Rob Childress
Nick Banks
Ryan Hendrix
Texas A&M Baseball
Hendrix, two grand slams push Aggies past MSU, 13-5
GAME #36: Texas A&M 13, Mississippi State 5
RECORDS: Texas A&M 33-3 (11-3); Mississippi State 22-16 (6-9)
WP: Ryan Hendrix (3-0)
LP: Vance Tatum (3-2)
COLLEGE STATION - On Military Appreciation Day at Blue Bell Park, the Texas A&M baseball team and its fans let the veterans in attendance know how thankful they were for their service. After a shaky start on the mound and in the field, the Aggies were also thankful to leave with a win.
Texas A&M defeated Mississippi State 13-5 on Sunday, but it felt a lot closer than the score would indicate. The Aggies found themselves in trouble early.
Starter Matt Kent managed to record two quick outs to start the game, but an error by shortstop Blake Allemand set off a rally by the Bulldogs. After giving up two early runs, the Aggie bats needed to respond in a big way.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Blake Allemand's first-inning error cost the Ags, but his double in the bottom half helped make up for it.
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They didn't disappoint, scoring two of their own in the first frame. Allemand, trying to make up for the error, led it off with a double and scored later on a passed ball.
Mississippi State came right back in the top of the second to take the lead once again, hitting three singles off of Kent for another run.
The Ags took the momentum again in the bottom half, getting help from a Bulldog error and managing to take a 4-3 lead.
Mississippi State didn't go down easily. The Bulldogs rocked Kent for 9 hits in his 3.1 innings. With a spotty defense behind him, the junior didn't last long.
MSU kept the pressure on until the bottom of the fourth, when Nick Banks gave the home team some breathing room. With the bases loaded, the All-American stepped up to the plate and lined a grand slam over the center field wall to put the Aggies up 8-3.
Batting second in the order for the first time all year, Banks was just happy that his team produced some runs.
"I just got a pitch I could handle, and then did a little damage to it," he said of the grand slam. "Anywhere in the line-up is fine for me, as long as we're getting W's."
Even with a five-run lead, Texas A&M's struggles continued on the mound. In the fifth, Jason Freeman and Ty Schlottman combined to give up 4 hits, a walk and 2 runs, loading the bases with two outs and passing the ball to Ryan Hendrix.
Simply put, Hendrix was brilliant. The lanky right-hander got A&M out of the jam with a fly ball to right field and shut the door on the Bulldogs for the rest of the game. Pitching a total of 4.1 innings, Hendrix allowed only one hit and didn't issue a walk while striking out six.
The Aggies added another run in the fifth, but got some real insurance from Ronnie Gideon later in the game. With the bases loaded once again in the eighth, the big third baseman sent a towering shot over the scoreboard in left for the Ags' second grand slam of the day.
With Hendrix on the mound and a combined 9 RBI from Banks and Gideon, Texas A&M won 13-5 and took the series from Mississippi State 2-1. Head Coach Rob Childress was proud of his team's resiliency after a rough start.
"It was back-and-forth early, and we made some mistakes defensively in the first couple of innings to allow them to have a little hope, he said. "But each time that they scored a couple of runs we always answered back."
The Aggies will host Abilene Christian at Blue Bell Park on Wednesday night at 6:30 PM.
RECORDS: Texas A&M 33-3 (11-3); Mississippi State 22-16 (6-9)
WP: Ryan Hendrix (3-0)
LP: Vance Tatum (3-2)
COLLEGE STATION - On Military Appreciation Day at Blue Bell Park, the Texas A&M baseball team and its fans let the veterans in attendance know how thankful they were for their service. After a shaky start on the mound and in the field, the Aggies were also thankful to leave with a win.
Texas A&M defeated Mississippi State 13-5 on Sunday, but it felt a lot closer than the score would indicate. The Aggies found themselves in trouble early.
Starter Matt Kent managed to record two quick outs to start the game, but an error by shortstop Blake Allemand set off a rally by the Bulldogs. After giving up two early runs, the Aggie bats needed to respond in a big way.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Blake Allemand's first-inning error cost the Ags, but his double in the bottom half helped make up for it.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Blake Allemand\u0027s first-inning error cost the Ags, but his double in the bottom half helped make up for it.","MediaItemID":53811}
Mississippi State came right back in the top of the second to take the lead once again, hitting three singles off of Kent for another run.
The Ags took the momentum again in the bottom half, getting help from a Bulldog error and managing to take a 4-3 lead.
Mississippi State didn't go down easily. The Bulldogs rocked Kent for 9 hits in his 3.1 innings. With a spotty defense behind him, the junior didn't last long.
MSU kept the pressure on until the bottom of the fourth, when Nick Banks gave the home team some breathing room. With the bases loaded, the All-American stepped up to the plate and lined a grand slam over the center field wall to put the Aggies up 8-3.
Batting second in the order for the first time all year, Banks was just happy that his team produced some runs.
"I just got a pitch I could handle, and then did a little damage to it," he said of the grand slam. "Anywhere in the line-up is fine for me, as long as we're getting W's."
Even with a five-run lead, Texas A&M's struggles continued on the mound. In the fifth, Jason Freeman and Ty Schlottman combined to give up 4 hits, a walk and 2 runs, loading the bases with two outs and passing the ball to Ryan Hendrix.
Simply put, Hendrix was brilliant. The lanky right-hander got A&M out of the jam with a fly ball to right field and shut the door on the Bulldogs for the rest of the game. Pitching a total of 4.1 innings, Hendrix allowed only one hit and didn't issue a walk while striking out six.
The Aggies added another run in the fifth, but got some real insurance from Ronnie Gideon later in the game. With the bases loaded once again in the eighth, the big third baseman sent a towering shot over the scoreboard in left for the Ags' second grand slam of the day.
With Hendrix on the mound and a combined 9 RBI from Banks and Gideon, Texas A&M won 13-5 and took the series from Mississippi State 2-1. Head Coach Rob Childress was proud of his team's resiliency after a rough start.
"It was back-and-forth early, and we made some mistakes defensively in the first couple of innings to allow them to have a little hope, he said. "But each time that they scored a couple of runs we always answered back."
The Aggies will host Abilene Christian at Blue Bell Park on Wednesday night at 6:30 PM.
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