Wood’s RBI breaks scoreless tie in 11th; Ags go to 5-0

Sophomore outfielder Brandon Wood’s walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the No. 8 Texas A&M baseball team to a 1-0 victory over Gonzaga on Friday night in front of 4,025 fans at Olsen Field.

 

The victory extended the Aggies’ season-opening win streak to five games and dropped Gonzaga to 0-4 on the year.

 

For the most of the night, the story was the game’s starting pitchers as both A&M’s John Stilson and Gonzaga’s Ryan Carpenter were matching each other pitch for pitch and piling up zeros on the scoreboard.

 

Stilson continued his stellar start to the season by throwing a career-high nine shutout innings while allowing just four hits, striking out nine and walking none. The outing by Stilson continues his streak of no earned runs to begin the season and lowers the ERA of the Texas A&M starting pitchers to 0.27 in 33 innings of work.

 

Complimenting Stilson with an impressive outing from the A&M bullpen was junior closer Ross Stripling (1-0) who got the win by tossing two scoreless innings. Overall, the entire Aggie pitching staff holds a 0.57 ERA after five games with opponents hitting just .161 off A&M hurlers.

 

For Gonzaga, Carpenter was equally impressive at holding the Aggie offense at bay. The lefty junior struck out 10 hitters and allowed just one hit before leaving with one out in the eighth inning.

 

The pitcher’s duel led to some tense moments on either side when the issue was in doubt. With the game scoreless, A&M’s Matt Juengel led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to extend his season-opening hit streak to five. A sacrifice bunt moved him into scoring position but the Aggies could not cash in on the run.

 

In a strange bottom of the 10th, A&M got a runner to third during an inning that featured two walks and a pair of balks, but once again could not plate the game-winning run.

 

Gonzaga threatened in the top of the 11th, as the Bulldogs got the leadoff hitter of the frame on base via error. The mistake was quickly atoned for during the next at bat when sophomore right fielder Tyler Naquin made a diving catch and recovered to double off the runner at first base. Stripling did the rest with a strikeout to end the inning.

 

Finally, during the home half of the 11th, the Aggies were able to send the A&M faithful home happy. Junior first baseman Jacob House notched a one-out single to join Juengel and Naquin as the only Aggies to have hit safely in all five games. During the next at bat, senior catcher Kevin Gonzalez set the scene for Wood’s heroics by doubling to left center to put runners at second and third.

 

Wood then drove a pitch passed the drawn-in infield to give the Aggies their first walk-off victory since Brodie Greene’s 10th inning home run of last season’s Big 12 Championship final.

 

Texas A&M baseball goes for its sixth straight victory Saturday when its faces Gonzaga in game two of the series at Olsen Field. First pitch is slated for 2:05 p.m. with sophomore right-hander Michael Wacha (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on the hill for the Aggies. Gonzaga will counter with freshman lefty Marco Gonzales (0-1, 10.80)

 

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