Postgame: Texas A&M
Postgame: Dayton
Texas A&M Baseball
Thoughts: A&M shows mixed bag in 4-1 win against Dayton
GAME #59 (Regional Game 1): No. 1 Texas A&M 4, No. 4 Dayton 1
* Let's start with Wacha's outing. Was it special? No. But it was very efficient and I was really impressed with the junior fireballer's ability to make the "money" pitch when he absolutely needed it most.
Dayton got to Wacha a few times and raised his blood pressure a little bit, but almost all of the Flyers' runs at Michael came with two outs. In fact, seven of the nine runners that reached against him came after getting two outs against them. If a pitcher is going to struggle a little bit, you will always take it with two outs … and if Dayton had gotten hot earlier in innings against #38, they might have been able to do much more serious damage.
Andrew Kilzer, TexAgs
Wacha was not dominant, but worked a solid 7.1 innings to lead the Ags to a 4-1 victory over Dayton.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Wacha was not dominant, but worked a solid 7.1 innings to lead the Ags to a 4-1 victory over Dayton.","MediaItemID":18708}
Here's Wacha's final line: 7.1 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts. Very good start for the junior in what could very well be the last game that he gets to pitch at Olsen Field. The baseball-savvy crowd of 4,585 recognized that and offered up a great ovation for Wacha as he walked off the mound quite possibly the last time in front of the home fans. As Rob Childress walked out to the mound, signaled for Estevan Uriegas and took the ball from Wacha, the Aggie faithful gave him the applause the he deserves … both for his performance on Friday night and his unbelievable effort and consistency over his three spectacular seasons on the A&M campus. We're talking about a top ten pitcher ever to come through the storied Aggie program. He will almost certainly be a top 15 overall selection in the MLB Draft on Monday, and he'll most certainly sign a pro deal over the summer. So it was great to see the fans truly get to enjoy Wacha tonight. And who knows, maybe the cards will fall perfectly in the Aggies' favor and they'll get to witness an encore presentation next week.
* As Childress pointed out in the post-game press conference, a big reason why Wacha was so effective was his ability to retire the leadoff batter in all eight innings. Against a fast-paced, run-oriented offensive attack like Dayton employs, that is significant because it limits their ability to kickstart their speed game. The only time that the Flyers got remotely close to getting that lead man on base was the third inning, when nine-hole hitter Kuris Duggan ripped a sharp "single" into right field. But Tyler Naquin charged the ball in right and came up gunning, nailing Duggan at first base with an absolute laser beam to Jacob House covering first. It wasn't even close as Duggan was nailed by at least a step.
A tremendous play by a truly special player. I find myself thankful that I got to watch Tyler Naquin play baseball the last two years and it's a sight to see when he really gears up and unleashes that weapon attached to the right side of his body.
* As for the chess match going on this weekend … the best part about the win - other than the win itself - is that A&M did not have to stress the bullpen much at all. Estevan Uriegas faced three batters and threw just 12 pitches. Kyle Martin was great in this one, working the final 1.1 frames of hitless relief to pick up save number seven on the season. He needed just 15 pitched to get those four outs. Regionals can be a gauntlet and a battle of attrition, so it was great for the Ags to start it out the way they did on the mound.
* In their quest to find some consistency at the top of the order, Childress, Andy Sawyers and Co. made the move to slide the struggling Mikey Reynolds down to the seven-hold and stick Tyler Naquin back in the leadoff slot. It was a risky move because Tyler had struggled in the one-hole late in the season when Reynolds was out with a shoulder injury. But he tore up the baseball in the two-hole at the Big 12 Tournament and came into the regional on fire. Well, it's safe to say that Naquin continued his face, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and absolutely scorching two balls to deep center field that were chased down by Bobby Glover for Dayton.
Andrew Kilzer, TexAgs
Juengel went 2-for-5 from the two-hole and teamed with Naquin and Wacha to pound out seven of A&M's nine hits on the night.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Juengel went 2-for-5 from the two-hole and teamed with Naquin and Wacha to pound out seven of A&M\u0027s nine hits on the night.","MediaItemID":18729}
The Naquin, Juengel, House combination at the top of the order was deadly in this one, as the trio combined to go 7-for-9 to start the game. They finished with a 7-for-15 mark, scoring three runs and driving in two.
