The streak is over, Ags.
No. 1 Texas A&M baseball finally ended its four-game losing streak in the final game of the Astros Foundation College Classic. The Aggies earned a run-rule victory against the Rice Owls 14-4 on Sunday, March 2.
After mustering up just nine combined hits and two total runs in their previous two games in Daikin Park, the Aggies finally managed to connect the dots — or rather bats to balls — for 12 total hits, with an astounding 14 runs and five home runs.
It was a return to the norm lineup-wise for A&M as graduate designated hitter Hayden Schott and senior left fielder Gavin Kash both stepped out of the dugout for the main event. The biggest name missing for the Aggies was sophomore infielder Blake Binderup. The College Station native went 0-8 against Arizona and Oklahoma State, while also having a costly throwing error against the Cowboys on Saturday.
The game went the way of Los Búhos early on when in the bottom of the first inning, junior DH Barrett Eldridge hit a 2-RBI double off the center field wall. Combined with a solo homerun by freshman center fielder Cole Green in the bottom of the second, it seemed like another horrorshow for the Aggies.
“I didn’t love it, but I’m glad we got down,” coach Michael Earley said. “I’m glad we got down and that we got tested a little bit. You know, it takes a minute to get that feeling back while we’re not there yet, I’m not going to make the mistake being upset like I was early on about it.”
A&M eventually accepted its invitation to the home run party in the top of the third when junior shortstop Kaeden Kent hit a two-run 375-foot bomb over the right field wall on his first pitch of the at-bat. The leadoff man brought the Aggies within one, 3-2, in the stadium that his dad, former Houston Astro Jeff Kent, played in for two seasons.
Luckily for anyone with a drink, there was no Rattlin’ Bog to be heard in Daikin Park, as the shots began to pile up for A&M. Kash tied things up at three a piece, after his 359-foot solo-homerun at the top of the fourth. The former Longhorn and Red Raider earned his first home run repping the Maroon and White, albeit not in Blue Bell Park.
“I mean, it felt great,” Kash said. “You know, as selfish as it might sound, but doing that for the team, getting things tied up right there. … So doing that and kind of getting us going a little bit is great.”
The Fightin’ Farmers began laying the wood down after what can be partially attributed to a less-than-stellar parliament of Owls. Rice was 2-7 heading into tonight’s game and was run-ruled in seven innings by both No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers and No.18 Mississippi State.
But Kent must have watched “300” before the game, as he gave nothing and took everything from Rice. After grounding out in the first, Kent hit two homeruns on his next two pitches when he hit another ball over the right field wall. This solo-bomb gave the Aggies a narrow 4-3 lead.
“Skill set is clearly there, in my opinion, just from a bat-to-ball,” Earley said. “He’s gotten a lot better the last couple of years, but he brings tenacity and a mentality that you can’t teach. And I love that about him, sometimes it gets him in trouble, but those are the kind of players I want. This guy’s a player with that edge, and what he brings showed up tonight.”
A&M wasn’t done piling it on Rice as junior CF Jace LaViolette faked out both the players on defense and the fans in the stands with a bunt to reach first base. Senior third baseman Wyatt Henseler brought “Lord Tubbington” home with a 416-foot homerun to left-center field.
Henseler’s third home run of the season gave the Aggies a 6-3 lead as the Owls’ nest slowly crumbled right before them. Despite giving up early runs, junior left-handed pitcher Myles Patton rebounded well and held off Rice for the rest of his time on the mound. The Long Beach State transfer ended the night with seven strikeouts after 80 pitches in his first win as part of the Blue Bell ball club.
“They got on him early, but he stayed in there, kept making pitches, didn’t waver from the strike zone,” Earley said. “You know, pitchers at times, still tense, you know, you get hit around a little bit, you start balling it, and he didn’t do that. And with the stuff he’s got, if he continues to throw strikes, and from the starting pitching perspective, if we can continue to throw strikes at the rate we’re doing it, we’re going to be just fine.”
The top of the sixth is when the Aggies really got to work at the plate, as getting the bases loaded purely with walks allowed true-freshman right fielder Terrence Kiel II to earn a pair of RBIs on a single to left field. LaViolette then accidentally bunted for the second time in a row, earning himself an RBI while beating the throw to first.
Then with his best friend on base, fan-favorite Schott hit a three-run home run over towards the fans in left field. This shot gave A&M the hopes of leaving Houston early with a win, as it now led 12-3.
“For me personally, I just, I mean, that guy is what it means to be an Aggie,” Earley said. “He represents everything that’s good, as far as a teammate, and just to see him get going. I mean, that is what he does. … He got a pitch to do something with, so I’m happy for him.”
The Aggies piled it on even further in the seven with two more runs to earn the early trip back home. Despite getting one back in the bottom of the seventh, the Owls couldn’t bring the lead down to under 10 runs before losing 14-4 on a swinging strikeout.
“It’s huge because everybody knows we were going downhill,” Kent said. “So when we can put up 14 and score some runs, the chemistry and the energy in the dugout comes back, and, you know, we can keep rolling into next week.”
A&M will look to string together another win as it prepares for its midweek-matchup against the UTSA Roadrunners in Blue Bell Park on Tuesday, March 4, at 6 p.m.
