Game #21: Auburn 6, Texas A&M 5 (10 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (13-8, 2-2), Auburn (16-6, 2-2)
WP: Jordan Armstrong (2-1)
LP: Joseph Menefee (0-2)
Save: Blake Burkhalter (4)
Box Score
Friday’s postgame fireworks display was preceded by yet another bullpen flameout.
A disastrous ninth inning cost Texas A&M (13-8, 2-2) a Southeastern Conference victory as the Auburn Tigers (16-6, 2-2) ultimately topped the Aggies in 10 innings, 6-5.
“It’s tough to swallow,” Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “The kids competed. I’m proud of the ways the guys competed.”
Meredith Tabor, TexAgs
A two-run lead built by Dylan Rock’s titanic seventh-inning blast could not be upheld.
With Texas A&M leading 5-3 after eight, Schlossnagle turned to flamethrower Chris Cortez for the final three outs, but a ninth-inning Auburn rally knotted the score.
After a Blake Rambusch single, Cortez struck out Kason Howell for the second out of the ninth before Sonny DiChiara singled to bring Brooks Carlson to the plate. On a 3-2 pitch, Carlson laced a double by Jack Moss to tie the game, 5-5.
The top of the ninth was not without controversy as the inning ended when Mason Land was called out for using an illegal bat. Schlossnagle said Troy Claunch noticed Land’s bat was missing a sticker which indicated it had been tested before the series.
“Every now and then, Claunch will check a bat, and that one didn’t have a sticker on it,” Schlossnagle explained. “It becomes an illegal bat, which means he’s out.”
When Texas A&M failed to score in the ninth, Joseph Menefee took over on the mound in the extra frame. The left-hander promptly plunked Brody Moore with his very first pitch. After a Ryan Targac error, a botched sacrifice and a strikeout, Menefee missed a spot against Rambusch, resulting in an RBI single to right for the game-winning run.
“It was supposed to be in. That’s the problem,” Schlossnagle said. “Some of those little right-handed hitters do a great job of hitting the ball the other way, and we knew that. The ball was supposed to be in but leaked out over the plate.”
In relief of starting pitcher Nathan Dettmer in the sixth, Jacob Palisch was brilliant, facing ten batters and striking out five across three scoreless innings.
“It’s a great feeling to come and feel like you help your team and keep them in the game,” Palisch said. “It’s obviously nice to get some stability and have a good outing, but with that being said, there’s a lot of things to get better at and move forward from.”
“It’s a great feeling to come and feel like you help your team and keep them in the game. It’s obviously nice to get some stability and have a good outing, but with that being said, there’s a lot of things to get better at and move forward from.”
- Texas A&M LHP Jacob Palisch
However, Schlossnagle elected not to trot Palisch out for the ninth.
“When he told me I was coming out, I asked if it was Cortez, and when he told me that it was, I was excited,” Palisch said.
The Aggie headman pointed to Palisch’s pitch count — which sat at 43 — as his reason to remove the graduate transfer from the ballgame.
“He did a great job, and it certainly could be argued to run him back out there for the ninth inning,” Schlossnagle said of Palisch. “Cortez is on our team for a reason.”
What is becoming a frustrating recurring theme, the Aggie bullpen failed to uphold yet another lead. On Friday night, A&M’s 5-3 advantage was built by a 431-foot two-run bomb by Dylan Rock in the seventh. The A&M left fielder finished the night 2-for-4 and raised his season average to .333.
“It was a fastball, and it felt really good,” Rock said. “I was just on the heater, barreled it and hit it out of the park.”
That blast unfortunately went by the wayside. Still, despite the ongoing struggles, Schlossnagle refuses to give up on his club.
“I have confidence in our club, and I know they’ll respond tomorrow,” he said.
Texas A&M looks to even the series on Saturday afternoon when Micah Dallas (3-0, 3.00 ERA) faces Trace Bright (2-1, 1.98 ERA) in a 2:02 ballgame at Olsen Field.
