Texas A&M baseball defeated Stephen F. Austin 5-3 on a cold, damp Tuesday night at Blue Bell Park, improving to 4-0 early in their 2019 campaign.
“Stephen F. always gives us everything that we can ask for,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “It was a hard fought game. We didn’t feel like we played our best, but we played well enough to win. Winning is tough. Losing is easy. … You’ve got to do a lot of things right to win. I think our guys are leaving here tonight knowing we need to play a little bit better.”
There were a couple of early runs, as the Aggies and Lumberjacks traded scores in the bottom of the first inning and top of the second. The game remained tied at 1-1, until A&M third baseman Ty Coleman homered down the left field line in the bottom of the fourth.
“It was awesome, experiencing that here to be my first one with these fans that actually made it out in the cold weather,” Coleman said. “It was awesome.”
After the Aggies tacked on another run in the fourth inning from an RBI by junior catcher Mikey Hoehner, SFA loaded the bases in the top of the fifth. A&M relief pitcher Chandler Jozwiak then walked the Lumberjack’s sophomore outfielder Jared Martin to cut the Aggies’ lead to one.
A&M responded quickly with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take back the lead at 5-2.
“Overall, it was our offense that got us rolling there late in the game and got us the lead,” sophomore pitcher Kasey Kasich said. “That made it a little bit more comfortable on the mound coming in late in the game and closing it out.”
The final run of the night came in the top of the eighth inning, as SFA junior utility player Josh Campbell singled to right center, bringing home senior infielder Manny Velasquez from second base.
Kasich took the mound with one out in the eighth and struck out three of the final six batters to secure the Aggie win.
“Honestly, it’s the energy that the dugout brings,” Kasich said. “Having a great team behind you and having great guys in the dugout… That’s really what allows us to get through this on the mound by yourself on a big stage.”
The Aggies’ starting pitcher Dustin Saenz managed four innings, allowing just one run on five hits and striking out four batters. As a team, A&M recorded 11 strikeouts on the night.
At the plate, second baseman Bryce Blaum and catcher Mikey Hoehner stood out, each going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Blaum also scored two of the five runs, while Coleman hit the only home run of the game.
The Aggies will be back in action Wednesday night against Prairie View A&M at Blue Bell Park. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.