|
A&M Wins Series Opener at No. 8 Cal State Fullerton
Kyle Martin picked up his first win of the season and Blake Allemand tallied three hits in the Aggies’ 6-1 win over the Titans.
FULLERTON, Calif.
– The Texas A&M Aggies dodged some early bullets and posted a
titanic four-run ninth inning to fend off No. 8 Cal State Fullerton in
non-conference baseball action Friday night at Goodwin Field.
In
their first true road game of the season, the Aggies rose to the
challenge behind a gritty performance from starting pitcher Kyle Martin
and an opportunistic offensive effort led by Blake Allemand who went
3-for-4 with one double, two runs and one RBI.
The
Aggies drew first blood in the top of the fourth inning. With one out,
Allemand deposited a double down the rightfield line to spark the
rally. After Daniel Mengden struck out swinging, Justin Moroney reached
on an error by the Titans’ third baseman to put runners on the corners.
Cole Lankford lashed a single in front of Fullerton’s centerfielder to
plate Allemand for the 1-0 advantage, but Moroney was thrown out at
third to end the rally.
Cal State Fullerton (11-3)
seemed posed to knot the game in the home half of the fourth, but the
Titans were unable to capitalize on their leadoff man reaching base for
the fourth consecutive inning. Anthony Hutting was gifted first base on
an error by Aggie shortstop Mikey Reynolds to start the frame. With one
out, Hutting stole second base and moved to third on a wild pitch.
Martin uncorked an errant pitch on the fourth ball offered up to Chad
Wallach and Hutting got a late break for home as Wallach trotted to
first. A&M catcher Troy Stein scurried to retrieve the ball and was
able to fire to Martin at the plate in time for the tag to prevent the
Titans from tying the game.
Texas A&M (10-5)
tacked on another run in the sixth to take a 2-0 lead. Mikey Reynolds
threaded a leadoff double down the leftfield line to extend his
consecutive-game hit streak to 14. Reynolds moved to third on a
sacrifice bunt by Krey Bratsen and scored on an RBI groundout to first
base by Allemand.
After brewing up trouble with
runners in scoring position in four of the first six innings, the
Titans finally got on the scoreboard with the help of four free passes
from Aggie pitches in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs in the
inning, Keegan Dale drew a four-pitch walk from Martin. AJ Minter came
in from the bullpen to relieve Martin and issued a pair of five-pitch
base on balls to Ricky Pedroza and Carlos Lopez to load the bases.
Aggie
closer Jason Jester was called on to get out of the jam, but yielded
the Titans’ fourth consecutive walk, this one to Matt Chapman, to plate
Dale and cut the lead to 2-1. Jester was able to retire JD Davis with a
strikeout to end the frame.
With A&M nursing a
one-run lead, Jester retired the Titans in order in the eighth with two
strikeouts and a grounder to short.
The Maroon and
White created separation in the top of the ninth with four runs on five
hits. Bratsen lined a single up the middle to start the frame and
Allemand roped a hit-and-run single to rightfield to put runners on the
corners, driving Titans’ starter Thomas Eshelman from the game. Mengden
deposited a single in front of the Titans’ centerfielder to plate
Bratsen. The outfielder misplayed the ball allowing it to roll to the
warning track, scoring Allemand and putting Mengden on third. After
Moroney struck out for the first out of the inning, Lankford bounced a
single up the middle to score Mengden for the 5-1 advantage. Stein
doubled to put two runners in scoring position and Charlie Curl plated
Lankford with a sacrifice fly, giving A&M the 6-1 edge.
Jester
sandwiched a pair of groundouts around a strikeout in the ninth to pick
up his fourth save of the season. He worked 2.1 hitless innings
allowing one walk while striking out four.
Martin
(1-2) picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run on six
hits and two walks while striking out four over 6.2 innings.
A&M pitchers were able to work around six hits and five walks, forcing the Titans to strand nine runners on the evening.
Eshelman
(3-1) was saddled with his first loss of the season. He allowed four
runs, three earned, on six hits while striking out six over 8.0 innings
of work.
Lankford joined Allemand as the two Aggies with multiple hits in the game. Lankford went 2-for-4 win one run and two RBI.
The Aggies and Titans return to action for game two of the series at 8 pm Central on Saturday.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Junior third baseman Blake Allemand
On
his fourth inning double that lead to the first run of the game:
I knew the pitcher (Eschelman) was going to pound the zone. He’s been
throwing strikes all season. I was down 0-2, but I knew he was going to
be near the zone. I just wanted to get the barrel on the ball. The
pitch was inside, but I was able to keep my hands in and hit it down
the line.
On his game overall: It was nice getting
some hits finally. Every at-bat I was trying to hit the ball hard and
put it in play. I was down 0-2 a couple of times and it was nice to
battle through that.
On the big ninth inning: It
was huge. They got some momentum in the seventh inning. For us to put
them away with four runs in the top of the ninth was a big deal.
Senior pitcher Kyle Martin
On
working through the early jams: My defense was great today. I tried to
make some pitches, but my mechanics were a little rough. But the
defense was great and kept me in the game. I really appreciated it.
On
picking up his first win of the season: It was great. You always want
to get that first one out of the way. But I think it’s a bigger deal
that as a team we finally won a game on Friday. That was huge for us
and I hope we can build some momentum off of that.
|
