Game #25: No. 4 Texas A&M 9, Auburn 7
Records: Texas A&M (23-3, 4-3), Auburn (16-9, 1-6)
WP: Evan Aschenbeck (4-0)
LP: Parker Carlson (2-1)
Box Score
Jim Schlossnagle has said it time and again.
Evan Aschenbeck is Texas A&M's "all-time pitcher."
And he proved it yet again in the Aggies' 9-7 victory over Auburn in front of 6,466 at Blue Bell Park on Thursday night.
"What more can be said about the guy than has already been said? The biggest decision I have to make all weekend, every weekend, is: When are we going to use him?" the A&M head coach explained. "I just felt like that was the time."
With the bases full of Tigers, nobody out in the sixth and A&M clinging to a 6-4 lead, Schlossnagle made his big decision.
While that inning ended in a 6-6 tie due to the second A&M error of the frame, Aschenbeck was his usual self from then on.
"It's really not always fun to come in with bases loaded, but with my role, it's going to happen, and it's my job to pick the guys up, throw strikes and get outs," Aschenbeck said.
In four full innings of relief, the lefty allowed just one run — an Ike Irish solo shot in the seventh — on two hits while striking out five.
"If I can just get in there and execute pitches, you can't ask for anything else," Aschenbeck said humbly. "Having a great defense behind me and a great lineup is something that is really special and helps me out a lot too."
The end result was Aschenbeck's fourth win of the year.
Throwing 61 pitches on Thursday, his status for the remainder of the series is expected to be limited, but the payoff of a hard-earned SEC victory certainly softens that blow.
At least in the early going, it seemed as if Aschenbeck's services might not be required.
However, the Aggies squandered leads of 3-0 and 6-3, prompting Schlossnagle to fire his Brenham bullet.
"Once you get the lead, you burn him," Schlossnagle said of Aschenbeck. "We fired our bullet right there, so some other pitchers better be stepping up.
"Like when you're a kid, he's all-time pitcher."
On the back of Braden Montgomery's first-inning two-run blast, A&M never trailed.
Still, the Aggies failed to deliver the knockout blow as Auburn battled back with a Mason Maners three-run homer off starter Ryan Prager in the fourth and a trio of unearned markers against Chris Cortez in the sixth.
"Even though we had the lead a lot of the game, I never felt like we had control of the game," Schlossnagle said. "We put together a lot of good at-bats. We never got the super big hit."
In fact, the Ags did not need a hit at all.
Taking the lead for good in the bottom half of the sixth stanza, A&M got the decisive runs without the luxury of a base hit.
Three walks and two hit-by-pitches led to a three-run frame on Jackson Appel's RBI hit-by-pitch, Ted Burton's bases-loaded walk and Hayden Schott's sacrifice fly.
It was Schott's second RBI of the night following his fourth-inning homer. Shockingly, even with a south wind blowing out, it was A&M's second and final round-tripper of the game.
"Our approach is just swing at strikes, take balls," Montgomery said of his first-inning smash. "I wanted to preferably get a fastball over the plate, which I did after taking the first-pitch changeup. I don't like to not put my best swing on a fastball."
That best swing drove in RBIs No. 41 and No. 42, thrusting Montgomery into the national lead in the category. His 13th bomb now has him alone atop the A&M leaderboard.
Schott's third home run of 2024 jumpstarted a different three-run rally.
In the fourth, Gavin Grahovac — who finished 3-for-5 — and Jace LaViolette drove in runs with back-to-back singles.
A&M's relentless offensive attack forced Auburn skipper Butch Thompson to utilize three relievers, but none were as good as A&M's third and final call to the bullpen.
"Of course, it was a challenge," Montgomery said of the Auburn pitching staff. "We know coming into every weekend that it's going to be a challenge. It's definitely a different pitching staff than ones that we've faced prior, but yeah, we welcome that challenge."
Already with a pair of four-inning saves to his credit, Aschenbeck's fourth four-inning outing of the year might have been his most important to date.
And D1Baseball's newly-minded No. 1 reliever in the nation proved yet again why he'll remain Schlossnagle's No. 1 option as well.
"Aschenbeck can do anything, but he can't pitch again tomorrow, that's for sure," Schlossnagle said. "You got to take the win when you can get the win, and we'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow."
The series continues on Friday night at 6 p.m. CT.
