Texas A&M
13-4, 2-0
Baylor
10-4, 0-2
(#3) Texas A&M 13, (#5) Baylor 7
Mar 15, 2009 | Baseball
March 15, 2009
Final Stats
Post Game Audio [mp3]:
Head Coach Childress
INF N. Anders
INF Greene
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Brodie Greene went 4-for-5 and Nick Anders hit two home runs to lead No. 3 Texas A&M to a 13-7 win over No. 5 Baylor Sunday afternoon before 3,880 fans at Olsen Field.
Greene and Anders powered a 15-hit attack by the Aggie offense, which saw five players record at least two hits and two--Kevin Gonzalez and Joe Patterson--each drive in three runs.
The win was the sixth in a row for the Aggies (13-4, 2-0 Big 12) over the Bears, who fell to 10-4 and 0-2 in league play. The split-series now shifts to Waco for the finale on Monday at 6:35 p.m.
Baylor took an early 2-0 lead on a two-out, two-run home run to right field by cleanup hitter Shaver Hansen.
After the home run, Aggie starter Alex Wilson retired the next seven Bear hitters, allowing A&M to tie the game with a pair of runs off Baylor starter Aaron Miller in the third.
Second baseman Nick Anders led off the inning with a home run to left field, his third of the year. After Kyle Colligan followed with a walk and Brooks Raley moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, Greene lined a single into right center to plate Colligan wand make the score 2-2.
Single runs in the fourth and fifth frames would put the Bears back up by two. Dustin Dickerson doubled down the line in left to open the fourth, and scored two batters later on a Miller sacrifice fly. Adam Hornung provided the offense in the fifth with his team-high fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to right.
Wilson would then once again shut down the Baylor attack after a long ball, retiring seven in a row before being lifted after allowing a seventh-inning single.
A&M would take advantage of Wilson's efforts by taking its first lead of the afternoon with four straight hits to start the fifth--the first two off Miller.
Colligan led off the frame with a double down the line in left, and Raley followed by lining the first pitch up the middle to pull the Aggies to within one at 4-3 and chase Miller from the game. Craig Fritsch came out of the Baylor pen and, after Raley was caught trying to swipe second, Greene and Luke Anders notched back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners.
Dylan Petrich followed with a full-count walk to load the bases, and Caleb Shofner was plunked by a 2-0 pitch to force Greene home with the tying run. Pinch-hitter Joe Patterson then recorded an RBI groundout to first as the Aggies took a 5-4 lead.
A&M would send eight men again to the plate in the sixth. Nick Anders led off with his second home run of the game and third of the year, this one an opposite field shot to right. Colligan was then hit by a pitch and Raley brought him home with a line-drive double to left center field, making the score 7-4. Two batters later, Luke Anders' sacrifice fly to left pushed another run home and extended the Aggie lead to four.
Wilson allowed a one-out single to Ben Booker in the seventh, but Kyle Thebeau came out of the bullpen and got Adam Hornung to ground into an inning-ending double play on the first pitch of his at-bat.
The Aggies added five insurance runs in the eighth on a two-run single by Patterson and a three-run home run by Gonzalez, his second long ball of the year.
Baylor scored three in the ninth off Clayton Ehlert, who entered in relief of Thebeau, but Ross Stripling came out of the pen to get pinch-hitter Ben Ringenberg to groundout to end the game.
Wilson lasted 6 1/3 innings and gave up five hits and four runs (all earned). He did not walk a batter and struck out eight on the afternoon while improving to 2-2 on the year.
Fritsch (1-2) was tagged with the loss, allowing three hits and four earned runs in an inning of work.
The series now shifts to Waco and will conclude Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. A pair of sophomore right-handers will take the mound, as A&M's Barret Loux (0-0, 4.11 ERA) will face off against Baylor's Shawn Tolleson (0-0, 4.97). Fans can listen to the game on WTAW-AM 1620 and free live audio will be available on aggieathletics.com and radioaggieland.com.
POSTGAME NOTES
• A&M clinched the series with Sunday's win, marking the ninth time in the 13-year history of the Big 12 that the Aggies have won their opening series.
• A&M has won its first two Big 12 games for the fifth time in school history (also 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2008).
• Texas A&M now leads the all-time series, 175-127-4, and has won six in a row over Baylor...since the inception of Big 12 play in 1997, the Aggies are now 20-21 all-time against the Bears...A&M is now 6-7 all-time in Big 12 series with Baylor and has won three straight for the first time since the end of the Southwest Conference (1994-96).
• The victory was the Aggies' ninth of the come-from-behind variety in 2009.
• Brodie Greene matched a career high with four hits on Sunday (TCU, March 27, 2007)...Joe Patterson's three RBIs was an A&M career high.
• Kevin Gonzalez extended his hit streak to six games, one shy of his career high.
• Kyle Thebeau tied the school record for appearances with his outing Sunday afternoon...his career total of 86 matches Chris Russ, a current graduate assistant on the team, who pitched from 1998-2001.
• Nick Anders became the 28th player in school history to hit two home runs in a Big 12 game...the last to do so was his brother, Luke, against No. 4 Missouri (April 26, 2008)...no A&M player has hit three home runs in a Big 12 game.
• After being hit twice in Sunday's game, Luke Anders last year.
• With eight strikeouts, Alex Wilson bumped his season strikeout total to 43 in 25 innings of work in '09...Wilson has walked just five on the year and is holding opposing hitters to a .157 average.
• Game-time temperature was 55 degrees with overcast skies and a light breeze blowing out to center.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wilson, Alex (2-2)
L: Fritsch, Craig (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Dickerson, Dustin 1 ; Hansen, Shaver 1
HR: Hansen, Shaver 1 ; Hornung, Adam 1
RBI: Hansen, Shaver 2 ; Miller, Aaron 3 ; Hornung, Adam 2
SF: Miller, Aaron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hainsfurther, Joey 1 ; Dickerson, Dustin 2 ; Hansen, Shaver 2 ; Miller, Aaron 1 ; Hornung, Adam 1
HBP: Kimmey, Brooks 1
Batting:
2B: Colligan, Kyle 1 ; Raley, Brooks 1
HR: Gonzalez, Kevin 1 ; Anders, Nick 2
RBI: Raley, Brooks 2 ; Greene, Brodie 1 ; Anders, Luke 1 ; Shofner, Caleb 1 ; Patterson, Joe 3 ; Gonzalez, Kevin 3 ; Anders, Nick 2
SH: Raley, Brooks 1
SF: Anders, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Colligan, Kyle 3 ; Raley, Brooks 1 ; Greene, Brodie 1 ; Anders, Luke 2 ; Petrich, Dylan 1 ; Shofner, Caleb 1 ; Patterson, Joe 1 ; Gonzalez, Kevin 1 ; Anders, Nick 2
SB: Greene, Brodie 2 ; Anders, Luke 1
CS: Raley, Brooks 1
HBP: Colligan, Kyle 1 ; Shofner, Caleb 2 ; Anders, Nick 1
