Stanford forces Game 7 with 13-5 bludgeoning of Texas A&M

Game #64: #1 Stanford 13, #2 Texas A&M 5
Records: Texas A&M (38-26, 14-16), Stanford (41-17, 23-7)
WP: Brandt Pancer (3-1)
LP: Troy Wansing (3-4)
Save: Nick Dugan (1)
Box Score

Monday's game is indeed necessary.

Because apparently pitching on Sunday was not.

Texas A&M hurlers faltered miserably in a regional final at Sunken Diamond as No. 8 Stanford bloodied the Aggies, 13-5, to force a winner-take-all situation.

It was Stanford's second win of the day after eliminating Cal State Fullerton earlier in the afternoon, 6-5.

Yet, it was the Aggies that cracked under the pressure despite the Cardinal fighting for its life.

"We're still in the exact same spot we were when the day started," A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "We got to win one game to advance our season. Now Stanford is in the same spot. It should be a good ballgame tomorrow."

Starting pitching continued to reek as Troy Wansing followed the mold set by both Will Johnston and Justin Lamkin this weekend, recording just five outs before getting yanked.

Yet, Wansing's start wasn't even the worse of the two as Jace LaViolette's three-run blast and Ryan Targac's solo bomb chased Stanford's Tyler Uber with two outs in the first.

Brett Minnich added a solo homer in the sixth, but that's where A&M's offensive fireworks stopped.

"I'm feeling good," said Minnich, who has battled injuries all season. "It's just good to be out there. No one is 100 percent this time of year. You just have to play through some things."

Shutting down the Aggies behind Uber, Braden Montgomery and Brandt Pancer pitched 2.1 innings each before Nick Dugan — making his second appearance of the day after throwing 42 pitches vs. Fullerton — earned a 3.2-inning save.

"At the end of the day, you look for Ws in the win column," Minnich said. "We didn't do that today. We'll get back at it tomorrow."

Scoring two in the first and four in the second, Stanford's offense erased any early momentum A&M might have found.

Wansing allowed five earned runs, three of which scored when Chris Cortez surrendered a bases-clearing double to Montgomery.

Still, despite an unpromising start to his evening of work, Cortez kept the Aggies afloat until a catastrophic seventh.

"From a pitching staff standpoint, I thought Cortez did an OK job of keeping us in the game, but the game obviously got away real quickly from us in the seventh," Schlossnagle said.

Leading 6-5, the Cardinal ultimately blew the ballgame open with a seven-run frame that featured a Malcolm Moore two-run homer before Tommy Troy's grand slam served as a knockout blow.

Cortez finished with three runs charged against him in 4.1 innings. To say Johnston struggled in relief would be an understatement — allowing four runs on three hits and recording just one out.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Leaving 12 stranded, the Aggies batted just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. 

Josh Stewart and Carson Lambert were left to pick up the pieces and the final eight outs, the former giving up the 13th and final Stanford marker.

"You can't get behind in the count," Schlossnagle said. "You can't pin yourself in a corner as a pitcher against this lineup and expect you're gonna throw fastballs and win the game."

Playing for their lives, Stanford's potent lineup showcased its firepower.

"They're right there with Tennesee, right there with LSU, with Ole Miss last year," Schlossnagle said of the Cardinal. "It's an SEC offense."

Every starter had at least one hit, and every starter other than Drew Bowser scored at least one run.

The pressure never stopped.

"They have a good team, but so do we," Schlossnagle said. "We just got to play well. It's never about the best team. It's only about the team that plays the best, and they played the best today."

After such a deflating and disappointing night, the Aggies must quickly turn the page to prepare for Game 7.

With a spot in next week's super regional with Texas up for grabs, Schlossnagle seemed confident his ballclub can do so.

"The first time I ever was a part of a College World Series team as a head coach, we won the first game of the super regional and lost the second 14-1," Schlossnagle recalled. "I remember that feeling well, and that's what today felt like.

"That team had to win one game, and they did. This is not a super regional, but it's the same thing. You have to win one game to advance your season, so I have supreme confidence in our older group of players, and we have to go play good baseball."

Schlossnagle did not name a starter for Monday's ballgame. Nathan Dettmer has yet to pitch this weekend, but other options could be available.

Whether it's Dettmer looking to recapture the magic of last June in Omaha or someone else, the task is obvious: Win or go home.

First pitch is set for 8 p.m. CT.