No. 7 Baseball Moves to 20-0, Rolls Past Auburn

Saturday, March 14

College Station

4:00 PM

Texas A&M

20-0, 2-0

Auburn

13-6, 0-2

Auburn

Texas A&M

Mar 14, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 7 Texas A&M posted an historic victory Saturday afternoon, toppling the Auburn Tigers, 10-4, for the 1,000th Aggie win at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

The win carried additional significance as it improved the Aggie record to 20-0 on the season. Texas A&M, the last undefeated Division I team in the country in 2015, is off to its best start since 1989, when the Maroon and White commenced the campaign with a 26-0 mark.

Auburn (13-6, 0-2 SEC) bookended the game with two-run frames in the first and ninth innings, but in between it was all Aggies.

Matt Kent (5-0) weaved his longest career outing and was masterful from innings two to eight when he yielded just three hits. For the day, Kent worked 8.1, allowing four runs on 10 hits while striking out seven. On the year, Kent has 33 strikeouts and only two walks in 35.2 innings of work.

The Aggies' offense was relentless on the day with 11 hits, nine walks and two hit batters. Texas A&M had six at-bats with bases loaded, going 4-for-6. Blake Allemand, Logan Taylor and Ronnie Gideon each knocked in two runs to lead the attack. Gideon went 2-for-3 with two walks, one run and two RBI. Hunter Melton went 2-for-3 with two runs, one hit-by-pitch and one walk. Taylor batted 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.

Auburn used four singles two register two runs in the top of the first inning. Anfernee Grier bounced a single up the middle to start the rally. Grier was replaced at first base by Damon Haecker who was unsuccessful in getting a sacrifice bunt down. Jordan Ebert slipped a single through the right side of the infield to put two runners on before Kent fanned Dylan Smith for the second out of the inning. Kent was unable to get out of the frame unscathed as Cody Nulph and Blake Logan each laced RBI singles through the left side of the infield, staking the Tigers to a 2-0 advantage.
　
After missing out on chances to churn out runs in the first three innings, Texas A&M broke the scoring seal in the bottom of the fourth. Taylor drew a five-pitch walk to start the inning and moved to second on a groundout by Blake Kopetsky. Melton was hit by a pitch and Gideon was issued a base on ball to fill the bags with Ags. GR Hinsley and Allemand both poked singles through the right side of the infield, driving in a run apiece to tie the game at 2-2. Ryne Birk plated Gideon as the go-ahead run, grounding out to first base for the 3-2 lead.

Melton helped Kent get out of a sticky situation in the top of the fifth. Grier was hit by a pitch to start the frame, Haecker singled through the right side and Ebert placed a perfect bunt for a base-loading single. Kent got pinch-hitter Bo Decker to strike out swinging and then Melton pounced on a line drive by Nulph into the hole, leapt up after the snare and raced to the bag to double off Grier, ending the Auburn rally.

The Aggies cranked out another three-run frame in the fifth. With one out, Taylor threaded a single through the left side of the infield, knocking Auburn starter Rocky McCord out of the contest. JB Moss greeted reliever Izaac Yarbrough by sneaking a ball down the leftfield line for a double to put two runners in scoring position. Yarbrough was immediately lifted for Robby Clements who issued an intentional walk to Melton, bringing Gideon to the plate with saturated bases. Gideon plated two with a single through the left side and after Hinsley was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, Allemand plated Melton with a groundout to second base, and the Aggies owned a 6-2 lead.

The gap ballooned to five runs in the seventh. Moss drew a leadoff walk and moved to third when Melton chipped a single to rightfield. Moss came around to score when Gideon grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, giving A&M the 7-2 margin.

The Maroon and White put the game away with three runs in the eighth. Birk started the frame with a walk and Nau singled through the left side of the infield. Nick Banks motored down the first base line to beat the pitcher to the bag on an infield single, loading the bases. Taylor punched a single up the middle to drive in two and a sacrifice fly by JB Moss inflated the A&M cushion to 10-2.

The Tigers mounted a late rally, highlighted by a pinch-hit RBI single by Kyler Deese, which drove Kent from the contest, and an RBI single by Grier.

McCord (1-1) was saddled with the loss for Auburn. He allowed four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out two in 4.1 innings.

Auburn managed 11 hits on the day, led by Grier who went 3-for-4 with one RBI and one hit-by-pitch.

With the victory, Texas A&M secured a series win over Auburn, a team the Aggies dropped series against in each of their first two SEC campaigns.

Olsen Field was dedicated on March 21, 1978 and renovated as Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park prior to the 2012 season. The Aggies are now 1,000-324-4 all-time at the facility.

Texas A&M will don the black uniforms on Sunday as the Aggies go for their fifth weekend sweep of the season. First pitch in the series finale is slated for 1:05 pm.

TEXAS A&M BASEBALL

Head coach Rob Childress
What it means to get the 1,000th win at Olsen Field…
“It's great to be a part of the history of amazing players, all the coaches and the players, the staff members that have gone before us and to do it in the Southeastern Conference just makes it extra special.”

On figuring out ways to win…
“They just keep coming. They don't get timid, they don't get scared, and they just keep punching. Let the cards fall where they may. I was really proud of them. We finally grabbed the lead in the fourth inning and we go back out and Auburn almost grabbed the momentum back by loading the bases with no outs. Kent was able to make some big pitches to keep the momentum in our dugout and we were able to come back and hang another three on them. Then in the seventh and the eight we were able to put the game away.”

On Matt Kent's performance…
“I thought he was fantastic. They scored two on him with four hits in the first two innings. He twirled a three hitter into the ninth inning from that point on. Auburn was really committed to going the other way with the soft stuff and he really established the fact that he was going to get the fastball to the inner half the next time through the lineup. He was really special.”

Sophomore third baseman Ronnie Gideon
On the comebacks…
“It's a great lineup to be a part of. Everybody, up and down the lineup and even guys outside of the lineup have a dedication to win. Without that, I don't think we would be able to do what we did. Every day all the time, everybody is ready to go.”

Thoughts on getting back in the lineup…
“It was great. I've been working hard to get to this. They gave me a shot and I took advantage of it. But I wouldn't have been able to do what I did without the great coaches that I have and my teammates getting on base and putting me in a situation like that.”

Junior starting pitcher Matt Kent
The outing…
“Auburn had a great approach in the early part of the game. They were really taking away the outer-half of the plate and managed to get some balls through the infield and scored a few runs. Throughout the game I was really good inside on righties and away on lefties. I just tried to keep them off balance as much as I could.”

On getting out of a jam in the fifth…
“Baseball is a funny game. It will kick you in the teeth sometimes even when you're ahead. Auburn got the bases loaded and there wasn't much we could do on some of those plays. Then, the way Hunter (Melton) got us off the field was big. It was great positioning and great heads-up awareness to know where to go after a line drive like that."