Aggies Down No. 17 OU in Series Opener, 6-2

Friday, April 23

College Station

6:35 PM

Texas A&M

22-14-1, 7-8-1

Oklahoma

27-11, 6-8

Oklahoma

Texas A&M

Apr 23, 2010 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

April 23, 2010

Final Stats

Rob Childress [mp3]

Barret Loux [mp3]

Tyler Naquin [mp3]

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Barret Loux fanned 10 over seven strong innings and Caleb Shofner hit a key three-run home run late to lift Texas A&M to a 6-2 win over 17th-ranked Oklahoma Friday night in a Big 12 series opener before 3,692 fans at Olsen Field.

Loux combined with Michael Wacha to punch out 15 Sooner hitters and allow just four hits on the night en route to the second straight win for the Aggies (22-14-1, 7-8-1 Big 12). OU fell to 27-11 and 6-8 with the loss.

Shofner delivered the game's decisive blow in the seventh. With A&M holding a 3-2 lead, and two on and two out in the frame, OU went to reliever Jeremy Erben. Shofner turned on Erben's only pitch of the game and launched his sixth home run of the season over the fence in left to give the Aggies a four-run cushion.

Wacha then entered and tossed two nearly perfect innings--allowing only a hit batter and notching five of his six outs via the strikeout.

Texas A&M built a three-run lead by pecking away at Sooner starter J.R. Robinson. Brodie Greene's 200th career hit, a double to right center in the first, scored leadoff man Tyler Naquin to stake the Aggies to an early 1-0 edge.

Andrew Collazo would make it 2-0 in the second with a one-out RBI double just inside the bag at third and, in the fourth, Naquin laced a two-out single up the middle to plate Kenny Jackson with A&M's third run.

Oklahoma would finally get to Loux in the fifth, cashing in a one-out Ricky Eisenberg triple on a passed ball and tacking on another run with an RBI single to left center by Danny Black. That hit would be the last offense the Sooners would see, however, as Loux and Wacha retired 13 of the game's final 14 batters--allowing only an eighth-inning hit batsmen.

Loux improved to 6-2 with the win, giving up four hits, two runs (one earned) and a walk while fanning 10.

Robinson (1-3) suffered the loss, giving up eight hits and five runs over 6.2 innings. He walked four and struck out four. Naquin recorded the first multi-hit game of his young career with a 2-for-5 night, while Collazo added two hits. For the game, A&M out-hit Oklahoma, 9-4.

The series continues on Saturday with first pitch set for 2:05 p.m. The Aggies will send sophomore Ross Stripling (3-3, 4.43) to the mound to face OU junior Zach Neal (5-1, 4.08). The game will air locally on WTAW-AM 1620.

POSTGAME NOTES: Brodie Greene's first-inning double was the 200th hit of his career ... Greene also played in his 200th game at Texas A&M, becoming the 13th player in school history to accomplish that feat ... Barret Loux posted his fifth double-digit strikeout performance of the season and seventh of his career ... Loux moved into ninth place on the A&M all-time career strikeout chart (231), passing Rick Luecken (230), Doug Rau (228) and Kelly Wunsch (223).