Aggie bats outscore Holy Cross 16-11, clinch series

GAME #1: Texas A&M 16, Holy Cross 11
RECORDS: Texas A&M 2-0; Holy Cross 0-2
WP: Freeman (1-0)
LP: Fox (0-1)
BOX SCORE: LINK

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There is something to be said for consistency. Any team can catch lightning in a bottle once. The trick is to turn that success into a trend.

That's exactly what the Texas A&M (2-0) baseball team seems to be doing, at least at the plate.

Picking up where they left off yesterday, the Aggies' hitters jumped all over the Holy Cross Crusaders early and often on Saturday, en route to a 16-11 victory. The Aggie bats started to heat up in the second inning, when a single to right field from DH G.R. Hinsley knocked in two runs.

Taking a 4-0 lead into the third, it looked like it would be smooth sailing for the rest of the game, as pitcher Grayson Long had retired every batter up to that point. It wasn't to be however, and the Crusaders plated four runs of their own in the top of the third.

The Aggies posted a run of their own in the bottom of the third, but Holy Cross responded again in the fourth, scoring two. The visitors scored another in the fifth, and things were beginning to look bleak.

J.B. Moss smashed a 2-RBI single to cap a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth to tie it up. Moss went through the at-bat after the game.

"It was my opportunity to get the big hit, and tonight I was able to do that," he said. "You know, last night Ronnie did it. Like I said, guys one through nine, every guy we have in the line-up is capable of doing it, and it just happened to fall on me tonight."

Texas A&M managed to tie the game and take the lead in the sixth when, with Nick Banks on second base, Ronnie Gideon singled to left field. Gideon got a little too excited and rounded first, looking for extra bases. He got caught, and was tagged out, but not before Banks could score in the confusion.

The Aggies took a 9-8 lead into the seventh, and didn't look back. Scoring 7 runs in the seventh alone, Texas A&M put the game out of reach for good. Holy Cross tacked on 3 runs in the eighth, but the Aggies were just too much, winning 16-11.

Coach Rob Childress reflected on the back-and-forth nature of the game.

"They continued to score, and we couldn't stop them," he said. "We just kept answering every time they scored with a couple more than they had scored. You've got to find ways to win. Winning's tough...We found a way to outscore them today."

After scoring 35 runs in two days, the Aggies have a 2-0 series lead heading into Sunday. The Aggies have secured the series victory, and will go for the sweep tomorrow at noon.