In a battle of two Texas powerhouses, the No. 11 Texas A&M baseball team overpowered the No. 8 Houston Cougars, 6-0, on the second day of the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park Saturday night.
The Aggies (15-0) remain unblemished in the loss column — the lone Division I team still perfect on the young season.
Grayson Long (3-0, 2.38 ERA) got the start for the Aggies. The six-foot-five junior from nearby Mount Belvieu may have grown up rooting for the rival Rangers, but he certainly seemed at home on the Astros mound. Long worked seven innings, allowing no earned runs, three hits, no walks, while striking out a career-high 10.
“I felt great going out today,” Long said. “I was throwing fastballs wherever I wanted to and my secondary stuff was right along with it. It was a great team win.”
“It’s as close to perfection as you could ask for — 10 strikeouts, no walks and was in total command of the game from the word ‘Go,’” head coach Rob Childress said of Long. “I couldn’t be more proud of him. That’s his best performance in the Maroon and White.”
Hunter Melton opened up the scoring in the top of the fourth inning. The junior third baseman launched a 1-1 pitch above the 362-foot sign in left field. The home run drove in Mitchell Nau, who had reached base with a single.
Michael Barash added to the Aggie barrage with a solo shot into the Crawford Boxes in the fifth inning. It was the junior transfer’s first home run as an Aggie.
“The way Grayson pitches, he makes my job easy,” Barash, who was behind the plate Saturday night, said. “I just go out and execute the game plan that Coach Childress came up with and he did a great job tonight.”
The Aggies added three more insurance runs in the top of the seventh. A double by Barash, ruled dead when an Aggie fan reached over and swiped the ball from play, set the stage for Friday’s hero, J.B. Moss. With the infield drawn in, Moss poked a single over the second baseman to drive in Logan Taylor, who reached on an error to lead off the inning
Two pitches later, Blake Allemand ripped a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Barash. With Moss at first, sophomore second baseman Ryne Birk tattooed a ball over the UH center fielder. The ball rolled up Minute Maid Park’s unique landmark — Tal’s Hill — and Birk slid into third with an RBI triple.
Kyle Simonds came on in relief of Long to start the eighth inning. Simonds worked a 1-2-3 eighth, but added some drama in the ninth when he walked the bases full. With two outs, Childress visited the junior on the mound and chose to leave him in to finish out the game. Simonds then got a fly out to center and sealed the win for the Aggies.
“It’s not about who we’re playing, it’s about us,” Childress said. “I’ve said that to our team all along. If we play good baseball, the scoreboard will take care of itself.”
A&M will look to remain perfect on the season when the face off against the Baylor Bears Sunday afternoon at 2:35 p.m. Junior lefty Matt Kent (3-0, 2.29 ERA) will take the mound for the Aggies as they look to sweep their three games of tournament action.