A&M continues clean start with 5-2 win, sweep Penn State

Aggie bats cooled off with the coldest weather of the weekend, but A&M’s winning streak stayed hot as ever.

Penn State did not go away until the very end of A&M’s 5-2 victory Sunday afternoon. 

When that final strike was called, it meant the maroon and white were off the a 7-0 start, including sweeps of Holy Cross and Penn State.

With chilly winds and a light fog blowing in over the center field wall, A&M expected to get its runs in small ball fashion.

Instead of following that plan, Logan Taylor decided to stick with the trend of the year and launch the aggies onto the scoreboard with a 2 run blast. His second inning homer marked the left fielders third of the year, he touched on his early success.

“I’ve been doing alright, trying to be consistent,” said Taylor. “We’re all keeping our approach and getting hits when they matter. I trust the guys behind me, they’re all studs.”

A&M starter Matt Kent struck out two in the top of the third, but Penn State got two singles, alongside a sacrifice, that brought the Nittany Lions within one.

Scoring A&M's next run in the third inning proved to be a full team effort. 

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After Logan Notebook walked to lead off the inning, Nick Banks took the 11th pitch he saw into center field for a single. At that point, early in the 3rd inning, Penn State’s Taylor Lehman had registered 64 pitches. A testament to the patience and persistence of A&M’s entire lineup.

With runners on first and second, Ronnie Gideon’s swinging bunt moved each up 90 feet. Blake Allemand got jammed on an inside pitch, but was able to fly it deep enough into left field for Nottebrok to tag and score from third. 3-1, A&M.

The score stayed that way until the sixth, largely due to each teams ability to pitch their way out of jams. Matt Kent talked about his strategy following the game.

“Some of the jams you get into, they hit good pitches,” he said. “You’ve just got keep making good pitches and get your way out of it. There were a few soft balls that got through the infield, a few bloopers, but not walking people helps. Make them earn it.”

Through two starts, Matt Kent hasn’t allowed a single walk. That formula is one head coach Rob Childress is extremely pleased with.

“Matt was fantastic, he threw four pitches for a strike and worked fast.” said Childress. “He was in control from the first pitch to the last, he doesn't give in. I’m really proud of him, he earned the right to start and continues to validate it each time out.”

Following Blake Allemand’s walk to start the sixth, Logan Taylor took a hit and run call and hit a high fly ball into right. 

With Allemand halfway to second, the ball looked as if it would be easily caught. A late gust of wind and quick thinking allowed Blake to beat out a throw to second and the aggies were in good position. After a single by Michael Barash loaded the bases, J.B. Moss brought in the fourth run of the day with a sac fly to center.

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Both teams were able to muster one more run apiece, Penn State doing so in the 7th and A&M in the 8th. 

While the Nittany Lions never got within one after the 3rd inning, coach Childress thought it was a good experience to play in a tight game this early in the season. 

“It’s good that we were able to play with a little pressure on us in the later innings,” he said. “We didn’t get the key hits today, that’s baseball, but we did enough to win.”

A&M will look to carry that experience into their Tuesday game with Houston Baptist. First pitch is set for 6:35, but is susceptible to change due to weather.