Tournament Time: Texas A&M downs Texas Southern, 5-0

GAME #57: Texas A&M 5, Texas Southern 0
RECORDS: Texas A&M 46-11 (1-0), TSU 31-18 (0-1)
WP: Matt Kent (8-1)
LP: Ryan Rios (6-2)
SAVE: Andrew Vinson (5)
BOX SCORE

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COLLEGE STATION — It was no mystery from the time brackets were announced: if Texas A&M could stop Texas Southern’s run game, it would seize control.

The only question remaining was how it would accomplish it.

In Friday night’s 5-0 victory over TSU, Matt Kent made a concerted effort to keep the movement in check. He did that, and did it well.

With no stolen bases and an inability to lay down bunts or capitalize on chances, Texas Southern could only watch as the Aggies slowly surged ahead.

Through three innings, neither team made a move.

Kent held his own with five strikeouts and one timely double play. After a leadoff single in the second inning, Kent forced a whiffed third strike and then a grounder to Hunter Melton. The well-struck 0-1 pitch was quickly fired to second and started off the inning-ending 3-6-1 double play.

Meanwhile, the Aggies struggled with TSU starter Ryan Rios and his often sub-70 mph offerings on multiple occasions until the fourth frame, when after one trip through the lineup, A&M began to adjust its timing.

Mitchell Nau ignited the Aggies' inning with a leadoff double down the right field line; the designated hitter’s second hit in as many at bats put the Aggies in a position to jump ahead.

One out later, Nick Banks took care of that in the loudest way possible. His two-run blast over the visitor’s bullpen in right was never going anywhere else.

The line drive gave A&M both the first and last cushion it would need for the game at 2-0.

While the Aggies seemed to be covering all the necessary bases, Texas Southern was still well within striking distance.

With no outs and runners on first and second, TSU crept even closer in the sixth. At that point, Kent and the defense behind him tightened the hatches.

First, a popped-up bunt allowed Kent to spring off the mound and into action. It was an important moment — and nobody knew it better than the lefty.

“That was huge. It kind of stopped their momentum for the moment that they had it,” Kent said. “The bunt going up triggered in my head, ‘We can get out of this with one pitch now.'”

While it took a few more than that, A&M escaped the inning with no damage, thanks in large part to the play of one Nick Banks.

After A&M’s only error loaded the bases, Kent missed his spot and a soft line drive seemed destined to square things up. From the moment it came his way, Banks knew there was only one way to approach it.

“I decided (to go for it) right off the bat,” he said. “If you’re indecisive going in, a lot of bad things can happen.”

The sliding, inning-ending catch allowed A&M to evade one final jam. In a game like this, the Aggies needed their sometimes-shoddy defense to have a good day — and it did.

“When you look at Matt, you think he’s a soft lefty and a fly ball guy, there are not going to be many chances on the dirt. He is exactly the opposite," A&M coach Rob Childress said. “When he’s having success, we’re making plays behind him defensively.

"Tonight, with the exception of the ball in the sun, we played great defense on the dirt. He’s got to have that.”

As the game progressed, A&M never allowed the Tigers to mount another charge and was eventually able to pull away in the eighth inning.

Mitchell Nau opened the inning by reaching base once again. He quickly advanced to second on a wild pitch, then third as Logan Taylor found himself on the good end of a botched line drive to right.

From there, a double by Hunter Melton, single from Logan Nottebrok and ground ball from Nick Choruby pushed the Aggies' lead to 5-0.

The shutout victory spoke volumes about A&M’s defensive performance, but as to questions about the early offensive struggles, Childress gave a clear answer.

“I’m not concerned at all," he said. "All of these players have over 200 at-bats just this year. I think there were some butterflies with all four teams tonight, but once we got into the fight, everything got better.”

Texas A&M steps back into the ring Saturday at 6:00 pm for a winner's bracket matchup with the third-seeded California Golden Bears.