Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies Top Texas Southern, 9-4
Apr 20, 2021 | Baseball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies churned out a 9-4 victory over the Texas Southern Tigers in Tuesday's action on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
The Maroon & White struck early, putting up eight runs in the first five frames. The Tigers answered back with two runs of their own in the fifth and seventh, but the Aggies shutdown the Texas Southern offense in the eighth and ninth, while adding a lone run in the eighth to extend their lead.
At the plate, Brett Minnich and Bryce Blaum led the Aggie bats. Minnich went 2-for-4 with three runs, one walk and one RBI, while Blaum was 2-for-3 with one double, one run, one walk and two RBI. Other key Aggies were Hunter Coleman, who added two hits, and Taylor Smith, who went yard in the fourth inning.
The Aggies managed put the leadoff guy on board in six of the eight frames and matched that tally for the number of innings getting a man to third with less than two outs. They also had bases-loaded opportunities in three different innings.
On the mound, the Aggies threw four pitchers at the Tigers. Jonathan Childress got the start and settled with the no-decision. Childress hurled 4.1 innings, yielding two runs on three hits and three walks while fanning four. Alex Magers got called in the fifth to close out the inning, and yielded one hit which scored the lone inherited runner. Mason Ornelas (2-0) earned the win in relief, for tossing the final 2.2 scoreless inning of the game. Ornelas scattered two hits while fanning four on the day.
The staff held the Tigers' bats to 1-for-10 with two outs, 3-for-16 with runners on and 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
The Maroon & White improved to 22-17 on the year and remain undefeated, 16-0, versus the Texas Southern Tigers.
TOP AGGIE PERFORMERS
Bryce Blaum – 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Brett Minnich – 2-for-4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Mason Ornelas (W, 2-0) – 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
GAME SUMMARY
B2 | Consecutive hits to leftfield by Brett Minnich and Bryce Blaum got things started for the Aggies. Both runners moved into scoring position after Zane Schmidt executed a sacrifice bunt. Taylor Smith drew a walk and loaded the bags with Ags, before Kalae Harrison brought across one on a five-pitch walk. A&M 1, TSU 0.
B3 | Logan Sartori drew a leadoff seven-pitch walk, advanced to second on a groundout, and took third on a pitch in the dirt. Minnich plated Satori with two outs with a single through the right side of the infield. Minnich stole second and scored on a double over the head of the leftfielder by Blaum. A&M 3, TSU 0.
B4 | Smith hopped on a 1-0 offering and sent a big fly over the leftfield wall. A&M 4, TSU 0.
T5 | Avery Chatman led off with an infield single to shortstop and stole second base. With one out, Nic Garza sent a shot to leftfield for an RBI double. The Aggies went to the bullpen and with two outs, Dean Salazar scored one on a single through the left side of the infield. A&M 4, TSU 2.
B5 | Hunter Coleman started things off with a standup double down the leftfield line. The Ags loaded the bases shortly after Minnich reached on a fielding error and Blaum reached on sacrifice bunt that led to a throwing error. Schmidt plated one on a walk, before the Tigers went to the bullpen. Smith sent a sacrifice fly to deep rightfield to score one, followed by Schmidt moving into scoring position after stealing second. The final two runs of the inning came in on a RBI single up the middle by Harrison and an RBI sacrifice fly to centerfield by Ray Alejo. A&M 8, TSU 2.
T7 | Chatman singled to first base to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on a Justin Cooper walk. The Aggies went to bullpen, and Chatman scored from second on a wild pitch that shot off the catcher and to the first base dugout. Oscar Ponce put runners on the corners with a single to third base before Cooper scored on a passed ball. A&M 8, TSU 4.
B8 | With one out, Ryan Targac reached first on a hit-by-pitch and was replaced by a pinch-runner Jordan Thompson. Thompson moved over to second on a Hunter Coleman single thought the leftside of the infield, before Minnich loaded the bags with Ags on a drawn walk. Blaum plated the lone run of the inning on a six-pitch walk. A&M 9, TSU 4.
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White host the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers beginning Friday with first pitch slated for 6:32 p.m.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On how the game went…
"I thought it was a fabulous game on our part. I thought we did a fantastic job from an offensive standpoint. We had a lot of tough at bats and stayed flat in the middle of the field and put pressure on them in every inning. For us, with the emotion we spent this weekend to show up and be in the moment, I couldn't be prouder of the team tonight."
On the pitching tonight…
I thought Jonathan Childress's start was a little choppy early. He got himself going and back on-line and was able to get his breaking ball a little bit. We would have liked to keep him through the fifth, but we weren't able to do it. Chris Weber and Alex Magers did a nice job and so did Mason Ornelas there at the end."
Senior INF Bryce Blaum
On the miscues in tonight's game…
"Obviously, we want to play for the least amount of errors possible, but it's part of the game. There's an error on the scoreboard even in the major league. It just happens. It's just how you respond to it. After those miscues that we had as a team, I thought we responded very well. We punched back when they scored and did everything right to win a ballgame against a well-coached team and had good pieces of players as well."