The problem is that nobody else really did much to help them out. But against the Flyers, it didn't really matter because these three guys were that good and it only took three guys to get more than enough to advance to the winner's bracket. That said, A&M stranded eight runners through the first four innings and left a total of 11 on the base paths in the contest. That won't get it done against either Ole Miss or TCU.
* I really want to stop and give credit to the Flyers for playing a very good game and keeping the score manageable and within striking distance throughout. Dayton is a scrappy team and they fought like heck in this one … just couldn't get over the hump with all of those two-out rallies. But I've been saying it all week and I'll stick by my assessment that this is a dangerous team. Wacha was just so good at getting the leadoff man out and we never saw the Dayton team that can put immense pressure on the opposition.
Big props to Flyers' ace Mike Hauschild. He lasted seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on nine base hits, walking three and striking out four. The big right-hander seemed overwhelmed in the first inning but managed to escape with only allowing a run. Then all three of his walks came in the third and it looked like he was going to cave in and have an early trip to the showers. But again, he hung tough and got out of the jam with only a single run crossing home plate. Same thing again in the fourth … back-to-back-to-back hits by Naquin, Juengel and House - the second time in the game that they combined for three straight hits - but Hauschild skirted through that jam as well … only allowing a run. I was very, very impressed with him, as I expected to be after researching what he had done over the past five or six weeks. He's certainly no Big 12 ace, but he's a grinder and he battled extremely well tonight.
* Tough guy award to Dayton right fielder C.J. Gillman, who slid head first into A&M catcher Troy Stein as he scored a run in the eighth inning. Gillman's head and shoulder banked into Stein's shin left shin guard and both players were down momentarily. Gillman walked off the field with a gash near his forehead but stayed in the game. He got stitches after the contest and is expected to play on Saturday.
* If you watched the game, where do you come off on Dayton's uniforms? I, for one, loved them. Pretty slick. Red tops, white pants. Stripes on the shoulders and "DAYTON" in big lettering across the chest. And candy cane socks for those wearing their pant legs up. An old-school baseball uniform that I really enjoyed. Certainly no Seton Hall, if you remember their gear from last year's regional, but impressive nonetheless.
* It's TCU vs. Dayton Saturday at 12:35 p.m. and then the Aggies will take on Ole Miss at 6:35 … with the winner moving to Sunday night in total control of the regional and needing just one win to move on to the second weekend of the tournament. A&M is going with senior co-ace Ross Stripling, who sports a 10-3 record and a 2.90 ERA. The All-American will be countered by right-hander Mike Mayers, who is 5-3 on the season with an ERA of 3.52. Should be a nice matchup on the mound, but I always like A&M's chances with #36 takes the ball. And like Wacha one night earlier, Stripling will get what may be his last chance to pitching in front of the Olsen faithful, and you can guarantee that he will be fired up to go out victorious.
* A few day one snippets from around the nation: How about Baylor falling to Oral Roberts? The Bears are one loss away from yet another epic meltdown in post-season play. … Jonathan Crawford thew a no-hitter for Florida in a 4-0 victory over Bethune-Cookman. He walked one and struck out five. Heck of a way to kick start a possible trip back to the CWS for the Gators, who have become accustomed to playing in Omaha at season's end. … Stony Brook blew out Miami, 10-2 in Coral Gables. … Samford shocked SEC Tournament champion Mississippi State, 5-0. … And the most amazing game of the night came in Gary, Indiana, where Kent State outlasted Kentucky, 7-6 in 21 innings. It was the second longest game in division one history.
* I sat next to Texas A&M scoreboard operator Aaron Walling tonight in the press box and he had a pretty good line: "Nice binary scoring line today," he said toward the end of the game. And when you glance at the inning-by-inning box score, this is how it looks:
Dayton: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0
Texas A&M: 1-0-1-1-0-0-1-0-X
Nice observation, Aaron. You're a dork … but a cool dork. :)
* Check out the very end of the A&M post-game press conference and notice how head coach Rob Childress starts to "settle in" with a little comedy routine when the media runs out of questions for him. Check out the audio … pretty funny!
That will do it from the press box. Jose has taken over at the park and is working hard on cleaning up and getting the facility ready to roll on Saturday. We'll be back in action for A&M / Ole Miss, but first, it's party time for Ella as we celebrate her third birthday Saturday morning with a princess castle bounce house, water games, a butterfly theme and other outdoor activities with family and friends!
