Tuesday night, No. 8 Texas A&M baseball defeated Northwestern State 6-1. That victory was fueled by a 5-run fifth inning that sent the bubbles flying through Blue Bell Park.
Wednesday night NWST looked to get revenge for the loss, but the Aggies conjured a bit of Olsen Magic to get the 7-6 win.
In the bottom of the eleventh inning, with two outs and runners on first and second, senior Baine Schoenvogel doubled down the right field line, allowing for pinch runner Cole Taylor to score.
“Olsen Magic, in front of the 12th Man. There is nothing better,” Schoenvogel said. “[I] just got a pitch I can handle and did something with it.”
Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress said the eleven inning marathon was a testament to the potential his young team has.
“[I’m] certainly proud of the team’s toughness,” Childress said to 12thman.com. “We’re starting to shape the identity of the 2018 team. It hasn’t always been pretty, the last five games we’ve found a way to win. That says a lot about our team, that we’re always in the fight, we’re always going to keep coming and give ourselves a chance and we certainly did that tonight.”
Throughout the night, Texas A&M went deep into the bullpen using a total of eight pitchers throughout the game. Senior right-handed pitcher Cason Sherrod earned the win after pitching four and two-thirds innings, giving up three hits and no runs.
Sherrod was the eighth pitcher to enter the game.
“My main focus was to pound the zone,” Sherrod said. “[I just needed to] get us back in the dugout and let our offense do what they did tonight. I kept doing that until they finally walked it off.”
In the third inning, NWST jumped to a 4-0 lead after a fielding error by Schoenvogel in right field allowed two to score for Northwestern State. A single by Calen Ricca added to the NWST lead.
Northwestern State added another run in the top half of the fourth inning. However, A&M responded with a 2-run home run by sophomore Logan Foster cutting the NWST lead 5-2.
Schoenvogel said the 11-inning victory was a team effort. Schoenvogel also said everyone played a part in keeping the momentum going in the right direction.
“The guys in the dugout never gave up on the guys on the field,” Schoenvogel said. “Everybody had each other’s backs. All the bullpen guys, [who] came in and battled. Giving the offense a chance to get in there and score some runs.”
A&M carried the momentum into the bottom half of the sixth inning as they pieced together three more runs, two of which came with two outs on the board, putting the Aggies within one run of tying the game, 6-5.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Schoenvogel scored the tying run after freshman Zach DeLoach singled up the middle.
“It was nothing but a momentum builder for us and it shows us how tough we can be. It shows our grit. We’re never going to give up on the guy next to us. Everybody has got each other’s back and we’re always here to keep fighting,” Schoenvogel said.
Freshman right handed pitcher Christian Roa got the start for the Aggies and was pulled after two and one-third innings pitched after giving up three runs – two earned, one unearned – striking out two and walking one.
Texas A&M will be back in action Friday as they host Long Beach State, first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.