June 6, 2010
CORAL GABLES, Fla.--Texas A&M will play for the NCAA Coral Gables Regional Championship after an 11-7 win over 11th-ranked Miami Sunday evening before 2,248 fans at Alex Rodriguez Park.
With their backs to the wall entering play on Sunday, the Aggies (43-20-1) rallied to defeat Dartmouth 4-3, then downed the Hurricanes (42-18) in a back-and-forth affair later in the afternoon to force a winner-take-all championship game. The teams will meet for a berth in the super regional round on Monday at 6 p.m. (CT).
"We told the team this morning once we got to the field that we were going to be there for 10 hours, so make sure you get after it and compete," A&M coach Rob Childress said. "We told them it would take a heroic effort on everyone's part to make sure we finish the day off the right way, and there were a lot of heroes today."
A first-inning home run by Harold Martinez would give Miami a quick 3-0 lead off A&M starter Michael Wacha, but the freshman settled in and kept a hot Hurricane offense off the board for the next two frames.
The Aggies finally got to UM's David Gutierrez in the fourth, scoring three in the frame and three more in their next at-bat. Joe Patterson added a two-run double in the fifth.
Miami threatened in their ensuing at-bat, placing the go-ahead run on base with two outs. Chris Pelaez poked what seemed like a game-tying single through the right side, but Tyler Naquin fielded the ball and threw a strike to catcher Kevin Gonzalez--who caught the short hop and tagged Scott Lawson on the brim of his helmet just in time to preserve the lead.
A&M's bats would feed off that play, scoring five times off Hurricane reliever ?? Encinosa in the sixth. Capping the rally was a long two-run home run by Juengel that made the score 11-5.
Miami scored two in the sixth off Wacha, but the Aggies went to closer John Stilson for the second time that day in relief, and the All-American shut out the Hurricanes over the game's final 11 outs to preserve the victory.
Juengel finished the game 3-for-5 with a game-high four RBIs, while Greene and Gonzalez had two hits apiece and Patterson drove in three runs. Nathan Melendres had two solo home runs--one inside-the-park--to pace the UM offense, which out-hit the Aggies, 14 to 10.
Wacha (9-2) gutted out his ninth win of the season, allowing 10 hits and seven runs over 5 1/3 innings.
"It was the biggest game of the year so far for us, and Michael--a true freshman--came out and gave us a great start," Childress said.
Stilson, meanwhile, tossed 3.2 shutout innings, giving up just four hits and one walk while fanning two to earn his 10th save of the year. The sophomore threw 120 pitches and 6.2 innings of baseball on Sunday, spanning two games and an hour rain delay.
"If we're going to pack up our stuff and head to College Station, we're going to do it with John Stilson on the mound," said Childress of Stilson's performance on Sunday. "I would be able to sleep the rest of the summer knowing that if we didn't get it done today, John was on the mound. I've got no questions about that. I would have liked to have gotten Michael through six, but I felt they were getting the momentum back and that was the save. We definitely stretched him out, as far as we have since the Kansas game, but he gave us a chance for tomorrow and that's all you can ask for."
Gutierrez (5-2) suffered the loss, giving up seven hits and five earned runs over five innings. The loss was just Miami's 13th all-time in 91 regional games played at home.
Texas A&M will look to capture its sixth regional championship all-time and third under Childress Monday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT). Neither team has announced a starter. The game will be televised nationally by ESPNU HD.
"We had a good day today, but we haven't done anything yet," Childress said. "We came here to win this tournament. We've got an opportunity tomorrow, but we understand what kind of tradition Miami has playing on their home field. We understand what they can do to you in a hurry if it gets away from you, just like yesterday. We've given ourselves a chance. Now we have to go finish."
POSTGAME NOTES: Texas A&M improved to 47-36 all-time in NCAA Regional action and will be playing in its 15th regional final ... Miami lost for just the 13th time in 91 games in NCAA regional play at Mark Light Field ... the Hurricanes are now 78-13 all-time on their campus in the regional round ... the Aggies are now 7-1 under coach Brodie Greene has 104 for the season, third most all-time by an Aggie and three shy of the school record (107, Jason Tyner, 1998) ... Greene has hit safely in eight straight ... Adam Smith set a new career high with his 10th home run of the season ... A&M has homered in 12 of its last 13 games ... Michael Wacha's strikeout of Scott Lawson in the third inning was the 600th by an Aggie pitcher this season ... it's a school record and obviously the first time an A&M staff has reached the 600-punchout plateau ... the Aggies finished the day with 603 strikeouts, nine shy of the Big 12 record (612 by Texas in 2004) ... John Stilson became the fourth player in school history to record 10 saves in a season, joining Scott Beerer (13 in 2003), Scott Centala (11 in 1988 and 10 in 1989) and Pat Jamison (10 in 1971) ... Stilson's ERA is 0.80, a school record if the season ended today ... it would top the 40-year-old record of 0.86 set by Doug Rau in 1970 ... Ty Naquin picked up his eighth outfield assist of the year to end the fifth inning, matching the school record (8, Cory Patton, 2004).
