Texas A&M
46-19
Florida State
45-18
Aggies Open Super Regional with 6-2 Win over Florida State
Jun 11, 2011 | Baseball
June 11, 2011
June 11, 2011 • Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, Fla.
Boxscore/Play-by-Play
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Texas A&M (46-19) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| Florida State (45-18) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R/ER | BB | SO |
| WP: Ross Stripling (14-2) | 7.0 | 7 | 2/2 | 1 | 8 |
| LP: Sean Gilmartin (12-2) | 7.0 | 6 | 5/5 | 1 | 8 |
| A&M Batting | AB | H | R | RBI | 2B |
| Brandon Wood | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Kenny Jackson | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A four-run top of the seventh proved to be the deciding margin Saturday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium as the No. 6 Texas A&M baseball team defeated Florida State 6-2 during the opening game of the Tallahassee Super Regional.
The victory leaves the Aggies (46-19) just one win away from the College World Series as the best-of-three Super Regional continues tomorrow at 3 p.m. (CST). The contest will be televised live on ESPNU.
"I thought it was a great game," Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress said. "We played well on both sides and the two starting pitchers did as good a job as you could ask them to do. (Matt) Junegel hits a mistake in the first inning to give us a lead and allows us to relax a little. Ross (Stripling) weathered the storm in the first inning and only gave up one run, I thought that was huge. After that he settled down and did a nice job. He gave up a home run to (Jayce) Boyd in the bottom of the sixth and we came right back in the seventh inning. We went probably 10-11-12 at bats and didn't have a good at bat against (Sean) Gilmartin and just like that in the top of the seventh we string about six quality at bats in a row together, score four runs and the bullpen does a nice job for us."
Texas A&M starter Ross Stripling (14-2) turned in an impressive effort as he scattered just two runs and seven hits during seven innings of work. The Southlake, Texas, native has been a workhorse for the maroon and white this season and Saturday was his 10th start of seven or more innings and his eighth in his last nine starts.
"I just wanted to throw strikes and I finally found my change-up today," Stripling commented. "I didn't have my change-up in the beginning of the game - especially in the first inning. I really didn't have much in that first inning at all. It did keep the momentum on our side to get out of those jams and get us back in the dugout and let us get some hits because their pitcher was on a roll."
Junior designated hitter Matt Juengel gave the visiting Aggies an early lead in the top of the first as he went deep off FSU starter Sean Gilmartin, driving an off-speed pitch high off the scoreboard in left field for his team-leading seventh home run of the season.
Florida State (45-18) responded during its first turn at bat in the bottom of the first as the Seminoles tied the game at 1-1 after a leadoff double by second baseman Devon Travis turned into FSU's first run on a sac fly later in the inning.
After the excitement of the first inning, the game took on the feel of a pitcher's duel between Stripling and Gilmartin as the two began trading zeros on the scoreboard.
With the score still tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Seminole first baseman Jayce Boyd broke the string of scoreless innings as he connected on a solo home run leading off the inning.
The long ball was the seventh of the season for Boyd and gave the `Noles a 2-1 advnatage but it would also be the last tally that FSU could muster against Stripling and the Aggie bullpen.
Texas A&M, however, found its offensive groove during the top of the seventh as junior first baseman Jacob House singled through the right side to begin the frame and was quickly joined on base by Adam Smith, who drew a five-pitch walk. Following a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Gonzalez that moved both runners into scoring position, sophomore left fielder Brandon Wood stepped to the plate and came up big for A&M. The sophomore from Sugar Land, Texas, found a hole on the left side of the `Noles infield to drive in both runners and give the Aggies their first lead since the opening inning.
"I just wanted to hit a ground ball up the middle to score the tying run," Wood said. "I wasn't trying to do too much. I knew he was going to come after me with a change up so I got up in the box a little bit. He had thrown me a change up in the last two at bats - that's what he had gotten me out on."
The two-out rally continued in the next as bat when senior shortstop Kenny Jackson added an RBI double to right center and later in the frame as sophomore right fielder Tyler Naquin capped the inning off with a bloop RBI single into left center, leaving A&M up 5-2.
House added an insurance run in the top of the eighth as he plated a tally with a sacrifice fly to deep right field.
Sophomore Kyle Martin tossed a scoreless eighth inning before senior Nick Fleece got the final three outs of the contest to give A&M its first win in a Super Regional since 1999.
Gilmartin (12-2) took the loss for FSU, only his second of the season, allowing five earned runs in seven innings on the mound.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Stripling, Ross (14-2)
L: Gilmartin, S (12-2)
Batting:
2B: Jackson, Kenny 1
HR: Juengel, Matt 1
RBI: Naquin, Tyler 1 ; Juengel, Matt 1 ; House, Jacob 1 ; Wood, Brandon 2 ; Jackson, Kenny 1
SH: Gonzalez, Kevin 1 ; Jackson, Kenny 1
SF: House, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bratsen, Krey 1 ; Juengel, Matt 1 ; House, Jacob 1 ; Smith, Adam 1 ; Wood, Brandon 1 ; Jackson, Kenny 1
SB: Bratsen, Krey 1
CS: Naquin, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Travis, D. 1
HR: Boyd, J. 1
RBI: McGee, M. 1 ; Boyd, J. 1
SF: McGee, M. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Travis, D. 1 ; Boyd, J. 1
HBP: Lopez, R. 1
