A dominant performance from junior pitcher Chandler Jozwiak propelled Texas A&M to a 6-2 win against Miami of Ohio.
This win was the third for the Aggies on the season and it capped a series sweep of the Redhawks.
In a game that saw some inconsistent batting from the Aggies, Jozwiak’s composure throughout the early parts of the game was something coach Rob Childress praised postgame.
“First two innings he couldn’t have been any better,” Childress said. “Chandler is so competitive and prepared, I couldn’t be more proud of his performance.”
Jozwiak’s first two innings started off with two consecutive strikeouts against Tejada and Vogelgesang. He quickly retired Landon Stephens with the help of Ray Alejo as he caught a pop fly to end the inning. A&M carried over the hot start from the top of the inning into the bottom with the help of Logan Sartori and Hunter Coleman. Sartori hit a single homerun and Coleman was able to bring Will Frizzell home from first base as he hit another homerun. At the end of the first inning, the Aggies were up 3-0.
In the second inning catcher Mikey Hoehner and Trevor Werner both got onto base, but were unable to come home as bunt attempts from Logan Sartori and Bryce Blaum didn’t do more than advance each runner one base.
The start of the fourth inning saw Jozwiak record his fifth strikeout of the game. However, that was followed up with a Miami double from Stolze that hit the left outfield post. After walking Landon Stephens, a bunt attempt from Stephen Krause allowed Stolze to come home and put Miami on the board. With the score 3-1, it didn’t take long after Stolze’s run for A&M to retire the following hitters.
After pitching a near perfect game, Jozwiak had entered a slump. In the past, Jozwiak said he had struggled maintaining focus through rough patches, but against Miami he was able to get past the mental hurdle.
“Sometimes whenever I get in a slump, I don’t limit the damage, I kind of let it get to me,” Jozwiak said. “I have been working on that with Coach Childress and I just need to believe in myself and it will come through for me.”
The game score stayed the same and the Aggies didn’t record a hit in the fourth or fifth inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Miami brought on a new pitcher, Grant Hartwig. His first two pitches made contact with Alejo and Hoehner that resulted in runners at second and first base. After a ball was thrown, Alejo and Hoehner tried and successfully stole bases because of an error from the Miami catcher. The error allowed Alejo to come home and record a run and it brought Hoehner to third base. With a 4-1 lead, Blaum hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Hoehner to bring in another run. Like that the Aggies were leading 5-1 without recording a hit in the sixth inning.
Even after the Redhawks switched out their relieving pitcher, the Aggies still had two runners on base. Werner and Sartori each stole a base after another Miami error and Cam Blake was eventually walked. Unfortunately for A&M, with bases loaded, Redhawks relieving pitcher Johnathan Brand struck out Frizzell and Coleman to retire the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, Krause hit a double. After Brian Rapp filled in as a pinch runner, the Redhawks brought him home with the help of a sacrifice fly from Wardwell. In the bottom of the seventh, Zach DeLoach hit a home run to right field and that was followed up by a Alejo walk. With the Aggies up 6-2, they could not capitalize on the loaded base as Hoehner’s hit was caught, Alejo was picked off at first base, and Werner grounded out at first.
The Aggies were able to hold on for their third straight win as Miami did not hit another ball the rest of the game.
A&M’s next game will be against Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. First pitch will start at 6:30 p.m., and the game will be available for streaming on WatchESPN.