Aggies complete comeback, top Northwestern State in extras, 7-6

Game #14: Texas A&M 7, Northwestern State 6 (F/11)
Records: Texas A&M 13-1 (0-0), Northwestern State 7-6 (0-0)
WP: Cason Sherrod (1-0)
LP: David Hodo (0-1)
Box Score

If there was any takeaway from the Aggies' 7-6, walk-off, extra-inning victory over Northwestern State on Wednesday, it's that this is a team that knows how to grind out a win when push comes to shove.

Starting his first game of the year, freshman pitcher Christrian Roa struggled initially, but flashed his talent at times. After recording two quick outs in the first inning, he allowed a walk and a single. Allonte Wingate then committed a throwing error to first base, and Northwestern State was on the board with a run. Roa was able to get out of the jam with just one unearned run and worked a quick second inning before being pulled for Kaylor Chafin following consecutive singles allowed in the top of the third.

Chafin struggled through the top of the third, as it seemed his fastball wasn't fooling NSU hitters, and after a single, an error and another single, the Aggies found themselves down 4-0 in the bottom of the third.

For the first four innings, the Aggies looked sluggish on offense. NSU's Cullen McDonald was getting the Aggie bats to swing on the first pitch with weak contact consistently in the early innings, and he was able to get through two innings in under 20 pitches.

The Aggies finally got on the board in the fourth, when Chris Andritsos singled and Logan Foster followed by driving a ball deep past the left field wall to pull the A&M within three, 5-2.

Stephanie Aiple

The Texas A&M pitching staff struggled to find a groove against Northwestern State on Wednesday, surrendering six runs early.

NSU plated another from in the top of the sixth with a sac fly to left, it began to like it A&M was going to have to scrape together a win with timely hitting and smart base running. In the bottom of the sixth, NSU gave the Aggies that opportunity.

Demon pitcher Evan Daigle threw an incredible four wild pitches and was called for a balk in the bottom half of the inning, which allowed A&M to move base-to-base and plate three runs to cut the deficit to 6-5.

Still down by a run going into the bottom half of the eighth, the Aggies needed to put together another strong inning at the plate. Baine Schoenvogel lit the spark by singling through the left side with one out and was followed by an Allonte Wingate walk. George Janca then subbed in as a pinch runner for Wingate.

NSU pitcher Reed Michel followed the walk with another wild pitch, bringing the Demons' total to five on the night, allowing Schoenvogel and Janca to get in scoring position. Aggie freshman Zach DeLoach then singled up the middle to score Schoenvogel and tie the game. However, Janca was tagged out at home plate trying to score, keeping the game tied at six.

The game continued into extra innings, but it wasn't until the eleventh that the Aggies finally put it away. After two quick outs to start the inning, Will Frizzell and Cole Bedford both singled. Then Schoenvogel returned to the plate and laced a double down the right field line for a walk-off hit and a 7-6 Texas A&M victory.

Along with a few tough breaks at the plate, Texas A&M was also forced to use eight different pitchers on the day, with the bulk of the work going to Cason Sherrod, who showed his durability by pitching 4.2 shutout innings and earning the win. Sherrod was determined from the get-go to stay on the mound.

"I really had a groove going, and I wasn't going to stop until we scored," he said. "And I told Coach Childress that. I just wanted to give us a chance to stay in it, put together at-bats and win a ballgame."

A&M head Coach Rob Childress was proud of his team's fight and thinks the Aggies can learn from the victory.

"We competed our tails off offensively to get back in the game and find a way to win," he said. "And that says alot about the character of our team as we start to shape the identity of this 2018 team. We can draw an awful lot from our performance over the last four or five games we've played."

The Aggies will be back at Blue Bell Park again on Friday night for a weekend series against Long Beach State. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.