The Aggies continued their winning ways on Saturday, starting the season 6-0 for the first time since 2011.
Behind Grayson Long’s pitching and hot bats from Ryne Birk and Blake Allemand, A&M defeated Penn State 15-2.
“It was a big confidence booster,” Long said. “It really helped me out to get back on the horse. But there were a lot of plays made behind me that really helped me out.”
Birk went 2-for-4 on the day with two RBI and legged out a double in the process, while Allemand went 1-for-3 with three RBI.
A&M did not take long to get started on the scoreboard. The Aggies opened 3-0 after a few Nittany Lion miscues and an RBI from Alleman and Logan Taylor. In the second, a sacrifice fly from Birk gave him his second RBI of the day, and single by Mitchell Nau brought in another to make it a 5-0 Aggie lead.
The Aggies are outscoring opponents in the first two innings by a combined 28-1 score.
“Our offense is unreal right now,” Long said. “Probably the best in the country. That really helps out when you’re in the dugout. The guys in the field are making incredible plays.”
A&M (6-0) added another run in the third inning off a sacrifice fly from Allemand to make it 6-0 Aggies. In the fifth, A&M loaded the bases and a walk scored a run to make it 7-0.
G.R. Hinsley joined the Aggie home run hitters and hit his first home run of the season, a two run shot to right field, to give the Aggies a 9-2 lead in the seventh inning. A&M added insurance in the eighth inning, scoring six runs to make it a 15-2 lead and put the game away for good.
A&M has 11 home runs on the season. It took the Aggies 30 games to hit 10 home runs in 2014. A&M also garnered its fifth double-digit hit game this season.
Aggie pitching controlled the game from the start. Long went six innings, allowing only five hits, one unearned run and struck out three Penn State hitters en route to the win. Ty Schlottmann came on in relief to shut down the Nittany Lion attack in the eighth with only nine pitches. Ryan Hendrix came on and closed the game out for A&M in the ninth.
A&M head coach Rob Childress was pleased with Long’s outing.
“Once he settled in and got through the lineup the second time, he was a little more aggressive,” Childress said. “Leaving here today, the most pleasing thing for me was Grayson’s quality start.”
A&M will host Penn State in the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon. The game is scheduled for 12:05pm. A&M will be looking for their second straight sweep, and their first 7-0 start since the 2006 season.