Kilkenny masterful as Aggies close Frisco Classic with 9-5 win over California

Game #11: Texas A&M 9, California 5
Records: Texas A&M 11-1 (0-0), California 6-4 (0-0)
WP: Mitchell Kilkenny (3-0)
LP: Matt Ladrech (1-2)
Box Score

Coming off Saturday night’s win over Baylor where the Aggies used their four best relievers for a total of 6.2 innings, Rob Childress said it was crucial for Mitchell Kilkenny to pitch deep into the game on Sunday.

Kilkenny did just that, turning in his third consecutive strong start of the season, scattering seven hits and two runs over seven solid innings as Texas A&M defeated California 9-5 in its third and final game of the Frisco College Baseball Classic.

“Probably the most important start of the year for us as a team,” head coach Rob Childress said.

Kilkenny struck out seven and walked none, and the only real damage he allowed came on one swing of the bat from Jonah Davis, who put the Bears ahead 2-0 in the second with a two-run homer to left.

The Aggies responded right away, however, teeing off on Cal starter Matt Ladrech, one of two remaining players from the 2015 Bears team that played in the down-to-the-wire College Station Regional three years ago.

Coleman led off the bottom of the second with a single to left, and then Logan Foster doubled down the left-field line. Andritsos followed moments later with a first-pitch single to left-center that plated both runners. After a strikeout and a groundout, George Janca lined a hanging curveball into left-center for a go-ahead RBI single.

“We did a good job today of staying to the big part of the field and if something showed up inside, we just reacted to it,” said shortstop Braden Shewmake, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. “We didn’t try to do too much and we hit a lot of line drives today, so it was a great offensive day for us.”

The Aggies tacked on two more runs in the third, as Foster launched his second double of the afternoon off the wall in right-center. Andritsos followed with a sacrifice fly to left that gave the Aggies a 5-2 lead.

That was enough for Kilkenny, who settled in after giving up the home run and put up zeroes the rest of the way. He only went to two three-ball counts after the second inning and kept a potent Cal offense off balance mixing in a nice curveball with a low 90s fastball.

“He’s as dependable as anyone we have on our staff,” Childress said of Kilkenny. “You know what you’re going to get from him. He’s going to throw it over the plate and you’re going to have to go take it from him. He’s not going to create innings for himself.

“The thing that I see most out of Mitchell this year is his competitive spirit is as good as it’s been. He’s always gone out and thrown it over the plate with really good stuff, but he’s very determined and that’s the thing I think that’s taken him to another level.”

The powerful A&M offense was not done scoring, as the Aggies put another crooked number on the scoreboard in the eighth. Allonte Wingate led off with an infield single, George Janca reached on a throwing error by Cal pitcher Tanner Dodson, and Zach DeLoach drove them both in with a two-run single to right-center.

Brian Okosun

Shewmake paced the offense with three hits as the Aggies scored at least nine runs for the fifth time this season.

“That’s probably the toughest lineup we’ve faced all year,” Cal head coach Mike Neu said of the Aggies. “We got behind and they just keep putting pressure on you. They got us for three innings in a row and kind of put the game out of reach.

Asa Lacy relieved Kilkenny to start the eighth, and the freshman lefty flashed dominant stuff again. He retired the side in order in the eighth on nine pitches, then got two quick outs in the ninth before issuing two walks followed by a three-run home run by pinch-hitter Sam Wezniak.

The Aggies knocked out Ladrech in the third after he allowed eight hits and five runs in 2.1 innings. Three Cal relievers combined to throw the remainder of the game, including closer Tanner Dodson, who struck out three in two innings of work.

A&M recovered nicely from its first loss of the season on Friday with two wins against solid opponents, and the Aggies will return to Olsen Field for two midweek games against Northwestern State.

“We showed a lot of toughness after Friday’s loss being able to bounce back,” Childress said. “For our guys to find a way yesterday and play so much better today I’m really, really proud of our team. We’re starting to shape our identity of the 2018 team.”