HOUSTON, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies put together a three-run, 12th-inning rally to top the Rice Owls, 9-6, in an exhibition game Friday evening at Reckling Park.
The inning started with a walk by Joseph Menefee and Jonathan Ducoff and Brett Brown singled to leftfield to load the bases. Hunter Watson drew a walk to push the go-ahead run across. The Aggies added two more runs with a walk by Reed Spenrath and an RBI groundout by Allonte Wingate.
Ducoff led the Aggies' offense, batting 3-for-3 with one run and two RBI. Zach DeLoach and Aaron Walters both scored two runs. Wingate hit 2-for-6 with two RBI.
John Doxakis, Brandon Birdsell and Jonathan Childress each worked two scoreless innings. Doxakis and Childress recorded four strikeouts apiece. Justin Ruble, Colson Geisler and Kasey Kalich all posted 1.0 blank frame in relief.
SCORING SUMMARY
T4 | Mikey Hoehner started the frame with a gapper to right-center for a triple. With one out, DeLoach was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners. Aaron Walters slapped a single through the right side, plating Hoehner for the ice breaker. Logan Foster hit a wall-banger to rightfield, knocking in DeLoach. Will Frizzell slashed an opposite field single to leftfield, driving in Walters and Foster came home to score on a bunt single by Wingate. A&M 4, Rice 0.
B6 | Dominic Cox was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Justin Collins followed with a single. With one out, Rice loaded the bases when Joshua Larzabal was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Khevin Brewer knocked in three runs with a double down the leftfield line. The Owls reloaded the bags with a walk by Aaron Beaulaurier and an infield single by Braden Comeaux. Trei Cruz pushed the tying run across with a walk. A&M 4, Rice 4.
T7 | With two outs, DeLoach was hit by a pitch and Walters reached on an error by the shortstop. After a wild pitch pushed both runners into scoring position, Ducoff knocked them both in with a single up the middle. A&M 6, Rice 4.
B7 | Rice started the frame with singles by Bradley Gneiting and Collins. Dominic Cox drew a walk to load the bases. Aggie pitcher Chrisitan Roa hunkered down to get an infield fly and a strikeout, but Brewer was able to drive in a run with a single to rightfield. A&M 6, Rice 5.
B8 | The Owls tied the game with an unearned run. With one out, Comeaux hit an infield single to short and moved to second on a throwing error. Cruz knocked him in with a single up the middle. A&M 6, Rice 6.
T12 | Jospeh Menefee started the inning with a walk and the Aggies loaded the bases with singles to leftfield by Ducoff and Brett Brown. Hunter Watson broke the tie with a bases-loaded walk and Spenrath drew four balls to add an insurance run. Wingate wrapped up the frame with an RBI groundout. A&M 9, Rice 6.
UP NEXT
The Aggies wrap up fall workouts next week with the three-game Omaha Cup Championship Series from Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On the team's performance tonight…
"I'm really proud of our guys. There were a lot of momentum swings during the course of the game. We had a four-run lead going into the sixth and Rice answers right back. Throughout the course of the next six innings we battled and were able to put together some good at-bats in the 12th inning"
On the fall exhibitions...
"We've played 24 innings of baseball this fall and only made two errors defensively. We were able to play a lot of different guys on the dirt, so we like where we are at there. We were able to throw all 16 pitchers and each one of those guys has done a great job. We're definitely still a work in progress and we've got a lot of room to improve, but the opportunity to play two outside competitions this fall is good benchmark and shows us where we need to improve."
The inning started with a walk by Joseph Menefee and Jonathan Ducoff and Brett Brown singled to leftfield to load the bases. Hunter Watson drew a walk to push the go-ahead run across. The Aggies added two more runs with a walk by Reed Spenrath and an RBI groundout by Allonte Wingate.
Ducoff led the Aggies' offense, batting 3-for-3 with one run and two RBI. Zach DeLoach and Aaron Walters both scored two runs. Wingate hit 2-for-6 with two RBI.
John Doxakis, Brandon Birdsell and Jonathan Childress each worked two scoreless innings. Doxakis and Childress recorded four strikeouts apiece. Justin Ruble, Colson Geisler and Kasey Kalich all posted 1.0 blank frame in relief.
SCORING SUMMARY
T4 | Mikey Hoehner started the frame with a gapper to right-center for a triple. With one out, DeLoach was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners. Aaron Walters slapped a single through the right side, plating Hoehner for the ice breaker. Logan Foster hit a wall-banger to rightfield, knocking in DeLoach. Will Frizzell slashed an opposite field single to leftfield, driving in Walters and Foster came home to score on a bunt single by Wingate. A&M 4, Rice 0.
B6 | Dominic Cox was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Justin Collins followed with a single. With one out, Rice loaded the bases when Joshua Larzabal was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Khevin Brewer knocked in three runs with a double down the leftfield line. The Owls reloaded the bags with a walk by Aaron Beaulaurier and an infield single by Braden Comeaux. Trei Cruz pushed the tying run across with a walk. A&M 4, Rice 4.
T7 | With two outs, DeLoach was hit by a pitch and Walters reached on an error by the shortstop. After a wild pitch pushed both runners into scoring position, Ducoff knocked them both in with a single up the middle. A&M 6, Rice 4.
B7 | Rice started the frame with singles by Bradley Gneiting and Collins. Dominic Cox drew a walk to load the bases. Aggie pitcher Chrisitan Roa hunkered down to get an infield fly and a strikeout, but Brewer was able to drive in a run with a single to rightfield. A&M 6, Rice 5.
B8 | The Owls tied the game with an unearned run. With one out, Comeaux hit an infield single to short and moved to second on a throwing error. Cruz knocked him in with a single up the middle. A&M 6, Rice 6.
T12 | Jospeh Menefee started the inning with a walk and the Aggies loaded the bases with singles to leftfield by Ducoff and Brett Brown. Hunter Watson broke the tie with a bases-loaded walk and Spenrath drew four balls to add an insurance run. Wingate wrapped up the frame with an RBI groundout. A&M 9, Rice 6.
UP NEXT
The Aggies wrap up fall workouts next week with the three-game Omaha Cup Championship Series from Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On the team's performance tonight…
"I'm really proud of our guys. There were a lot of momentum swings during the course of the game. We had a four-run lead going into the sixth and Rice answers right back. Throughout the course of the next six innings we battled and were able to put together some good at-bats in the 12th inning"
On the fall exhibitions...
"We've played 24 innings of baseball this fall and only made two errors defensively. We were able to play a lot of different guys on the dirt, so we like where we are at there. We were able to throw all 16 pitchers and each one of those guys has done a great job. We're definitely still a work in progress and we've got a lot of room to improve, but the opportunity to play two outside competitions this fall is good benchmark and shows us where we need to improve."