third base line.
Offensively, eight Aggies recorded a hit, while five had multiple hits. The Maroon & White tallied 13 hits on the day, marking their eighth double digit hitting performance of the season.
Hunter Coleman, Zach DeLoach and Logan Satori led the Aggies at the plate. Coleman was 2-for-3 with three RBI. DeLoach was 2-for-3 with three runs and one walk, while Sartori went 2-for-3 with one run and one walk. Ray Alejo and Mikey Hoehner each added two hits of their own.
The Aggies were solid in all offensive categories, including batting 9-for-21 with runners on, 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position and 7-for-13 with two outs.
Jonathan Childress got the start, but was pulled after 1.2 innings. Childress gave up three runs, one earned, on four hits, while fanning one and walking one. Dustin Saenz came in from the bullpen and tossed 4.2 innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks, while striking out four. Bryce Miller (1-2) earned the win for recording the final four outs.
The Aggies improve to 11-3, while the Islander drop to 6-7.
TOP PLAYERS
Zach DeLoach – 2-for-3, 3 runs, 1 BB
Logan Sartori – 2-for-3, 1 run, 1 BB
Zane Schmidt – 1-for-1, 1 RBI
Bryce Miller – 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
SCORING SUMMARY
B1 | DeLoach got things started with one out, dropping a single in leftfield. Logan Sartori dribbled an infield single to the shortstop and both runners advanced a bag on a Will Frizzell groundout. Hunter Coleman lined a two-out single up the middle, scoring two. Mason Corbett singled to right-center, putting runners on the corners. Ray Alejo plated the last run of the inning on a lined single to rightfield. A&M 3, A&M-CC 0.
T2 | Tristan Welch led off with a solo home run to leftfield. Drake Osborn drew a walk and advanced to second on a one-out single up the middle by Nate White. Luke Marbach reached on a fielding error and plated one. With runners on the corners, Itchy Burts bounced a single up the middle, scoring Marbach from third. A&M 3, A&M-CC 3.
T3 | Trevor Beard drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on bunt single by Mike Williams. Beard advanced to third on a fly out and came in to score on an infield single to shortstop by Osborn. A&M-CC 4, A&M 3.
B7 | DeLoach drew a nine-pitch leadoff walk and advance to second on a groundout. Hunter Coleman laced a two-out single up the middle, plating DeLoach. A&M 4, A&M-CC 4.
B9 | DeLoach led off and reached first on a hit-by-pitch. Sartori reached first on a throwing error on a sac bunt to the pitcher. Both runners advanced a base on a Ty Coleman sacrifice bunt. Hunter Coleman loaded the bags with Ags after being intentionally walked. Schmidt plated the winning run on a pinch-hit RBI single down the third base line. A&M 5, A&M-CC 4.
UP NEXT
The Aggies host the Abilene Christian Wildcats for midweek action Wednesday with first pitch at 6:32 p.m.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On the team experiencing a down-to-the-wire walk off win…
“I think it’s incredibly important, especially with the weekend that we had, to play a tight close game like that. Score early. We made some mistakes there in the next couple of innings and allowed them to come back and take the lead. We had to fight, scratch and claw to find a way to get back. Tying the game and then walking them off in the ninth and experiencing Olsen Magic can swing the momentum of the season. Sometimes it takes four or five games before you get to experience that, and for us to do it in the first opportunity is huge, and it’s something we’ll be able to take with us for a while.”
On the team’s performance in tonight’s game…
“I’m very proud of our team. We made plays. From about the 4th inning on, defensively, we pitched incredibly well. Each guy we went to got their guy out. Offensively, we fought, scratched and clawed our way to a win.”
Senior first baseman Hunter Coleman
On their resiliency…
“Coach always talks about being gritty. I think our offense definitely showed that tonight. We pride ourselves on hit-by-pitches. I think we’ve got 26 on the year through 14 games. That’s how the ninth inning got started. Big time hit-by-pitch by Zach DeLoach, some good at-bats and some good bunts, and then Zane [Schmidt] finally knocked it down.”
Junior relief pitcher Dustin Saenz
On what was working well for him…
“Just establishing the fastball, getting that first hitter out on a fastball in, and then just burying sliders. Credit to Mikey [Hoehner] back there. He caught a hell of a game.”
Junior pinch-hitter Zane Schmidt
On his game-winning at-bat…
“Coach [Justin] Seely gave me a warning. He said, ‘Hey, we’re going to get this bunt down. They’ll probably walk Hunter [Coleman], and you’re going to be hitting if it comes up.’ So I had a little bit of warning. I came in, got a 2-0 count off the bat and got a little bit of time to see a couple of pitches. Eventually I got a full count, fastball away, and I took it the other way.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics