Game #13: Texas A&M 10, Santa Clara 2
Records: Texas A&M (9-4, 0-0), Santa Clara (8-5, 0-0)
WP: Micah Dallas (3-0)
LP: Skylar Hales (1-2)
Box Score
Game #14: Santa Clara 16, Texas A&M 5
Records: Texas A&M (9-5, 0-0), Santa Clara (9-5, 0-0)
WP: Nick Sando (2-0)
LP: Nathan Dettmer (1-2)
Box Score
Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Hyde. Aggies. Broncos.
To open a Saturday doubleheader at Olsen Field, Texas A&M dominated Santa Clara in a seven-inning affair, 10-4. In the nightcap, the roles reversed as it was the Broncos delivering the blowout, crushing the Aggies, 16-5.
“We haven’t been able to play consistent, good baseball,” Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “We’re looking for small victories.”
On a team marred by inconsistency, Micah Dallas continues to be a steady force in the Texas A&M rotation. Despite not having his best stuff, Dallas still turned in six solid innings in the opener, striking out seven and allowing two runs.
TexAgs
Dallas earned his third win and is making a case to be A&M’s Friday starter.
“From the get-go, it was just one of those days where I didn’t have my stuff,” Dallas said. “What separates people from being able to pitch at this level and to the next is being able to win even when you don’t have your stuff. I’m pretty proud of myself for that.”
Behind Dallas, Rawley Hector worked a perfect seventh to seal the win.
Dallas’ offense provided him with plenty of run support early on, scoring three runs in both the first and second innings against Santa Clara starter Skylar Hales. The Aggies would tack on four more in the sixth to put the ballgame out of reach.
Kole Kaler, Austin Bost, Jack Moss and Brett Minnich registered multi-hit games in the win. Minnich drove in three runs while Taylor Smith and Logan Britt each had two RBIs.
“You’re just hoping that you can ride that momentum into game two and that break doesn’t delay anything,” catcher Troy Claunch said. “Unfortunately, they came out and scored early, and we just didn’t respond and it kind of carried the rest of the way.”
The strange case of Schlossnagle’s ball club flipped in game two, exacerbated by a second-consecutive poor start from Nathan Dettmer. The Aggies allowed two in the second before a six-run Bronco outburst in the fourth put the visitors ahead 8-0.
Dettmer was chased two batters into the third inning and was tagged for four runs on six hits.
Reliever Chris Cortez failed to stop the bleeding, allowing four hits and four runs, only three of which were earned. Cortez only recorded one out before exiting what was his worst appearance to date.
“Obviously, we didn’t pitch well at all,” Schlossnagle said.
“We haven’t been able to play consistent, good baseball. We’re looking for small victories. A small victory right now would be for us to win a series since we’ve lost the last two.”
- A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle
Despite the large deficit, A&M scored twice in the bottom of the fourth before Dylan Rock launched his first home run as an Aggies to make it 8-3. Claunch pieced together a 4-for-4 night with three singles, a double and an RBI.
“Tonight, I just made sure that I was on time for the fastball, seeing pitches up and just trusting in me,” Claunch said. “No matter what count we’re in, I don’t think that these guys can beat me. That’s the mentality that a lot of these guys need to have.”
Will Johnston provided the only decent relief appearance in game two, allowing just one run over 2.2 innings of work. Alex Magers, Walker Zander and Xavier Lovett each labored through an inning apiece to finally reach to finish line in the 11-run loss.
Santa Clara’s Cole Kitchen and Nick Sando combined to punch out 15 Aggies and helped preserve the Bronco bullpen for Sunday’s rubber match.
With SEC play looming next week, the Maroon & White must conclude this weekend on a positive note.
“A small victory right now would be for us to win a series since we’ve lost the last two,” Schlossnagle said.
Perhaps making said small victory a bit tougher, shortstop Kalae Harrison was removed during his first-inning at-bat of game one with a back injury. According to Schlossnagle, Harrison had been playing with the nagging injury and made it worse on the one swing he took on Saturday.
“He won’t play again this weekend,” Schlossnagle said of Harrison’s status.
The hunt for small victories continues on Sunday morning as the Aggies and Broncos battle for the series win beginning at 11 a.m. CT at Olsen Field.
