Aggies? Win Streak Hits 16 with 3-2 Defeat of Baylor

HOUSTON, Texas – Junior left-hander Matt Kent weaved a gem as the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies registered a 3-2 win over the Baylor Bears Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.

With the win, the Aggies joined the LSU Tigers in claiming the top spot at the Houston College Classic, with both squads going 3-0 at the tournament hosted by the Astros. It marked the first time in eight appearances that the Aggies have gone 3-0 at the Houston College Classic. Previously, A&M's best showing was 2-1 in 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009.

Texas A&M improved to 16-0 on the season which now stands as the second-best start in school history, trailing just the 26-0 foundation set by the 1989 squad en route to a 58-7 record.

Kent (4-0) became the first Aggie to register four wins on the year. He equaled a career-high with nine strikeouts in the longest outing of his career. The southpaw allowed two runs on six hits and one walk.

The Aggies took advantage of a Baylor error to scratch out a run in the bottom of the first. Blake Allemand started the inning by working a six-pitch walk. With one out, Allemand advanced on a wild pitch and Mitchell Nau drew a six-pitch walk. After Hunter Melton fanned for the second out of the inning, Nick Banks appeared to end the frame with a grounder to shortstop Justin Arrington, but the Bears' second baseman Duncan Wendel muffed the catch at the bag to retire Nau, allowing Allemand to fly home for the game's first run.

Texas A&M tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Allemand drew his third walk of the game. Ryne Birk followed with an eight-pitch walk and Nau launched a wall-banger to leftfield for a two-run double, staking the Aggies to a 3-0 lead.

Baylor (6-8) finally broke the scoring seal in the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Hayden Ross slapped a pinch-hit single over the head of the Aggie first baseman into shallow rightfield. Logan Brown followed with a single to put runners at the corners. With Andrew Vinson on to relieve Kent on the mound, Brown appeared to be picked off first, but was able to stay in a rundown long enough for Ross to head home. Ross' slide beat the throw at the plate, resulting in the run-scoring double steal. A wild pitch sent Brown to third and he came around to score when pinch-hitter Kameron Esthay grounded to first base, trimming the lead to 3-2.

Ryan Hendrix worked the ninth inning for the Aggies, picking up his fourth save of the season. Hendrix started the frame by striking out clean-up hitter Aaron Dodson. After designated hitter Cameron Miller flied out to deep rightfield, pinch-hitter West Tunnell slapped a two-out single to rightfield. Hendrix nailed down the victory by getting pinch-hitter Mitch Price to whiff on a 1-2 offering.

Austin Stone (0-1) was saddled with the loss. He allowed three runs, two earned, on two hits and five walks while striking out five in 4.1 innings. Nick Lewis was brilliant in 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, fanning four of the eight batters he faced.

The Aggies managed just three hits in the game, but Allemand was able to start rallies from the leadoff spot, drawing three walks and scoring two runs in four plate appearances.

Baylor had a pair of players with multiple hits with Logan Brown going 2-for-4 with one run and one stolen base and Jonathan Ducoff going 2-for-3 with one double.

Texas A&M returns to Blue Bell Park for a two-game set against the UT Pan American Broncs on Tuesday (6:35 pm) and Wednesday (3:05 pm).

TEXAS A&M QUOTES

Head coach Rob Childress
On the early season success in close games…
“We just find a way. They're an older bunch and they don't panic when the games are tight late. We panicked a little bit in the eighth inning but we got it together there and we're able to finish. “

On the offense…
“We hit some balls hard, but we had way too many outs in the air and that's not what we are about. Hitting the ball flat and on the ground creates some opportunities for us. We need to do a better job going forward from that respect.”

Junior pitcher Matt Kent
On the outing…
“Early, I had really good command. I was able to keep them off balance and get some quick innings using my off-speed pitches. I let my defense handle the work for me. A little bit later in the game I lost command a little, but I was able to push balls into the zone and make them hit pitches and not just give up free walks.

Senior catcher Mitchell Nau
On Matt Kent's performance
“He was on his game. He was keeping the ball down and the changeup was working well for him. The backdoor slider is his go to move. He's got the drop-down slider against left-handed hitters and that was on for him tonight. I thought he pitched a great game.”