No. 20 Texas A&M baseball has extended its win streak to five games with a 6-2 win over Rice.
This win gives A&M a 15-3 record on the season and it is the fifth straight win where the team has scored at least five runs. For Rice, this is its sixth straight loss and it gives them a 2-14 record on the season.
A&M was clinical on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the team was getting people on base, recording 10 hits and forcing two errors. Defensively, the bullpen, led by starting left-handed pitcher Johnathan Childress, only allowed two runs and struck out opposing batters 14 times.
While the Aggies ended with good offensive numbers, neither team scored until the bottom of the fourth inning when Rice catcher Justin Collins hit a homerun to left field off of a pitch from Childress. It didn’t take long for the Aggies to answer with runs of their own as leftfielder Cam Blake doubled to right field, bringing in first baseman Austin Bost. Centerfielder Ray Alejo grounded out at second base, but that was good enough for Blake to return home.
A&M held a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning when Rice leftfielder Rodrigo Duluc hit a homerun to left field and tied the score at 2.
Neither team scored again until the top of the seventh inning when Alejo hit a single up the middle bringing in pinch runner Logan Britt home. A&M didn’t score for the rest of the inning but scored three runs in the following inning.
At the top of the eighth, designated hitter Will Frizzell singled to right field, bringing in Logan Sartori for a run. With bases loaded, third baseman Zane Schmidt hit a single to left field that brought in first baseman Hunter Coleman and pinch runner Mason Corbett. A&M was not able to bring Alejo and Schmidt home, but that wasn’t necessary as Rice was unable to score in the bottom of the eighth and ninth inning. Junior pitcher Dustin Saenz was given the win after allowing only one hit and pitching three strikeouts in 1.1 innings.
Blake went a perfect 2 for 2 at the plate recording one run, one RBI, two doubles and a walk. Sartori and Bost each went 2-for-4 with one double and a run.
A&M will start conference play on Friday against Auburn. First pitch will be at 6 p.m. and the game is available for streaming on WatchESPN.