After a great showing and series win against then-No. 13 LSU, Texas A&M baseball looked to continue positive momentum into a road matchup against Rice. Those who enjoy offense were in for a treat with this 23 run, 25 hit affair that involved a lot of fireworks.
In the midweek matchup at Reckling Park in Houston, A&M’s offense was in high gear early and often, with a grand slam, two other home runs and 14 hits. Despite Rice’s pestering and production against the Aggies’ pitching, A&M came away with a 15-8 win.
Rice drew first blood in the bottom of the first after some A&M mishaps. Freshman righty Khristian Curtis allowed a leadoff single, and the Owl baserunner got to third after a passed ball and a fielder’s choice. The run came home on a wild pitch.
It got wiped away a half-inning later from a Dylan Rock RBI single that scored junior right fielder Brett Minnich. Rock, the graduate left fielder, went 3-for-5 in the win and is riding a seven-game hitting streak and has had five-straight multi-hit performances. A&M’s outfielders stayed hot with A&M taking a 3-1 lead off the bat of sophomore center fielder Logan Britt, who homered on an 0-2 pitch.
He made another big mark on the game just a few innings later.
But first, two more Aggies walked and one was hit by pitch, loading the bases with one out. Sophomore first baseman Jack Moss grounded into a fielder’s choice, but it got another A&M run home before the scoring ended.
In the bottom of the third, Rice got back on the board and cut the deficit to two with a solo home run off Rudis. This brought in sophomore lefty Ryan Johnston, who’d be trying to get past a recent stretch of three runs allowed in 6.1 innings of work.
Moss then unloaded in the fourth with his first round-tripper as an Aggie that blew the game open, or at least it seemed, with a grand slam that put A&M up 8-2. It was the Arizona State transfer’s first home run in the maroon and white, and he’s hitting .397 while leading the team in on-base percentage.
But only for a moment, because Rice’s bats returned with a vengeance, though, with two runs on three hits and a walk, pulling out Johnston and putting in freshman Robert Hogan. Four more runs crossed home once Hogan got on the mound, two of which Johnston was credited with, but the inning ended with the score tied once again.
The theatrics in the 285th all-time meeting between the Aggies and Owls continued on with Britt’s second home run of the night. It put A&M back in the lead by two, an advantage that would be too much for Rice to overcome.
Just to be sure, the Aggies tagged on five more in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Rock and junior catcher Taylor Smith had run-scoring doubles, and graduate infielder Kole Kaler brought home a pair of runs with a base hit.
The win makes the Aggies 3-1 in their last four. They seem to be catching fire at the plate after a relatively slow start to the season. Over the last week of games, A&M has done a much better job at stringing hits and quality at-bats together for more run production.
The Aggies return to Blue Bell Park this weekend against Auburn for a three-game set starting Friday, March 25. First pitch for Game 1, A&M’s SEC home opener, is at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.