Through two innings of a Wednesday night contest against Prairie View A&M, the No. 21 Texas A&M baseball team recorded 27 runs as the Aggies finished with their third highest scoring game in program history in a 30-2 victory over the Panthers at Olsen Field.
With the victory, the Aggies start off the season 5-0 for the sixth consecutive year. For the Panthers, they continue to look for their first win of the season, opening their season to their worst record since losing five to start the season in 2015.
Entering this matchup, the Aggies had seen newfound success from their offense to start this season. With new hitting coach Chad Caillet conducting the offense, A&M had produced several stellar offensive performances in their first four games, scoring 17, nine, six, and 13 runs in each game respectively. Against the Panthers, the Aggies completely overshadowed those other offensive performances, recording 30 runs off of 18 hits, 27 RBI’s and eight walks in six innings of offense. The 30 runs scored is their highest output since a 31-2 game against Westmont in 1991.
Childress attributed the strong offensive performance to the hard work done by the coaches and players in their preparation.
“It’s a tribute to our coaches and our players,” Childress said. “When you talk about the first inning, it really all goes down to guys being willing to take their walks, [being] willing to anchor down and take the hit by pitch. Willing to be competitive with two strikes and bust their way down the line on a ground ball and put pressure on the defense. Then the hits come behind it. That’s really what an offense that’s working together looks and feels like. I know our players feel really good about it, and for me, I couldn’t be more proud of where we are at this point.”
The strong offensive performance was great for starting pitcher Jonathan Childress, who saw his first start after recovering from Tommy John surgery last spring. Jonathan Childress finished with 46 pitches allowing one hit, one walk, allowing no runs and recording three strikeouts.
Jonathan Childress said being able to play against Prairie View was special for him.
“It’s been a roller coaster, a lot of ups and a lot of downs,” Jonathan Childress said. “You look forward to all the big things, like throwing for the first time after you have surgery and getting on the mound for the first time. Tonight was really special. The conditions and everything weren’t great but still it was my first game back, so it was special.”
The offensive barrage started in the first inning when, after A&M loaded the bases off a walk to second baseman Bryce Blaum and two Aggies getting hit by the pitch, a fielding error by Prairie View first baseman Alex Martinez allowed Blaum to score. Six pitches later, a walk of catcher Hunter Coleman allowed third baseman Logan Sartori to score, ending Panther’s starting pitcher Derrick Curry’s night with no outs and five runs, giving him an infinite ERA for the game. After a wild pitch allowed left fielder Cam Blake to score, right fielder Zach DeLoach recorded the first hit of the game with a single, allowing designated hitter Austin Bost to score.
Already up 4-0, an error by Prairie View’s David Garcia brought in Hunter Coleman to score before a single by shortstop Trevor Werner drove in both DeLoach and center fielder Logan Britt. Not done scoring, a double by Blaum drove in first baseman Logan Schmidt, while Werner scored off a sacrifice fly. Blaum scored again in the inning off of a ground hit. In total, the Aggies recorded 10 runs off of four hits and two errors.
After a 1-2-3 second inning, the Aggies one-upped their offensive output in the second inning, scoring 17 runs off of 10 hits and two errors. The first four Aggie hitters all recorded hits, with a double by Werner bringing in Schmidt and Britt for the second time.
With the bases loaded and having already given up four runs, Prairie View pitcher Brian Williams walked both designated hitter Austin Bost and pinch hitter Hunter Watson to drive in two more runs, ending his afternoon similar to Curry’s with no outs, nine earned runs and an infinite ERA.
After a strikeout of Hunter Coleman, the Aggies scored runs on their next three at-bats, with a single by Schmidt driving in pinch hitter Mason Corbett and Bost. After loading the bases for the seventh time in the second inning, a double by Ty Coleman drove in Werner and Schmidt while a fielding error by Prairie View’s Demarie’ Smith drove in Blaum and Coleman. A Corbett single later in the inning would bring in two more runs, while an out as Corbett attempted to reach home ended the inning for the Aggies. The Aggies’ 17 runs in the second inning is three short of the national record for most runs scored in the second inning of a game.
Outside of the second inning, the game slowly became a race to the finish. Jonathan Childress left after the third inning and was replaced by several relievers for one inning each. An A&M double in the fifth inning by Blaum extended the lead to 28 for the Aggies. Prairie View finally reached the scoreboard in the top of the sixth, when singles by David Garcia and Christian Mendez put two runs on the board for the Panthers. A&M matched this in the bottom of the sixth with a triple from Britt, before the game ended after seven innings.
The Aggies return to action on Friday, as they start a three-game weekend series against Army at Olsen Field. First pitch for the Friday contest is scheduled for at 6:30 p.m., followed by afternoon games on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 12 p.m. respectively.