Texas A&M 11, Miami 7 (Jun 06, 2010 at Coral Gables, FL)
Texas A&M........... 000 335 000- 11 101(43-20-1) Miami............... 300 202 000- 7 143(42-18)
Pitchers: Texas A&M - Wacha, Michael; Stilson, John(6) and Gonzalez, Kevin. Miami - David Gutierrez; E.J. Encinosa(6); Jason Santana(6) and Yasmani Grandal. Win-Wacha, Michael(9-2)Save-Stilson, John(10)Loss-David Gutierrez(5-2)T-3:19A-2248 HR TA - Juengel, Matt (11); Smith, Adam (10). HR UM - Harold Martinez (21); Nathan Melendres 2 (8); Michael Broad (7). Weather: 91, partly cloudy, wind S 10 Game notes: NCAA Coral Gables Regional Game #6. A&M/Miami will play championship game Monday at 7pm ET.
ADDITIONAL POSTGAME QUOTES
A&M P John Stilson
On being able to pitch in the high 90s late in his second game... "That was all adrenaline. I knew I had to get the job done for us to go on to tomorrow, and I just did what I do out there - and I had a good day, and made the pitches when I needed to."
On throwing two games today... "That's really the first time I've ever done that. I guess I may have done that a few times in summer ball, but that wasn't to the extent of what that was. I knew I had to do that in order for our team to be where we were going to be, and I did it for the team."
A&M RF Tyler Naquin
On helping throw out a runner at home... "Whenever runners are on in big situations, I visualize that part of the game happening and sure enough, I saw it before the play happened. He hit it to me and there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to make that throw. It was a big part of the ballgame, with John [Stilson] on the hill. I know if I get that out at home plate, then he's going to shut them down the rest of the time. I just had to make the play for the team and do what I had to do."
A&M 1B Joe Patterson
On today... "It was a long day from the start. We knew we were going to be out here for a long time. So, we just planned on it the whole day. The homerun [versus Dartmouth] was just a fast ball up-and-away, and I just went with it. I told Brodie [Greene], `you want to do it or you want me to do it?', before that Brodie popped up. So, I guess that was him telling me to do it this time, even though he's been doing it all year. I was just trying to help the team get a good spark and go with it."
UM HEAD COACH JIM MORRIS
"Number one - Texas A&M's got a very good club, and we didn't play well enough to win. We've got to pitch better and play better defense. They outplayed us today. We need a crowd here tomorrow night. It's seven o'clock; that's why we come here; that's why players play here; that's why I coach here; that's why we come to this program - is because of fan support. We need a packed house tomorrow night. If you're a Hurricanes fan you ought to be here tomorrow night. Real Hurricanes fans will be here tomorrow night. We need the support of the Hurricanes fans tomorrow night. We need a home-field advantage tomorrow night. That's what it's all about; that's why we come here; that's why people support this program is for big games. Tomorrow is a huge game."
On the fan support today ... "I can't help the fact that the NCAA - and ESPN, make us play at noon and 4 p.m., when it's 102 degrees. It's more than that - I can tell you, or it feels like more than that on the field. I know it hurts the fans. Tomorrow is a night game. Everybody can be here, it's a night game. We need the little supporters; the loyal supporters; the baseball supporters; the fans to be here tomorrow night. There's no reason not to be here. They're not working tomorrow night. The fans need to be here, and we've got great fans. It's not the fan's fault it's 100 degrees. Tomorrow night it won't be."
On the pitching situation for tomorrow... "Charlie Wholestaff's pitching tomorrow. Whoever we need - that's who's going to pitch. Put it together and make it happen. Anybody that's available can pitch tomorrow. Haven't even decided who's starting tomorrow; haven't even talked about it."
On Texas A&M winning two games today in hot weather... "They did a great job - no question. They did a great job of playing the game and recouping from yesterday's game, and coming back playing at noon, and then being ready to play tonight. You've got to give their coaches and their players credit for that. Tomorrow night's another day; we've got to be ready to play."
MIAMI P DAVID GUTIERREZ
On what happened after a strong first three innings... "Early on in the game, I was doing a really good job of keeping the ball down and working my off-speed for strikes. Fourth inning, I left the ball up, and gave up a double and a home run. But I just had to make an adjustment and I didn't."
MIAMI OF NATHAN MELENDRES
On his inside-the-park home run, and what he thought about the homerun barrage from the team... "Harold [Martinez] has been doing that all year. As soon as he hit that homerun, I thought we were doing to score a lot of runs this game. I think we hit the ball fairly well. We've just got to come out tomorrow and get the victory."
MIAMI 3B HAROLD MARTINEZ
On the pitch he hit in first inning for a three-run homerun... "It was a fastball; a second pitch fastball. It was low, and we've been swinging the bat pretty-good. So, I thought it was going to be the same routine as we always do - just jump on them early, but their pitchers are good at coming back."
On pressure on both teams in the elimination game... "There's always pressure in every game, but tomorrow will be extra pressure. Like coach always says, that's why we come here. We've always watched these games growing up. So, I'm pretty excited to be part of one of these games. Even though, honestly, I wish it would have ended today."
On getting runs with two outs... "I think their pitcher battled; their starter battled. He was getting hit, but he stayed in there. We didn't hit the ball, and we didn't get those clutch hits that we've been getting this postseason - and the ball didn't roll our way."
On stepping in against a guy that's throwing 98 mph... "You've got to open your eyes and be real aggressive, because you don't want to get in a deep count with a guy like that because he has a lot of stuff to strike you out with. We don't see that every day, and it takes a little bit of adjustment to gauge that speed."