Long bounces back as Aggie baseball pounds Penn State 15-2

We're six games into baseball season in Aggieland, and the Texas A&M baseball team is developing a recipe to success. The Ags start scoring early and often, follow that up with a solid outing from their starting pitcher, and ride the bullpen to a big, fat W.

That's the plan the Aggies (6-0) executed on Saturday against Penn State (0-5) on their way to a 15-2 victory.

The Aggies jumped all over the Nittany Lions early, plating runs in the first three innings of the ballgame. Ryne Birk led the charge, lining a ball into the gap in right-center field for a double and driving in J.B. Moss for Texas A&M's first run of the day.

Just like that, the flood gates were open. A&M went on to score six runs in the first three innings, thanks, in part, to three errors from the Penn State shortstop. Those miscues, combined with some timely Aggie hitting, led to another successful day at the plate for the maroon and white.

The Aggie bats cooled off for a few innings, but heated up again in the seventh, when G.R. Hinsley blasted a two-run home run over the right field wall. The nine-hole hitter, starting his second game of the season, talked about the offensive showing after the game.

"We're talented one through nine and one through seventeen. All of us play for each other." He went on to say, "It doesn't matter who's in the line-up, one through nine, that's just what we're going to do, and we're going to win."

The Aggies tacked on six more runs in the bottom of the eighth to cap of a stellar day with the bat. Texas A&M scored runs in 6 of the 8 innings it came to the plate, finishing the day with 12 hits.

A good day at the plate is just the first half of the Aggie routine. The Aggie pitchers provided the rest.

Right-hander Grayson Long started the day on the bump for the home team, trying to bounce back from a less-than-spectacular first outing last week in which he surrendered 4 runs in less than 4 innings.

He did just that, working for 6 innings, striking out 3 and allowing only 5 hits and 1 unearned run. The junior from Mont Belvieu said he was more comfortable in his second appearance for the maroon and white, cruising his way through the Penn State line-up.

"My location and my command (were) a lot better today," he said. "I mean, I kind of struggled at first, but I felt stronger as I continued out through the game."

Long gave the ball to the bullpen in the seventh with a 6-1 lead, and the rest of the Aggie arms handled it from there. Turner Larkins, Ty Schlottman and Ryan Hendrix each provided an inning of work to finish the game. All told, they combined to allow one run and three hits.

Coach Childress put the wraps on Texas A&M's dominant performance.

"They don't quit. It's not about them trying to get theirs," he said. "It's about keeping the offense moving. We took advantage of 12 or 13 free baserunners and a couple of mistakes defensively and continue to come on."

The Aggies will take the field again tomorrow at noon, looking to complete the sweep of the Nittany Lions.