Before Texas A&M prepared for its first road trip of the week to Minute Maid Park this weekend, the Aggies played host to the University of Incarnate Word at Blue Bell Park on Wednesday.
Despite its effort, A&M couldn’t muster up enough offense to down the Cardinals, losing 6-5 and dropping their second game of the season. A&M is now 8-2, while UIW improves to 7-2.
“Give Incarnate Word credit, they played better than we did,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “They played harder than we did and deserved to win more than we did. I Felt like Incarnate Word was much more offensive-wise than we were.”
The first few innings at Blue Bell were tight as UIW struck first in the top of the first thanks to a sacrifice fly before the Aggies added two in the bottom of the second on three hits.
The Cardinals responded with a run in the top of the third before taking the lead with a huge four-run fifth inning that was capped off by a three-run home run by UIW freshman Jordan Thompson.
The Aggies cut the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single from junior Braden Shewmake and then added one more in the sixth on a fielder’s choice ground ball. A&M went down without much of a fight, getting put down in order in the eighth and ninth innings.
Both teams used five pitchers in the game. Freshman left-handed pitcher Chris Weber started on the mound for the Aggies, tossing 2.2 innings giving up two earned runs on five hits. Sophomore reliever Mason Cole held down the Aggie bullpen, throwing 2.1 shutout innings.
At the plate, the Aggies were led by Shewmake and freshman Ty Coleman. Shewmake went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Coleman went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
“We didn’t play as well as we could’ve tonight,” Shewmake said. “Individual stuff doesn’t matter at this point; we want to win baseball games. I’d rather struggle and us win than feel good and us not win. At the end of the day, we’re looking to win.”
UIW senior starting pitcher Tyler Perez had a similar stat line as his A&M counterpart, throwing 2.1 innings giving up two earned runs on three hits. Senior reliever Bernie Martinez led the Cardinal bullpen, giving up one earned run on two hits in 4.2 innings pitched.
At the plate, Incarnate Word was led by a trio of freshmen in Thompson, Taylor Smith and Antonio Valdez. Thompson went 2-4 with the big three-run home run, Smith went 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Valdez went 2-5 with a run scored and an RBI.
The Aggies will be back in action this weekend as they take part in the Shriners College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Game one of three is on Friday at 7 p.m.