Bryce Miller strikes out 15 as Texas A&M defeats New Mexico State, 5-0
Game #12: Texas A&M 5, New Mexico State 0
Records: Texas A&M (8-4), New Mexico State (1-5)
WP: Bryce Miller (2-0)
LP: Josh Laukkanen (0-3)
Box Score
Blackjack!
Texas A&M pitching dealt out 21 punchouts as the Maroon & White defeated New Mexico State, 5-0, on Saturday afternoon from Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. The surging Texas Aggies have now won four-in-a-row and clinched a series victory.
“It was just a hard-fought, well-played game,” said Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress. “Amazing performance out of our pitching staff today.”
‘Great’ is an understatement as Bryce Miller and Chandler Jozwiak combined to give up only five hits in addition to those 21 strikeouts.
Miller’s fastball seemed to have extra life today as the right-handed fireballer sat in the mid-90s with the ability to reach 98 mph. New Mexico State hitters struggled to catch up with the heat as Miller punched out 15 batters, 11 of which went down swinging.
“Bryce Miller was as goods as he could possibly be,” Childress said. “Four-pitch mix. Any pitch, any count and never gave them an opportunity.”
After seven innings of scoreless ball and 107 pitches, Miller’s day came to an end. He allowed just four hits. Perhaps even more impressive than his 15 strikeouts is the fact Miller did not issue a single walk.
“The last couple of weeks, (walks) have been what has gotten me into trouble,” Miller said, pleased with a goose egg in the base-on-balls column. “Getting through that third and still being able to throw it over the plate helped me go deeper.”
Upon entering the game in the eighth inning, Jozwiak — a Brenham high school product — faced seven hitters and struck out six of them in the final two innings.
“When he is the aggressor, he is on the attack and he is in compete mode; he is dominating,” Childress said of Jozwiak’s performance.
For much of the day, Miller worked with a 1-0 lead, which the home nine received via a bases-loaded walk in the second. The Aggies tacked on four insurance runs in the seventh after Ray Alejo crossed the plate on a wild pitch and Ty Coleman plated two with an RBI single. Trevor Werner concluded the inning with an RBI single of his own to make it 5-0.
“We had opportunities all day and couldn’t knock ‘em down,” Coleman said. “I was fortunate enough to get the big hit.”
A&M tallied 11 hits, five of which came off the bat of the red-hot Will Frizzell. The big lefty finished 5-for-5 with four singles, a double and a run scored.
“It’s a lot of confidence and really being healthy,” Frizzell said of his hot start to the season. “I feel great up there, and I’m seeing the ball really well.”
Through two games this weekend, A&M has used just four pitchers and allowed only one run. With a well-rested bullpen, the Texas Aggies are in prime position to complete the sweep of the New Mexico State Aggies tomorrow afternoon.
Texas A&M and New Mexico State conclude the set on Sunday as Jonathan Childress takes the ball for the home team. First pitch is scheduled for 1:02 p.m.