Texas A&M
Baylor
Texas A&M Baseball
Aggie Baseball gets revenge, pounds Baylor in regional opener, 8-5
Houston Regional Game #1: Texas A&M 8, Baylor 5
Records: Texas A&M (1-0), Baylor (0-1)
WP: Brigham Hill (8-3)
LP: Montana Parsons (5-4)
S: Kaylor Chafin (1)
BOX SCORE
HOUSTON — Brigham Hill struggled on the mound. Nick Choruby struggled on the base-paths. And the Aggies might have been struggling with a sense of deja vu.
None of that mattered on Friday afternoon.
Neither Hill’s pitching inconsistency, Choruby’s running indecision nor a grand slam by Baylor first baseman Aaron Dodson – which might’ve brought back memories of a Bears’ come-from-behind win over three months ago – rattled the Aggies.
Third-seeded Texas A&M (37-21) was not at its best in the first game of the Houston Regional of the NCAA baseball playoffs. But the Aggies did make the necessary big plays to capture an 8-5 victory over second-seeded Baylor (34-22).
Marc Flores, TexAgs
Texas A&M came up big in the field time and again against the Bears on Friday, while Baylor struggled to play clean baseball.
The Aggies, who will face either Houston or Iowa in the regional's winner's bracket Saturday
night, capitalized on three Baylor errors and six bases on balls and
pulled off their own come-from-behind victory with a timely, five-run
sixth inning.
They also made big defensive plays to quell threats in the sixth and eighth.
Kaylor Chafin, who notched his first save of the season, provided 3 2/3 innings of clutch relief pitching – which the Aggies did not get in a 6-3 loss to Baylor on March 5. In that game, A&M was betrayed by its bullpen and succumbed to a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning.
So, when Dodson, a .341 hitter with 10 home runs, lofted a grand slam over the left field fence for a 4-2, third-inning lead, feelings of dread might have permeated the Texas A&M dugout. Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez certainly thought so.
“There was nervousness in the A&M dugout in some capacity,” Rodriguez said. “They knew what happened earlier this year.”
Not so, said Texas A&M coach Rob Childress.
“All 27 guys gave each other everything they had today,” Childress said. “They were energetic in the dugout, enthusiastic. (They) emptied the tank. It was a long, hot day, and it’s not even hot yet here in Houston. But I’m very proud of all 27 guys that were in the dugout. There was no hanging of heads. They were into every pitch and pulling for each other.”
Still, Childress acknowledged there could have been some apprehension when the Aggies fell behind, 4-2. After all, Hill (8-3) had issued a two-out walk and hit a batter before serving up Dodson’s homer that – perhaps surprisingly – floated out of the park. They could have gotten even more frustrated in the following innings when Baylor fielders kept snagging hard line drives.
Marc Flores, TexAgs
The Aggies sent a few line drives at Baylor fielders early but eventually found the holes they were looking for in the Bear defense.
“It
would have been easy for the guys in the dugout and that were in the
game to slump their shoulders and say, ‘Well, it’s just not our day
today,’” Childress said. “But they were loose and just kept saying,
‘Hey, how many can we hit hard on the button right at them? Let’s see if
we can set a record.’”
No, that dubious record – whatever it is – would not fall.
A&M drew five bases on balls off three pitchers and picked up a two-run Braden Shewmake home run off the scoreboard – his 11th of the season – in a five-run rally that staked A&M to a 7-4 lead.
“We were fortunate enough after a lead-off walk to follow that up with a home run,” Childress said. “It allowed us to feel like, ‘Here we go.’”
But the Aggies could have had even more. With A&M leading, 6-4, Choruby, who earlier was thrown out at third when he hesitated about 15 feet from the bag, drilled a bases-loaded single to left field.
That drove in pinch runner Walker Pennington, but George Janca was surprisingly held at third. Consequently, Choruby was thrown out trying to get back to first. That gaffe almost came back to haunt the Aggies as Baylor loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth.
After the Bears scored a run on a fielder’s choice, Childress called for Chafin, who was unavailable for the game in March because he’d pitched several innings the night before.
Chafin got Steve McLean to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat and allow A&M to maintain a 7-5 lead. He then retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced. He got into a little trouble in the eighth when he gave up a lead off double to Kameron Esthay.
“They were better than us today,” Dodson said. “Or we were worse than them. That’s a better way to put it.”
Well, that was the Baylor point of view.
