Aggies cough up early lead, fall to Sam Houston State on the road, 8-6

Game #31: Sam Houston State 8, Texas A&M 6
Records: Texas A&M (19-12), Sam Houston State (13-13)
WP: Tanner Sembera (1-0)
LP: Jonathan Childress (2-4)
Save: Lance Lusk (6)
Box Score

Same song, different verse.

Despite leading 5-1 after two, Texas A&M suffered another midweek loss, falling to Sam Houston State, 8-6. The Bearkats scored in five of their eight at-bats as the Aggie bullpen had no answers.

"We've got to be better collectively," said Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress. "We've got to coach and manage and prepare better. When we do that, then we'll be better as a team."

In total, six arms took the mound for the Maroon & White, and four allowed at least one run. Only Joseph Menefee (who walked in an inherited runner) and Mason Ornelas did not have a run charged against them.

"There's certainly a lot of disappointed people getting on that bus, headed home," Rob Childress said.

The Aggies jumped on Bearkat starting pitcher Matt Rudis, scoring five runs in the first two innings and forcing the home team to turn to their bullpen in the third.

"We started off outstanding with five runs in the first two innings, and then Sam Houston State's pitching staff did a great job," Rob Childress said.

The 5-1 lead was short-lived as the Bearkats posted three in the third courtesy of Jack Rogers' three-run homer. SHSU tied the game an inning later on an RBI triple by Mason Schultz.

"For us not grabbing the momentum on the mound, we've got to be better in that respect, too," Rob Childress said.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

The Aggies return home this weekend and look to turn the momentum around in a three-game series against Alabama. 

With the score tied 5-5, Jonathan Childress was dreadful in his first appearance out of the bullpen, allowing three hits and coughing up the lead as he recorded just a single out in the fifth. The Aggies never recovered.

Once the bleeding started, the Aggies could not stop it, allowing runs in four consecutive innings from the third to the sixth.

"It's going to be rectified," Rob Childress said. "We've got super talented guys coming out of the bullpen all year long. That's part of the ebbs and flows of a season."

After their brief, two-inning offensive explosion, A&M mustered just one hit until the ninth inning. The Aggies scored once in the final frame and even had the tying run aboard before the ballgame finally came to a close.

"We didn't do anything from the second until the ninth," Rob Childress said. "Credit Sam Houston State's pitchers."

With just 25 games remaining, the Aggies' postseason chances are getting bleaker and bleaker with each passing day, especially considering A&M hasn't faced the teeth of the conference schedule yet.

Texas A&M returns to the friendly confines of Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park on Friday night as the Aggies begin a three-game series with Alabama.