Aggies' late rally proves insufficient in elimination tilt with Hoosiers, 9-7
Game #62: Indiana 9, Texas A&M 7
Records: Indiana (40-18), Texas A&M (40-22)
WP: Tim Herrin (6-0)
LP: Kaylor Chafin (5-1)
SV: Matt Lloyd (6)
Box Score
For the first time in four years, Texas A&M will not be playing in a Super Regional.
The Aggies threatened Indiana late with a barrage of doubles and runs throughout eight scoreless innings of relief, but the Hoosiers’ nine runs in the first inning were ultimately too much to overcome as Indiana ended A&M’s season with a 9-7 win at Disch-Falk Field.
“Such is the game,” head coach Rob Childress said after the game. “When you’re down 9-nothing you’ve got to be perfect. We were as close to perfect as you could be. We weren’t perfect. We were awful close, and that’s why we didn’t win the game today. We gave it a shot, and it just didn’t happen.”
Starter Kaylor Chafin did not get out of the first inning for the Aggies, as he surrendered five hits and six runs before being lifted for Cason Sherrod with one out. Sherrod promptly allowed a three-run home run to Matt Lloyd but settled down to throw four scoreless innings after that.
Meanwhile, the Aggie offense slowly chipped away at the large deficit. Chris Andritsos plated two with a ground-rule double in the first, and George Janca notched an RBI single in the second to cut the deficit to 9-3.
In the fifth, Zach DeLoach and Michael Helman hit back-to-back doubles, and Andritsos scored Helman later in the inning with a sacrifice fly to left that made it 9-5.
Nolan Hoffman entered the game in the sixth and turned in four scoreless innings of his own. He stranded leadoff doubles in both the sixth and seventh and then left two men on base in the eighth and ninth to keep the game close and give the Aggies a chance to tie or win the game at the end.
“An incredible performance,” Childress said of the relief effort. “To hang eight zeros on the board, throw eight innings of shutout baseball to give ourselves a chance. It would have been a great ending had we gotten a couple more big hits there in the ninth.”
Helman hit his second double of the game to lead off the seventh, and Foster drove him in with an RBI single up the middle. Foster went 3-for-4 on the afternoon, while Helman finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
Helman came up again in the eighth with runners on first and second with two outs, and Indiana brought in first baseman Matt Lloyd, who doubles as the Hoosiers’ closer, to pitch. Helman got behind 0-2 but fouled off three pitches and worked the count to 2-2. However, his hard-hit ground ball up the middle was fielded by Indiana shortstop Jeremy Houston to end the inning.
In the ninth, the Aggies got two men aboard with one out as Shewmake singled and Foster walked. Pinch hitter Will Frizzell singled on a 3-2 pitch to left to score Shewmake and make it 9-7, but Allonte Wingate grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning, the game and A&M’s season.
The Aggies were doubled up four times in the contest, all of which were devastating to their comeback bid.
“I was proud of our guys continuing to be competitive,” Childress said. “We had hits — we couldn’t have done much more except a couple more big hits. A couple of fly balls in the first and third innings, and we’re still playing ball.
"You look up and you make it 9-to-5, and you could tell they were a little nervous over there. They got the bullpen moving, and you could tell we’re one big inning, one big hit away from making this thing happen.”
The Aggies had other opportunities to score in the contest, including in the fifth when Hunter Coleman blasted a two-out double into the right-center field gap with Foster on first base. Hoosier center fielder Logan Kaletha cut the ball off before it could get to the wall, and a perfectly executed relay cut down Foster at the plate.
In all, seven different Aggies recorded multi-hit games and as a team, A&M banged out 17 hits and nine doubles.
“We kept coming at them,” said center fielder Zach DeLoach, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. “We never gave away an at-bat, and we were just as competitive as could be.”
The loss brings the A&M season to an end and marks the last time seniors Kaylor Chafin, Cason Sherrod and Baine Schoenvogel will suit up for the Aggies. A few other Aggies may get drafted high enough in the June MLB Draft for them to bypass the rest of their college eligibility, but either way the future looks bright for Texas A&M baseball.
“A lot of the freshmen got a lot of experience this year,” Foster said. “In the sophomore class, a lot of guys stepped up to be leaders, and I think that’s going to be great for us moving forward.”