Texas A&M
Nebraska
Moss? Eighth-inning Whammy Leads A&M to 2-1 Win over Nebraska
Mar 06, 2015 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M junior JB Moss hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the Aggies to a 2-1 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the first day of action at the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park on Friday afternoon.
With the late heroics, the Aggies improved to 14-0, the best start since 1993 when A&M also started 14-0. It also matches their third best start, behind a 26-0 start in 1989 and a 15-0 start in 1976.
Nebraska starting pitcher Chance Sinclair was cruising when Moss' dinger arrived in the eighth inning. Before the decisive home run, the Nebraska right-hander had recorded 18 consecutive outs. Moss put an end to the string when he punched a 1-0 offering over the fence down the leftfield line to stake the Aggies to a 2-1 lead.
Mark Ecker entered the game in the ninth and sandwiched two fly outs around a groundout for his second save of the season.
Texas A&M drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning. The rally started with Nick Banks and Logan Taylor bouncing back-to-back singles up the middle. After GR Hinsley struck out for the first out of the inning, Michael Barash drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases. JB Moss worked the count full before slapping the sixth pitch into rightfield, plating Banks for the 1-0 lead. Nebraska escaped further damage getting Blake Allemand to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The Cornhuskers took advantage of a Texas A&M error to tie the game at 1-1 in the fourth. Ryan Boldt was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Boldt was caught wandering off first base, but a throwing error allowed him to advance to second base on the play. After a strikeout and a fly out, Ben Miller drove a single up the middle to score Boldt with the equalizer.
Aggie starting pitcher AJ Minter was solid, but did not factor in the decision. He allowed one unearned run on four hits while striking out six over 5.0 innings.
The A&M bullpen put forth an excellent effort once again, retiring 12 of the 13 batters they faced in four innings. Ty Schlottmann retired all six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings. Andrew Vinson (2-0) picked up his second consecutive win out of the bullpen. He hit the first batter he faced, but retired the next three to get out of the eighth without yielding a run.
Moss was the lone Aggie to register multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with one run and two RBI.
Sinclair was the hard-luck loser for Nebraska. He allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out five over 8.0 innings in the complete-game effort.
Nebraska (6-5) managed just four hits on the afternoon. Miller led the attack going 2-for-4 with one RBI.
Texas A&M returns to action on Saturday when they play the No. 13 Houston Cougars in a game slated for 7:05 pm at Minute Maid Park.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head coach Rob Childress
On the game…
“We had them on the ropes early, but once we hit into that double play he retired 17 or 18 in a row. He pitched like a veteran. Fortunately for us he made a mistake in the eighth and JB (Moss) was able to make him pay for it and our bullpen was able to make it stand up.”
On the pitching today…
“They were fantastic. AJ (Minter) gave us a big-time start and our bullpen did what they've been doing all year – go out and hang zeros on the board.”
Junior outfielder JB Moss
On the clutch win…
“That was just another step in our journey. We're trying to take it one game at a time. Playing a good opponent like Nebraska, you can't help but to be pumped up a little.”
On Nebraska's Chance Sinclair…
“You have to tip your hat to Sinclair. He was changing elevations really well. He was locating all three pitches for strikes.”
On his day at the plate…
“I was fortunate to see my name in the lineup today. I told myself not to try to do too much. I was just trying to help the team out and make something happen. Even in the last at-bat, a home run was the furthest thing from my mind.”
