Texas A&M baseball bounced back from its loss to University of Illinois at Chicago this past weekend, defeating Houston Baptist 12-5 at Blue Bell Park and improving its record to 8-1 on Tuesday.
“It was a long evening on Sunday and a long day yesterday, and we’re very fortunate to get out here and play today,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “We needed to get out here to get that taste out of our mouth. I’m very proud of what we did offensively.”
The weather was damp and chilly throughout the game, which Childress said might have played a small factor in A&M’s three errors. Even so, he said the team is used to taking care of things on a wet field.
“We’ve handled the ball just fine in weather like this, and we need to be a little bit cleaner than we were tonight,” Childress said.
Offense was not a problem, as A&M got off to a quick start, scoring three runs in the first inning. HBU responded in the top of the second, with a home run off the scoreboard by junior right fielder Brandon Bena to put the score at 3-1.
“We were ready from the word go tonight,” A&M junior second baseman Bryce Blaum said. “We wanted to be on the attack, and didn’t want to be on our heels. If the pitch was there, we were going to drive it tonight. That was really good to see out of our whole team.”
The Aggies added another three runs in the fourth inning, ignited by a double to deep center field from junior right fielder Logan Foster that saw Blaum score from first base. The teams each traded two runs in the fifth inning to see the score go to 8-3.
A&M closed the door in the eighth inning, as freshman third baseman Ty Coleman doubled to deep left center and Foster singled to left field, each scoring two runs. The Huskies added two runs in the ninth inning, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
“We left Sunday with a bitter taste in our mouth, because we didn’t play the way we know we are capable of playing,” Blaum said. “Today in the hitters’ meeting, our coaches just preached to play easy and free. We know we have the talent to do it, and as you see we put up 12 runs. That’s the type of offense we know we have, and we just hope to build on that day in and day out.”
Starting A&M pitcher Chandler Jozwiak had a solid outing, pitching 4.1 innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out eight batters. The sophomore managed to work his way out of the third inning, unscathed after he loaded the bases with just one out. As a pitching staff, the Aggies struck out 16 batters.
“Jozwiak battled his tail off and avoided a big inning getting away from us in the third,” Childress said. “All in all, I’m very proud of our team.”
Several players stood out at the plate for the Aggies. Foster managed two hits, batted in three runs and scored two runs himself. Junior shortstop Braden Shewmake batted in two runs on two hits and scored one run, while Coleman pushed two runs across the plate on one hit and scored a run for the Aggies.
Sophomore left fielder Zach DeLoach was walked four times by HBU, coming up just one short of a team record.
“You know that was huge for Zach,” Foster said. “A lot of us have been struggling at the plate, and that shows a lot of maturity out of him to be able to get those four walks, still being patient, and being ready to swing the bat in that last inning.”
The Aggies will be back in action Wednesday, as they host Incarnate Word at Blue Bell Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.