In a back-and-forth rollercoaster ride, Tuesday night presented Aggie fans with another example of Olsen Magic. Thanks to a walk-off hit from Logan Nottebrok, A&M won 8-7 over Texas State in 11 innings.

“A lot of heroes tonight,” said A&M head coach Rob Childress. “Everyone got to play. Defensively we played really good, made some big plays, and with the exception of a few innings we pitched a pretty good night too.”

The Bobcats (18-25-1) picked on Turner Larkins from the start, loading the bases and capitalizing on the opportunity. They drove in three runs in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead over A&M early.

A&M had a response. After scoring a run in the first inning, A&M received two RBIs in the third inning from Ryne Birk and Hunter Melton to tie the game at 3-3 after three innings of play.

Aggie starting pitcher Turner Larkins got in a jam early, and after surrendering three runs he was taken out of the ball game. In relief, Matt Kent was lights out for A&M. In his 5 1/3 innings of relief duty, he pitched scoreless, hitless baseball. Kent set down all batters he faced, 16 straight, with seven strikeouts to keep the Bobcat lineup at bay.

“I came in in the first just looking to get us a stop and allow our offense to get us back in the game,” said Kent.

The sixth inning was big for No. 3 A&M (38-7). Blake Allemand gave the Aggies their first lead with a RBI single, then Nick Banks beat out an infield single on an error that gave him one RBI, but scored two runs. Another RBI single, this time from Mitchell Nau, gave the Aggies a 7-3 lead after six innings.

Texas State responded with a four-run inning of its own. After Kent exited the game, the Bobcats loaded the bases, and RBI after RBI helped Texas State tie the game 7-7 after seven frames. A&M had to utilize four pitchers in the inning before it was over.

The Aggies had their chances late in the game, but could not capitalize. The game went to extra innings in a 7-7 tie.

A&M waited patiently, and in the 11th inning it got its chance at the win. The Aggies loaded the bases, and with two outs, Logan Nottebrok hit the walk-off single to win the game. Nottebrok almost had the walk off home run in the ninth inning, but his two big hits went just foul. The third time was the charm for Nottebrok.

“In the at-bat, I just kept telling myself to have a good at-bat,” said Nottebrok about his winning hit.
With the win, A&M remains unbeaten in mid-week contests this season. The Aggies will hit the road this weekend as they travel to Knoxville to take on Tennessee.