It started to look like a pitcher’s duel at Blue Bell Park on Wednesday night as both Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M were scoreless through three and a half innings.
However, sophomore Will Frizzell had other plans.
Frizzell came up to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with junior Braden Shewmake on second Frizzell then doubled, allowing Shewmake to score from second and break the scoreless tie to send A&M on its way to a 9-1 win and a 5-0 record on the season.
“The guys on the team cover me up in the lineup really well and give me opportunities to drive in runs,” Frizzell said. “We’re just doing whatever we can to score and get the pitchers a little bit of a cushion, and as hitters we’re just trying to do our part.”
A&M couldn’t muster much offense until PVAMU starting pitcher Brian Williams was taken out of the game in the bottom of the sixth with two outs. The Aggies then teed off on Panther reliever Tracy Warren, scoring four runs in the frame to spark the offense. A&M then scored two runs in both the seventh and the eighth innings to seal the win.
Williams ended up throwing 5.2 innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits and two walks. Despite the line, Williams stifled the A&M offense until the bottom of the sixth when the Aggies woke up at the plate. The Panther offense only produced five hits on the game, with all five coming from different hitters.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Chris Weber made his first career start for the Aggies, tossing six shutout innings while giving up five hits and striking out six. Sophomore Christian Roa, junior Kyle Richardson and sophomore Mason Cole each threw one inning after Weber was taken out.
“I thought each guy we threw out there tonight was fabulous,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “Chris Weber, who’d been great for us all fall and all spring, certainly answered the bell. He went six shutout innings, was incredibly efficient and had a four-pitch mix. That’s the guy we recruited.”
At the plate, A&M was led by Frizzell, junior Logan Foster and freshman Ty Coleman. Frizzell went 2-4 with an RBI, Foster went 1-3 with an RBI and two runs scored and Coleman went 1-3 with an RBI.
“This team is the closest team I’ve ever been a part of,” Foster said. “We care about everything we do and we’ve started to not look at ourselves and focus on the guys to the right and left of us.”
The Aggies will be back in action this weekend as they welcome the Illinois-Chicago Flames to Blue Bell Park for a three-game series. Game one of the series is on Friday at 6:30 p.m.