The Aggies were thrilled to have another shot at Baylor and felt they played well – or at least, well enough – to avenge that earlier loss to the Bears.
“We definitely were very excited when we saw we got matched up with them again,” Shewmake said. “We knew we owed them something."
Records: Texas A&M (1-0), Baylor (0-1)
WP: Brigham Hill (8-3)
LP: Montana Parsons (5-4)
S: Kaylor Chafin (1)
BOX SCORE
HOUSTON — Brigham Hill struggled on the mound. Nick Choruby struggled on the base-paths. And the Aggies might have been struggling with a sense of deja vu.
None of that mattered on Friday afternoon.
Neither Hill’s pitching inconsistency, Choruby’s running indecision nor a grand slam by Baylor first baseman Aaron Dodson – which might’ve brought back memories of a Bears’ come-from-behind win over three months ago – rattled the Aggies.
Third-seeded Texas A&M (37-21) was not at its best in the first game of the Houston Regional of the NCAA baseball playoffs. But the Aggies did make the necessary big plays to capture an 8-5 victory over second-seeded Baylor (34-22).
Marc Flores, TexAgs
Texas A&M came up big in the field time and again against the Bears on Friday, while Baylor struggled to play clean baseball.
They also made big defensive plays to quell threats in the sixth and eighth.
Kaylor Chafin, who notched his first save of the season, provided 3 2/3 innings of clutch relief pitching – which the Aggies did not get in a 6-3 loss to Baylor on March 5. In that game, A&M was betrayed by its bullpen and succumbed to a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning.
So, when Dodson, a .341 hitter with 10 home runs, lofted a grand slam over the left field fence for a 4-2, third-inning lead, feelings of dread might have permeated the Texas A&M dugout. Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez certainly thought so.
“There was nervousness in the A&M dugout in some capacity,” Rodriguez said. “They knew what happened earlier this year.”
Not so, said Texas A&M coach Rob Childress.
“All 27 guys gave each other everything they had today,” Childress said. “They were energetic in the dugout, enthusiastic. (They) emptied the tank. It was a long, hot day, and it’s not even hot yet here in Houston. But I’m very proud of all 27 guys that were in the dugout. There was no hanging of heads. They were into every pitch and pulling for each other.”
Still, Childress acknowledged there could have been some apprehension when the Aggies fell behind, 4-2. After all, Hill (8-3) had issued a two-out walk and hit a batter before serving up Dodson’s homer that – perhaps surprisingly – floated out of the park. They could have gotten even more frustrated in the following innings when Baylor fielders kept snagging hard line drives.
Marc Flores, TexAgs
The Aggies sent a few line drives at Baylor fielders early but eventually found the holes they were looking for in the Bear defense.
No, that dubious record – whatever it is – would not fall.
A&M drew five bases on balls off three pitchers and picked up a two-run Braden Shewmake home run off the scoreboard – his 11th of the season – in a five-run rally that staked A&M to a 7-4 lead.
“We were fortunate enough after a lead-off walk to follow that up with a home run,” Childress said. “It allowed us to feel like, ‘Here we go.’”
But the Aggies could have had even more. With A&M leading, 6-4, Choruby, who earlier was thrown out at third when he hesitated about 15 feet from the bag, drilled a bases-loaded single to left field.
That drove in pinch runner Walker Pennington, but George Janca was surprisingly held at third. Consequently, Choruby was thrown out trying to get back to first. That gaffe almost came back to haunt the Aggies as Baylor loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth.
After the Bears scored a run on a fielder’s choice, Childress called for Chafin, who was unavailable for the game in March because he’d pitched several innings the night before.
Chafin got Steve McLean to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat and allow A&M to maintain a 7-5 lead. He then retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced. He got into a little trouble in the eighth when he gave up a lead off double to Kameron Esthay.
Two outs later, Pennington made a diving catch on a David Wendzel line drive to deny Baylor’s final possible rally.
Two outs later, Pennington made a diving catch on a David Wendzel line drive to deny Baylor’s final possible rally.“They were better than us today,” Dodson said. “Or we were worse than them. That’s a better way to put it.”
Well, that was the Baylor point of view.
The Aggies were thrilled to have another shot at Baylor and felt they played well – or at least, well enough – to avenge that earlier loss to the Bears.
“We definitely were very excited when we saw we got matched up with them again,” Shewmake said. “We knew we owed them something."
Never miss the latest news from TexAgs!
Join our free email list