Ninth inning plagues Aggies as Oklahoma State defeats No. 18 A&M, 8-5

Game #13: Oklahoma State 8, No. 18 Texas A&M 5
Records: Texas A&M (10-3), Oklahoma State (8-4)
WP: Ben Leeper (1-0)
LP: Bryce Miller (0-2)
Boxscore

Dr Pepper Ballpark became a house of horrors for the Aggies this weekend.

Oklahoma State scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat No. 18 Texas A&M 8-5 and handed the Aggies a 0-3 record in the Frisco Classic. The weekend was nothing short of disastrous for A&M.

“Very disappointed, collectively, in our weekend,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “We’re certainly going to grow from it, and it’s something that we needed as a team.”

After an RBI pinch-hit single from Austin Bost in the bottom of the seventh inning that tied the ballgame, it appeared as if the Aggies were going to have a chance to pull out a scrappy victory. That would not be the case as the Cowboys ninth-inning rally sucked the life right out of the ballclub and put A&M to bed.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” A&M catcher Mikey Hoehner said. “We’re going to do some things to get it right.”

Childress made three pitching changes in the ninth inning alone. Bryce Miller began the frame with a walk and two consecutive hits. All three batters Miller faced in the inning would score. Joseph Menefee, Colson Geisler and Cam Wynne were called upon to conclude the inning. Miller wound up with the loss.

“We were really looking forward to making a run in the ninth to come back - we almost did except for the shortstop (Hueston Morrill) making a great play,” said Chris Weber, who tossed 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. “Had a lot of momentum shift there at the end.”

To make matters even worse, Menefee’s hook was forced following an apparent injury after he faced just one batter. In the post-game press conference, Childress said that Menefee’s back tightened up.

“Hopefully, it’s not that big of a deal, and I hope it’s not,” Childress said of Menefee’s injury.

A night after being one-hit in a 10-2 loss to UCLA, the Aggies failed to come out of their offensive haze, scoring just four runs on four hits against erratic freshman fireballer, Bryce Osmond. After Osmond exited at the conclusion of the fifth inning, A&M would score only one more run and manage just one more hit, leaving five men on base in the contest.

Angelina Alcantar, TexAgs

Out of the bullpen, Chris Weber shined through his 2.2 innings of work, perhaps making a strong case to crack the starting rotation.

After A&M’s four-run second, OSU answered back immediately with three runs to tie the game. The Cowboys would take a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth inning.

“Oklahoma State was on swing, and it felt like we threw too many strikes, too many balls up, out over the plate for a team that was that aggressive,” Childress said.

Once again, the Aggies did not play clean defensively, committing two errors in the ballgame. Logan Sartori made his fifth error of the season. Trevor Werner, although not saddled with an error officially, continues to play shoddy defense at shortstop.

“We need to improve. We’ve got a long way to go,” Childress said. “I know we’re going to be better (because of) this tournament.”

After the lackluster weekend, Texas A&M’s next chance find any positive momentum will be Tuesday night when Texas A&M-Corpus Christi comes to Aggieland. First pitch between the Aggies and Islanders is set for 6:32 p.m. at Olsen Field.

NOTE: Participants in the Texas A&M press conference were Rob Childress, Mikey Hoehner and Chris Weber. Participants in the Oklahoma State press conference were head coach Josh Holliday, Hueston Morrill and Carson McCusker.