RECORDS: Texas A&M 43-16; Dayton 31-29
WP: Michael Wacha (9-1)
WP: Michael Wacha (9-1)
LP: Mike Hauschild (7-3)
S: Kyle Martin (7)
BOX SCORE: LINKThoughts on A&M's 1-0 start in the College Station Regional
* Anytime you host a regional and are facing the No. 4 seed, the goal simply to survive and advance. You don't need anything pretty or utterly dominant. Just a win to move on to the winner's bracket. And if you can do it and save your bullpen at the same time, it's a double bonus. The Aggies accomplished both on Friday night, getting 7.1 strong innings from junior ace Michael Wacha en route to a 4-1 victory over Dayton on day one of the College Station Regional. With the win, the Aggies will move on to face No. 3-seeded Mississippi in a winner's bracket game Saturday night at 6:35. A&M's future SEC foe defeated No. 2-seeded TCU Friday afternoon, 6-2. A good game all-around for Texas A&M, but certainly not a tremendous showing from top to bottom. But remember … Survive and advance! That's the name of the game.* Let's start with Wacha's outing. Was it special? No. But it was very efficient and I was really impressed with the junior fireballer's ability to make the "money" pitch when he absolutely needed it most.
Dayton got to Wacha a few times and raised his blood pressure a little bit, but almost all of the Flyers' runs at Michael came with two outs. In fact, seven of the nine runners that reached against him came after getting two outs against them. If a pitcher is going to struggle a little bit, you will always take it with two outs … and if Dayton had gotten hot earlier in innings against #38, they might have been able to do much more serious damage.
Andrew Kilzer, TexAgs
Wacha was not dominant, but worked a solid 7.1 innings to lead the Ags to a 4-1 victory over Dayton.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Wacha was not dominant, but worked a solid 7.1 innings to lead the Ags to a 4-1 victory over Dayton.","MediaItemID":18708}
* As Childress pointed out in the post-game press conference, a big reason why Wacha was so effective was his ability to retire the leadoff batter in all eight innings. Against a fast-paced, run-oriented offensive attack like Dayton employs, that is significant because it limits their ability to kickstart their speed game. The only time that the Flyers got remotely close to getting that lead man on base was the third inning, when nine-hole hitter Kuris Duggan ripped a sharp "single" into right field. But Tyler Naquin charged the ball in right and came up gunning, nailing Duggan at first base with an absolute laser beam to Jacob House covering first. It wasn't even close as Duggan was nailed by at least a step.
A tremendous play by a truly special player. I find myself thankful that I got to watch Tyler Naquin play baseball the last two years and it's a sight to see when he really gears up and unleashes that weapon attached to the right side of his body.
* As for the chess match going on this weekend … the best part about the win - other than the win itself - is that A&M did not have to stress the bullpen much at all. Estevan Uriegas faced three batters and threw just 12 pitches. Kyle Martin was great in this one, working the final 1.1 frames of hitless relief to pick up save number seven on the season. He needed just 15 pitched to get those four outs. Regionals can be a gauntlet and a battle of attrition, so it was great for the Ags to start it out the way they did on the mound.
* In their quest to find some consistency at the top of the order, Childress, Andy Sawyers and Co. made the move to slide the struggling Mikey Reynolds down to the seven-hold and stick Tyler Naquin back in the leadoff slot. It was a risky move because Tyler had struggled in the one-hole late in the season when Reynolds was out with a shoulder injury. But he tore up the baseball in the two-hole at the Big 12 Tournament and came into the regional on fire. Well, it's safe to say that Naquin continued his face, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and absolutely scorching two balls to deep center field that were chased down by Bobby Glover for Dayton.
Andrew Kilzer, TexAgs
Juengel went 2-for-5 from the two-hole and teamed with Naquin and Wacha to pound out seven of A&M's nine hits on the night.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Juengel went 2-for-5 from the two-hole and teamed with Naquin and Wacha to pound out seven of A&M\u0027s nine hits on the night.","MediaItemID":18729}
The problem is that nobody else really did much to help them out. But against the Flyers, it didn't really matter because these three guys were that good and it only took three guys to get more than enough to advance to the winner's bracket. That said, A&M stranded eight runners through the first four innings and left a total of 11 on the base paths in the contest. That won't get it done against either Ole Miss or TCU.
