Kent's wild walk-off walk propels No. 4 A&M past Sam Houston, 9-8

Game #17: No. 4 Texas A&M 9, Sam Houston 8
Records: Texas A&M (17-0), Sam Houston (11-6)
WP: Chris Cortez (2-0)
LP: Chandler David (1-2)
Box Score

No game is meaningless.

Each one tells you more about your club.

For No. 4 Texas A&M, Tuesday's 9-8 walk-off victory over Sam Houston said a lot.

"It's good for you. It's good for our team," A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said of a second straight test. "I know it sounds coachy: We're trying to make every day Opening Day.

"I heard somebody on the radio say this morning that this game meant more to Sam Houston than it did Texas A&M, and I told our team that. They all called that the BS that it is. Every single game means something to us, whether it's Sam Houston or Florida."

“BS” aside, Kaeden Kent's bases-loaded walk in the ninth ultimately sent a Blue Bell Park crowd of 7,342 home happy. But, that the ballgame even required Olsen Magic might have frustrated many.

A&M led by five after five. On Sunday, they led by four after six.

Still, Schlossnagle & Co. learned a lot.

Further, they remain undefeated.

"I'm really proud of our guys for battling," Schlossnagle said. "We beat a good team tonight, and we're getting ready to play another great team this weekend."

Of course, that next opponent is No. 8 Florida as A&M travels to Gainesville to begin Southeastern Conference play. In doing so, the travel roster will be trimmed to 27 men.

Which explains why A&M used seven different arms to accumulate the necessary 27 outs.

"Tryouts. It felt like we were having tryouts," a somewhat frustrated Schlossnagle said. "Need to find out in the games because the games will tell us. The analytics of a pitch are awesome, but the hitter is going to tell us how good the pitcher is.

"The guy on the pitching staff I'm super proud of is Chris Cortez. The guy has been through a lot here, and he knows what the expectations are. Nobody has higher expectations than him, and to come in, give up a homer to tie the game but continue to throw strikes. ... I'm just really proud of Cortez."

Behind starter Isaac Morton, Zane Badmaev, Brock Peery, Eldridge Armstrong III, Peyton Smith, Luke Jackson and Cortez trotted in from the left-field bullpen.

Not a single Aggie hurler got more than six outs.

In his second relief appearance, Cortez pitched two innings and allowed just one run — Walker Janek's game-tying home run in the eighth inning.

Jamie Maury

Texas A&M snapped a two-game skid against SHSU and has now recorded walk-off wins in back-to-back games for the first time since 2012.

But Cortez will likely be among the travel party when A&M's flight leaves Easterwood on Thursday.

Also staking his claim to more playing time is Kent, who drew the winning free pass from Chandler David.

"I was just trying to do anything I could to get on base," Kent said. "Bases were loaded. A base hit wins, and a walk wins too, so I just trying to do anything I can to get on base."

Entering as a defensive replacement for Justin Vossos in the fifth, Kent finished 1-for-2 with a double and the celebration-inducing walk.

He also made numerous standout defensive plays, including one off a fortuitous bounce off the wall in foul territory to nab Malachi Lott, who had taken too wide a turn after an eighth-inning single.

"Kent's not the most physically tooled-out player, but he does so many things in a baseball game to help you win a game," Schlossnagle said. "I'm really happy for Kaeden that he had some positive things happen for him."

Lott played a big role in the Aggies squandering a second consecutive lead.

A&M led 6-0 after two innings thanks to two Jace LaViolette solo blasts and a Gavin Grahovac two-run shot.

LaViolette's second home run was the 30th of his young career — good for eighth in program history.

The Aggies led 8-3 after Braden Montgomery and Hayden Schott drove in runs in the fourth.

As a club, A&M accumulated 14 hits, and the trio of Grahovac, LaViolette and Ali Camarillo notched three knocks.

But from the fifth through the eighth, Logan Hewitt held the Aggies down as the Bearkats mounted their comeback.

"It was a good one, but it was stressful," Camarillo said. "Next game, I say we win by a little bit more than a walk-off."

Three straight singles off Armstrong set the table for Lott's grand slam off Peery in the sixth.

Two innings later, the visitors drew even.

Unlike Sunday's walk-off winner, the Aggies never fell behind.

Much like Sunday, they persevered against an upset-minded opponent.

That should serve them well moving forward.

"I think it's great for our club to fight back in certain situations, however, you guys know, we have this thing called 'Opening Day, every day,'" Kent said. "After tonight, it's over, and we're looking forward to Friday."

After all, the conference will call A&M's next series its "opening" weekend.