The No. 16 Texas A&M baseball team took home the Domino’s Pizza Aggie Classic tournament championship by defeating the University of Utah 5-1 and the University of California at Los Angeles 3-0 on Monday.
Against Utah (7-5), the Aggies (9-2) used a four-run fourth inning to take the lead against the Utes. Junior Scott Beerer began the inning by singling to left field. Junior second baseman Erik Schindewolf singled Beerer home two batters later. Junior Matt Alexander singled to right field in the next at bat scoring two more runs for the Aggies. Junior outfielder Cory Patton added another run when he singled up the middle to score Alexander.
Alexander earned another RBI in the fifth for the Aggies.
Junior pitcher Brian Finch earned the win for the Aggies as he threw five innings and gave up just one run while striking out five.
In the nightcap, the Aggies took on UCLA (8-9) with the tournament title on the line. Despite a starting temperature of 34 degrees, freshman pitcher Robert Ray threw 62 pitches in five innings of work to earn his first win and shutout at A&M.
“Actually the weather was good,” Ray said. “This was a perfect night to pitch because we had the wind coming in and all we had to do was throw strikes.”
The Aggies started in the top half of the first inning with Schindewolf doubling down the third-base line. After Alexander struck out, Patton singled to right bringing Schindewolf home in what proved to be the game-winning run.
Patton added another RBIin the third inning when again he singled home Schindewolf. Patton totalled 10 RBI’s in the tournament and two home runs to earn him tournament MVP honors.
“I’ve been struggling a lot lately,” Patton said. “Iwas jumping at the ball, and we made the adjustment and it’s been successful. I’m a lot more comfortable in the (batter’s) box and I’ve settled down and found some success.”
In the 3-0 win the Aggies peppered UCLA freshman starter Hector Ambriz for seven hits despite the freezing temperature. The win gave the Aggies a 5-1 record in the weekend tournament.
The junior college transfers for A&M such as Patton and outfielder Justin Ruggiano are stealing the headlines so far for the Aggies, but the freshmen, such as Ray, are beginning to make their mark as well.
“We started on average four freshmen a ballgame,” said A&MHead Coach Mark Johnson. “We talk about the junior class, but there are some freshmen that are really doing a good job.”
The Aggies will travel to Tucson, Ariz. to start a three-game weekend series against the University of Arizona on Friday.