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Texas Rallies to Defeat Aggies 2-1
AUSTIN, Texas – A
two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth lifted No. 20 Texas to a 2-1
victory over the ninth-ranked Texas A&M baseball team Sunday
afternoon on UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The Longhorns
(25-16; 12-6 Big 12) narrowly avoided the sweep at the hands of the
Aggies (31-13; 11-7 Big 12), who clinched the series victory with wins
on both Friday and Saturday.
“It looked like a
Friday night with the way the pitching went and a 1-0 game going into
the ninth inning,” Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “It was
a well-pitched, well-played game and we had a couple opportunities to
get the big hit and we didn’t. You’ve got to give Texas credit because
they came and took it from us there in the ninth inning with our best
reliever on the mound.”
Texas A&M starter
Rafael Pineda turned in his biggest performance in an Aggie uniform by
throwing 7.2 shutout innings before leaving in the top of the eighth
with his team holding a 1-0 advantage. The right-hander kept the
Longhorn offense in check and frustrated the majority of the afternoon,
yielding only a pair of hits while walking two and striking out six.
“I’m
really, really proud of him (Pineda),” Childress commented. “It’s as
good of a performance as he’s had here to date. He did everything he
could to give us a chance to win.”
Texas lefty
Dillon Peters made the start on the mound for the Longhorns, working a
career-best four scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen to
start the fifth. He was replaced on the mound by right-hander Corey
Knebel, who received a less than warm welcome when he was hit in the
midsection with a line drive off the bat of the first batter he faced.
Junior
left fielder Brandon Wood became the first Aggie base runner in scoring
position during the top of fifth as he doubled to left center off
Knebel and was able to score later in the frame on an RBI single by
freshman third baseman Blake Allemand.
Pineda
recorded the first two outs of the bottom of the eighth before walking
leadoff hitter Mark Payton and giving way to lefty reliever Estevan
Uriegas. Uriegas, a native of nearby Round Rock, Texas, was able to get
the Aggies back in the dugout as he got Texas second baseman Brooks
Marlow to fly out to left field for the frame’s third out.
A&M
junior right fielder Tyler Naquin notched a one-out double in the top
of the ninth as the Aggies attempted to tack on an insurance run, but
Knebel (3-2) induced a double play to quell the threat.
During
the fateful bottom of the ninth, Texas A&M brought on junior
reliever Kyle Martin (5-4), who had allowed a run only twice during his
previous 10 appearances. Back-to-back singles by Erich Weiss and
Jonathan Walsh greeted Martin and were followed by a sacrifice bunt
which moved both runners into scoring position.
Texas
was able to tie the game on an infield single by catcher Jacob Felts
before completing the comeback win by scoring on a fielder’s choice
when the Aggies unsuccessfully attempted to cut down the winning run at
the plate.
The Aggies are back in action on
Tuesday when they travel to Huntsville, Texas, to battle No. 24 Sam
Houston State in a 6:30 p.m. contest at SHSU’s Sanders Stadium.
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