Texas A&M
19-18, 3-10
Nebraska
26-5, 8-2
Aggies Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Loss to No. 4 Huskers
Apr 13, 2006 | Baseball
April 13, 2006
Texas A&M outhit No. 4 Nebraska, 9-7, and a ninth-inning rally stalled one run short on Thursday night, as the Huskers held on the defeat the Aggies, 5-4, before a season-high 7,318 fans at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
Huskers?™ closer Brett Jensen hit Blake Stouffer to start the ninth and after a flyout, Austin Boggs singled to ignite the rally. Jake Vasquez scored a grounder off the glove of first baseman Brandon Buckman to score Stouffer. Jensen fanned Kyle Colligan for the second out of the inning before Craig Stinson laced an RBI single to left to cut the lead to 5-4.
With the tying run at second base and the go-ahead run at first, Jensen caught Josh Stinson looking to end the rally and the game and earn his seventh save of the year.
With the loss, A&M dropped to 19-18 overall and to 3-10 in Big 12 play. Nebraska improved to 26-5 and 8-2.
The Aggies had their chances all night, stranding runners in seven different innings and 12 in the game.
?We didn?™t get off to a good start,? A&M head coach Rob Childress said. ?I was proud of the way we battled back but we did not get the last big hit we needed. We made them nervous in the ninth but I am still disappointed that we didn?™t win the game.?
A&M reliever Chance Corgan tossed 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to keep the Aggies in the game. He allowed only one hit, while striking out seven and walking one.
The game was the first in Lincoln for Childress since accepting the job at Texas A&M last summer. Childress spent eight years as an assistant at Nebraska prior to moving to College Station.
?It was nice coming back here to Lincoln,? Childress said. ?I enjoyed my eight years and the fans here in Lincoln, but once the game started I wanted to win.?
The Huskers took the lead in the bottom of the first courtesy of a three-run homer by Buckman. It was his 11th of the season and it also scored Bryce Nimmo and Ryan Wehrle, who each walked earlier in the inning.
Nebraska added to its lead courtesy of a RBI double by Jake Mort in the second and a RBI single by Andrew Brown in the third to make the score 5-0.
All five runs were charged to A&M starter Jason Meyer (1-1), who allowed six hits in 3 1/3 innings.
The Aggies scored in the top of the seventh and chased Nebraska starter Joba Chamberlain in the process. A single, a walk, and a fielder?™s choice put runners on first and second with one out before Jared Cranston came in to replace Chamberlain.
Stouffer was hit by a pitch and Jose Salazar singled through the right side to score a run and cut the Nebraska lead to 5-1.
An RBI single by pinch hitter Anthony Vasquez in the top of the eighth cut the lead to 5-2.
Chamberlain (5-2) earned the win by limiting the Aggies to one run on four hits. He stuck out 11 A&M hitters on the night.
Salazar and Josh Stinson paced the A&M offensive attack with two hits apiece.
Game two of the three-game series will be played Friday at 6:35 p.m. The finale is set for Saturday at 3:05 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chamberlain (5-2)
L: Meyer, Jason (1-1)
S: Jensen, B. (7)
Batting:
RBI: Salazar, Jose 1 ; Vasquez, Jake 1 ; Stinson, Craig 1 ; Vasquez, Anthony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stouffer, Blake 1 ; Boggs, Austin 1 ; Vasquez, Jake 1 ; Glover, Brandon 1
CS: Stein, Keith 1
HBP: Stouffer, Blake 2 ; Stein, Keith 1
PO: Salazar, Jose 1
Batting:
2B: Mort, J. 1
HR: Buckman, B. 1
RBI: Buckman, B. 3 ; Brown, A. 1 ; Mort, J. 1
SH: Jaros, N. 1 ; Opitz, J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nimmo, B. 1 ; Wehrle, R. 1 ; Buckman, B. 2 ; Christy, J. 1
HBP: Nimmo, B. 1