* I really want to stop and give credit to the Flyers for playing a very good game and keeping the score manageable and within striking distance throughout. Dayton is a scrappy team and they fought like heck in this one … just couldn't get over the hump with all of those two-out rallies. But I've been saying it all week and I'll stick by my assessment that this is a dangerous team. Wacha was just so good at getting the leadoff man out and we never saw the Dayton team that can put immense pressure on the opposition.
Big props to Flyers' ace Mike Hauschild. He lasted seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on nine base hits, walking three and striking out four. The big right-hander seemed overwhelmed in the first inning but managed to escape with only allowing a run. Then all three of his walks came in the third and it looked like he was going to cave in and have an early trip to the showers. But again, he hung tough and got out of the jam with only a single run crossing home plate. Same thing again in the fourth … back-to-back-to-back hits by Naquin, Juengel and House - the second time in the game that they combined for three straight hits - but Hauschild skirted through that jam as well … only allowing a run. I was very, very impressed with him, as I expected to be after researching what he had done over the past five or six weeks. He's certainly no Big 12 ace, but he's a grinder and he battled extremely well tonight.
* Tough guy award to Dayton right fielder C.J. Gillman, who slid head first into A&M catcher Troy Stein as he scored a run in the eighth inning. Gillman's head and shoulder banked into Stein's shin left shin guard and both players were down momentarily. Gillman walked off the field with a gash near his forehead but stayed in the game. He got stitches after the contest and is expected to play on Saturday.
* If you watched the game, where do you come off on Dayton's uniforms? I, for one, loved them. Pretty slick. Red tops, white pants. Stripes on the shoulders and "DAYTON" in big lettering across the chest. And candy cane socks for those wearing their pant legs up. An old-school baseball uniform that I really enjoyed. Certainly no Seton Hall, if you remember their gear from last year's regional, but impressive nonetheless.
* It's TCU vs. Dayton Saturday at 12:35 p.m. and then the Aggies will take on Ole Miss at 6:35 … with the winner moving to Sunday night in total control of the regional and needing just one win to move on to the second weekend of the tournament. A&M is going with senior co-ace Ross Stripling, who sports a 10-3 record and a 2.90 ERA. The All-American will be countered by right-hander Mike Mayers, who is 5-3 on the season with an ERA of 3.52. Should be a nice matchup on the mound, but I always like A&M's chances with #36 takes the ball. And like Wacha one night earlier, Stripling will get what may be his last chance to pitching in front of the Olsen faithful, and you can guarantee that he will be fired up to go out victorious.
* A few day one snippets from around the nation: How about Baylor falling to Oral Roberts? The Bears are one loss away from yet another epic meltdown in post-season play. … Jonathan Crawford thew a no-hitter for Florida in a 4-0 victory over Bethune-Cookman. He walked one and struck out five. Heck of a way to kick start a possible trip back to the CWS for the Gators, who have become accustomed to playing in Omaha at season's end. … Stony Brook blew out Miami, 10-2 in Coral Gables. … Samford shocked SEC Tournament champion Mississippi State, 5-0. … And the most amazing game of the night came in Gary, Indiana, where Kent State outlasted Kentucky, 7-6 in 21 innings. It was the second longest game in division one history.
* I sat next to Texas A&M scoreboard operator Aaron Walling tonight in the press box and he had a pretty good line: "Nice binary scoring line today," he said toward the end of the game. And when you glance at the inning-by-inning box score, this is how it looks:
Dayton: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0
Texas A&M: 1-0-1-1-0-0-1-0-X
Nice observation, Aaron. You're a dork … but a cool dork. :)
* Check out the very end of the A&M post-game press conference and notice how head coach Rob Childress starts to "settle in" with a little comedy routine when the media runs out of questions for him. Check out the audio … pretty funny!
That will do it from the press box. Jose has taken over at the park and is working hard on cleaning up and getting the facility ready to roll on Saturday. We'll be back in action for A&M / Ole Miss, but first, it's party time for Ella as we celebrate her third birthday Saturday morning with a princess castle bounce house, water games, a butterfly theme and other outdoor activities with family and friends!
Never miss the latest news from TexAgs!
Join our free email list