The Maroon & White struck early, putting up eight runs in the first five frames. The Tigers answered back with two runs of their own in the fifth and seventh, but the Aggies shutdown the Texas Southern offense in the eighth and ninth, while adding a lone run in the eighth to extend their lead.
At the plate, Brett Minnich and Bryce Blaum led the Aggie bats. Minnich went 2-for-4 with three runs, one walk and one RBI, while Blaum was 2-for-3 with one double, one run, one walk and two RBI. Other key Aggies were Hunter Coleman, who added two hits, and Taylor Smith, who went yard in the fourth inning.
The Aggies managed put the leadoff guy on board in six of the eight frames and matched that tally for the number of innings getting a man to third with less than two outs. They also had bases-loaded opportunities in three different innings.
On the mound, the Aggies threw four pitchers at the Tigers. Jonathan Childress got the start and settled with the no-decision. Childress hurled 4.1 innings, yielding two runs on three hits and three walks while fanning four. Alex Magers got called in the fifth to close out the inning, and yielded one hit which scored the lone inherited runner. Mason Ornelas (2-0) earned the win in relief, for tossing the final 2.2 scoreless inning of the game. Ornelas scattered two hits while fanning four on the day.
The staff held the Tigers' bats to 1-for-10 with two outs, 3-for-16 with runners on and 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
The Maroon & White improved to 22-17 on the year and remain undefeated, 16-0, versus the Texas Southern Tigers.
TOP AGGIE PERFORMERS
Bryce Blaum – 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Brett Minnich – 2-for-4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Mason Ornelas (W, 2-0) – 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
GAME SUMMARY
B2 | Consecutive hits to leftfield by Brett Minnich and Bryce Blaum got things started for the Aggies. Both runners moved into scoring position after Zane Schmidt executed a sacrifice bunt. Taylor Smith drew a walk and loaded the bags with Ags, before Kalae Harrison brought across one on a five-pitch walk. A&M 1, TSU 0.
B3 | Logan Sartori drew a leadoff seven-pitch walk, advanced to second on a groundout, and took third on a pitch in the dirt. Minnich plated Satori with two outs with a single through the right side of the infield. Minnich stole second and scored on a double over the head of the leftfielder by Blaum. A&M 3, TSU 0.
B4 | Smith hopped on a 1-0 offering and sent a big fly over the leftfield wall. A&M 4, TSU 0.
T5 | Avery Chatman led off with an infield single to shortstop and stole second base. With one out, Nic Garza sent a shot to leftfield for an RBI double. The Aggies went to the bullpen and with two outs, Dean Salazar scored one on a single through the left side of the infield. A&M 4, TSU 2.
B5 | Hunter Coleman started things off with a standup double down the leftfield line. The Ags loaded the bases shortly after Minnich reached on a fielding error and Blaum reached on sacrifice bunt that led to a throwing error. Schmidt plated one on a walk, before the Tigers went to the bullpen. Smith sent a sacrifice fly to deep rightfield to score one, followed by Schmidt moving into scoring position after stealing second. The final two runs of the inning came in on a RBI single up the middle by Harrison and an RBI sacrifice fly to centerfield by Ray Alejo. A&M 8, TSU 2.
T7 | Chatman singled to first base to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on a Justin Cooper walk. The Aggies went to bullpen, and Chatman scored from second on a wild pitch that shot off the catcher and to the first base dugout. Oscar Ponce put runners on the corners with a single to third base before Cooper scored on a passed ball. A&M 8, TSU 4.
B8 | With one out, Ryan Targac reached first on a hit-by-pitch and was replaced by a pinch-runner Jordan Thompson. Thompson moved over to second on a Hunter Coleman single thought the leftside of the infield, before Minnich loaded the bags with Ags on a drawn walk. Blaum plated the lone run of the inning on a six-pitch walk. A&M 9, TSU 4.
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White host the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers beginning Friday with first pitch slated for 6:32 p.m.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On how the game went…
"I thought it was a fabulous game on our part. I thought we did a fantastic job from an offensive standpoint. We had a lot of tough at bats and stayed flat in the middle of the field and put pressure on them in every inning. For us, with the emotion we spent this weekend to show up and be in the moment, I couldn't be prouder of the team tonight."
On the pitching tonight…
I thought Jonathan Childress's start was a little choppy early. He got himself going and back on-line and was able to get his breaking ball a little bit. We would have liked to keep him through the fifth, but we weren't able to do it. Chris Weber and Alex Magers did a nice job and so did Mason Ornelas there at the end."
Senior INF Bryce Blaum
On the miscues in tonight's game…
"Obviously, we want to play for the least amount of errors possible, but it's part of the game. There's an error on the scoreboard even in the major league. It just happens. It's just how you respond to it. After those miscues that we had as a team, I thought we responded very well. We punched back when they scored and did everything right to win a ballgame against a well-coached team and had good pieces of players as well."