On Wednesday night, Texas A&M baseball hosted Incarnate Word at Blue Bell Park. The Aggies rattled off five unanswered runs to take the 6-4 win after falling behind 4-1 early.
The Aggies opened the scoring in the first inning, when junior Bryce Blaum scored off of a sacrifice fly by junior Austin Bost, giving A&M a 1-0 advantage. The lead would not last long, as Incarnate Word produced four runs in the second inning. The runs started when freshman Noah Brewer and graduate transfer Lee Thomas each scored off of singles. Junior Wilson Ehrhardt brought home two more runs with a leftfield single, giving the Cardinals a 4-1 lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Aggies began their comeback. Junior Will Frizzell doubled, and junior Zane Schmidt and senior Bryan Struges helped to load the bases. Sophomore Taylor Smith forced a walk, cutting A&M’s deficit to 4-2 heading into the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Fizzell, Bost and Schmidt helped to load the bags again for the Aggies. With two outs, freshman Logan Britt singled into leftfield, bringing two runners home and tying the score at four.
In the bottom of the eight inning, A&M drew three consecutive walks with two outs to load the bases for the third time on the night. A leftfield single by graduate student Ray Alejo helped the Aggies take a two-run lead. Sophomore pitcher Joseph Menefee closed out the ninth inning, giving A&M a 6-4 victory.
Sophomore Chris Weber had his second start of the season. In 5.0 innings, he gave up four runs on four hits and three walks, but also struck out eight batters. Menefee and freshman Alex Majers combined for seven strikeouts in relief, giving the Aggies their ninth outing with double-digit strikeouts in 10 games this season.
“It adds a lot of adrenalin coming out of the bullpen,” Menefee said. “It’s important for the team and important for me to do my job. If I can do my job to help my team get a win, that is all that matters.”
A&M coach Rob Childress said his players are not satisfied with how they have performed offensively so far this season, but he is confident that the squad is moving in the right direction.
“We are much more capable offensively than we have shown,” Childress said. “We have to get guys rolling in the right direction like what we saw the entire fall. Our hitters have faced good pitching during that time with our staff, so we know they will get going.”
The victory lifts the Aggies to 6-4 on the season, while the Cardinals fall to 3-1.
A&M’s season continues Friday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m., when the Aggies host New Mexico State at Blue Bell Park for a weekend series.