Despite what was by far the sunniest weather for No. 1 Texas A&M baseball, it still failed to demonstrate its potential firepower before choking away a 3-2 upset loss to Cal Poly on Sunday, Feb. 23. The Aggies couldn’t get anything going offensively down the stretch, costing the Fightin’ Farmers the game when the Mustangs blindsided them with three runs in the top of the ninth inning.
“I don’t think the ranking matters to us, and I don’t think it matters to Cal Poly,” coach Michael Earley said. “I think if we were, you know, not ranked, I think they still want to come in here. They’re really well coached and beat us. … We haven’t been playing well, and there’s no excuse, and it’s my fault. I should have them more prepared, clearly, and they weren’t.”
The Aggies looked to get rolling early when they recorded three hits to load the bases in the bottom of the second inning. But the bats still weren’t hot enough for Earley’s team, as a what-could-have-been grand slam from junior catcher Jacob Galloway was caught at the warning track.
Things eventually picked up in the bottom of the third when graduate designated-hitter Hayden Schott drove in junior centerfielder Jace LaViolette on an RBI single to put A&M ahead 1-0. The Aggies doubled their lead when senior leftfielder Gavin Kash recorded a sacrifice RBI.
Unfortunately for the 5,315 fans in attendance, the Aggies would go hitless for the remainder of the game and only get one man on base throughout the next six innings. That one man, Galloway, walked before being caught trying to steal second base.
A lack of run support didn’t deter junior right-handed pitcher Myles Patton, as through the first seven innings, the Long Beach State transfer threw eight strikeouts while only allowing four hits and one walk.
“We don’t pitch the scoreboard,” Patton said. “Our job doesn’t change, whether we’re up by 10 or we’re down by 10, our job is just to throw strikes and just compete one pitch at a time.”
Cal Poly looked to even things up in the top of the sixth after two separate bunts allowed it to get two men in scoring position with its best hitter junior C Jack Collins up to bat. Patton would get the better of his former Long Beach teammate, as Collins grounded out thanks to an excellent throw to first by junior shortstop Kaeden Kent.
“He was a good teammate, hard worker,” Patton said about Collins. “It was cool seeing him, competing against him on a different stage.”
With a man on first following a fielding error and still leading 2-0 in the top of the eighth inning, Earley pulled Patton after recording 94 pitches. Stepping up to the mound for the Aggies was senior RHP Brad Rudis, who proceeded to send the next three batters back in order. The Mustangs had just one inning if they hoped to leave College Station with a victory.
A&M going scoreless again in the bottom of the eighth meant Cal Poly only needed to climb over a molehill, not a mountain, to win. Rudis safely fended off the Mustangs, but the same could not be said for sophomore RHP Clayton Freshcorn.
After allowing senior second baseman Ryan Fenn a single, who else could it be but Collins to flip the script for Cal Poly? A shot to deep left field flew over the wall, and Collins’ first home run of the season tied the game 2-2, shocking the 12th Man in attendance.
Mistakes cost A&M further after a second fielding error and a wild pitch allowed Cal Poly to get a man on third base. Sophomore pinch hitter Braxton Thomas completed the Mustangs’ stampede, as the throw to home plate wasn’t fast enough to catch the runner, giving Cal Poly a 3-2 lead. Freshcorn stopped the bleeding afterward, but A&M now trailed with just one inning remaining.
The Aggies would have no comeback to speak of, however. Three batters were sent back in the same order they came up, capping off seven hitless innings, five of which without a single man on base.
“We didn’t execute, just definitely from an offensive standpoint,” Earley said. “We really chased a lot of pitches, like we got pitches that were in the zone with good stuff, but we’re going to continue to see good stuff, especially playing the SEC. And that guy did a really good job. … The whole philosophy is, if it’s out of the zone, you don’t swing. That works. But if it’s in the zone and you never hit it, that doesn’t really play.”
With the 3-2 loss, A&M falls to 5-1 on the season. Earley and his team now prepare for their midweek matchup against Texas State on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
