Aggie freshman Brigham Hill made his first career start Wednesday night, and he did not disappoint.
Hill’s 5 1/3 innings at the mound helped lead the A&M baseball team to a 7-0 victory over Incarnate Word.
Aggie head coach Rob Childress said was impressed with his freshman, who allowed three hits while striking out nine Cardinal batters en route to A&M’s second shutout of the season.
“I thought our pitching and defense was outstanding, and it all started with Brigham Hill,” Childress said. “He retired, I think, 13 in a row after a leadoff single. Just a marvelous performance. I am very, very proud of him.”
Hill said he enjoyed the start.
“It felt amazing,” Hill said. “I was a little nervous at first, but it was nice with teammates making plays.”
Offensively, Ryne Birk went 2-for-5 in the game. Birk now has a seven game hit streak, a span during which he is batting .433. Mitchell Nau also went 3-for-4 on the night, pushing his batting average to .560 on the season.
Incarnate Word (4-5) started poorly and a bases-loaded walk to Blake Kopetsky in the first inning gave A&M a 1-0 advantage.
The Aggies (9-0) loaded the bases again in the fourth inning, and a sacrifice fly from Jonathan Moroney gave him an RBI and a 2-0 lead for his team.
The sixth inning was the biggest for A&M, finishing with four runs. Cardinal mistakes led to two scores, and RBIs from JB Moss and GR Hinsley made it 6-0.
Ronnie Gideon hit his third home run of the year in the seventh to make it 7-0 A&M.
The bullpen came in behind Hill in relief and shut down the Cardinals, allowing only one hit and zero walks from the fifth inning to the end of the game.
“They were very good,” Childress said. “Just like last night, I thought our bullpen has been flawless the last two nights and it was big for both games.”
The Aggies will look for their third straight sweep of the season with their weekend series against Dartmouth, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday.