No. 1 Texas A&M holds off Houston after surviving late scare, 13-11

Game #41: No. 1 Texas A&M 13, Houston 11
Record: Texas A&M (36-5, 13-5), Houston (20-21, 6-15)
WP: Brad Rudis (3-0)
LP: Alex Solis (0-2)
Save: Evan Aschenbeck (6)
Box Score

How does one make sense of the sloppiest game of the year?

By reminding yourself that the Aggies still won.

Though certainly not pretty or quick by any definition, No. 1 Texas A&M held off a late scare from sub-.500 Houston on Tuesday night, 13-11.

Long after much of the Blue Bell Park crowd of 6,248 dissipated, the upset-minded Cougars mounted a late surge.

"Not great," A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said of his pitching staff. "We had our hands full with Alabama, and we knew going into this game that Houston could really hit.

"Obviously, we needed to score, and we're trying to get these young guys in games. ... We better pitch better, and I think we will."

Trailing 12-4 after six, Houston scored two unearned runs in the seventh on a Ryan Targac error and then tagged rarely-used reliever Jett Johnston for five more on two home runs an inning later.

What once teetered on a Cougar surrender turned into an Evan Aschenbeck-needer.

Indeed, with the lead shrunk to 13-11, Schlossnagle mobilized his All-American-caliber reliever to nail down a shockingly anxiety-inducing victory.

Read that last word again.

Victory.

"I think we've proven we can win in different ways," Schlossnagle said. "We've pitched really well, and our offense has been consistent, but the league is tough. You're getting to the time of year when the wind is blowing out, and most teams not named Arkansas across the country are pitching about the same as we are."

Picking up a four-out save, Aschenbeck became the ninth and final A&M arm in a ballgame that featured 17 total hurlers.

Before him, Weston Moss pitched a scoreless fourth and fifth.

Brock Peery got two key outs without allowing a run.

Those were the few bright spots in addition to an interesting 15-pitch cameo from Justin Lamkin.

On the night, A&M allowed four walks and hit five Cougars. Somehow, only three of those nine free passes scored.

Beyond that, pitching is becoming somewhat of a concern as Schlossnagle's Tuesday-night tryouts again yielded little results.

"We have some guys doing great," the A&M head coach said. "We just got to get the right seven or eight guys.

"The guys that pitch the best pitch the most, and if you don't pitch well, you don't get to pitch."

From some consternation to solidified comfort, A&M's offense remains an unstoppable machine.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Texas A&M totaled 13 hits and drew seven walks on Tuesday night.

Houston pitching — specifically starter Dan Wright and last-call Jose Torrealba — only mustered just zeros in the first and eighth.

A&M scored five in the second to erase an early 3-0 deficit. The Aggies added three in the third, two in the fourth and individual markers in the fifth, sixth and seventh.

Again, it was a complete team effort.

Every Aggie starter except Ted Burton and Travis Chestnut registered a hit, while only Braden Montgomery did not score.

Caden Sorrell registered his first career four-hit night, finishing a homer shy of the cycle.

"I saw the ball great today," Sorrell said. "It's always nice to have a night like that.

"One through nine, we have relentless guys. We stick to our routine. We stick to our approach. We're going to do great things."

Fellow freshman (and Sorrell's roommate) Gavin Grahovac went 2-for-4 with his 15th round-tripper of the year in the fourth, while the much-older Hayden Schott finished with a three-run blast and two walks.

"Both ends got to work. Offense has to hit. Pitching has got to pitch," Grahovac said. "As long as we throw strikes and continue to fill up the zone, the other team is going to hit the baseball. Sometimes, we get unlucky. As long as we keep filling up the zone, we'll be fine."

Not too dissimilar from the style of play seen in 2022, Schlossnagle understands Tuesday’s path to victory is hard to sustain.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

With his run-scoring double in the sixth inning, Braden Montgomery extended his on-base streak to 23 games.

But there is solace in knowing there is still time for the Aggies to play their best baseball.

At 36-5 overall and 13-5 in America's toughest baseball conference, the idea that A&M could potentially reach another level should replace worry with excitement.

"We got to keep improving throughout the season," Schlossnagle said. "Your record doesn't matter. You have to keep improving so that when games matter the most, you're at your best."

However, with No. 20 Georgia set to descend on College Station this weekend, do not expect a reversion to low-scoring pitchers' duels just yet.

Two of the nation's premier offenses combined with a south wind is a recipe for large run outputs.

"We got a tall task ahead of us this weekend. Georgia's numbers are every bit as good as ours on offense, and it's not just (Charlie) Condon; it's the guys hitting around him," Schlossnagle said. "Games are going to last a while, I'm pretty sure."

Prepare to sit back and get comfortable.

After all, should the Aggies find ways to keep winning, making sense of that definitely beats the alternative.