The Texas A&M baseball team came from behind four times against Kansas on Saturday night. It was enough to win coach Rob Childress' admiration, but not enough to win the game.
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Eagle Photo/Gabriel Chmielewski
Texas A&M outfielder Brian Ruggiano slams into the wall attempting to catch a foul ball in A&M's 17-13 loss to Kansas on Saturday night at Olsen Field.
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Kansas outlasted the 10th-ranked Aggies in a wild game, scoring four runs in the 11th inning for a hard-earned 17-13 victory at Olsen Field.
A&M (19-3, 1-1) climbed out of an eight-run hole in the middle innings and overcame deficits in the seventh and ninth innings, but Kansas (13-10, 1-1) escaped a huge jam in the ninth and then the Jayhawks finally came up with something the Aggies couldn't answer in the 11th.
"I told the team after the game that I'm more proud of them than I have been since they showed up for school in the fall," Childress said. "I'm proud of the way the team competed tonight. They didn't quit, and that's going to take us a long way.
"Kansas competed well today. You've got to give them credit."
The game lasted 4 hours, 26 minutes, and was filled with twists and turns.
Kansas broke through in the 11th against Scott Migl, the seventh Aggie pitcher. Migl (3-1) hit a batter with one out and then issued a four-pitch walk. Erik Morrison put the Jayhawks ahead to stay with an RBI double, and KU added three runs on a sacrifice fly and a two-run double by Justin Ellrich.
"My only disappointment was that every time they scored after we came back and tied it, they got free base runners every time," Childress said.
Kansas closer Paul Smyth ended his 4 2/3-inning outing, the second-longest of his career, by retiring the Aggies 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning. It was a quiet ending to a night filled with sound and fury.
Kansas nearly won the 38-hit slugfest by scoring in the ninth without a hit. Two walks, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly gave the Jayhawks their fourth lead of the game, 12-11.
A&M pinch hitter Dane Carter drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth and went to third on a single by Brandon Hicks, his fifth consecutive hit. Ben Feltner chopped an infield single to tie the game, and the Aggies had a great chance to win when KU intentionally walked Blake Stouffer to load the bases with one out. However, cleanup hitter Craig Stinson bounced into an inning-ending 5-2-3 double play.
"Paul Smyth came in and did a good job," Childress said. "He got a big double-play ball there in the ninth. We had a chance to win it with Craig at the plate [and] that's who I'd want at the plate again if we have that opportunity tomorrow."
The game, along with the Aggies' stretch of great baseball, took a turn toward the wacky in the fourth inning. Ryne Price led off with an opposite-field fly ball into the left-field corner that dropped in for a double when Feltner got turned around and couldn't make the catch.
Buck Afenir ripped the next pitch for a double that gave the Jayhawks a 2-1 lead, but the Aggies were in position to limit the damage after Kyle Thebeau struck out the next batter and shortstop Hicks made a nice play to hold Afenir at third base. However, the Jayhawks got four consecutive hits, capped by Brock Simpson's three-run homer that made it 7-1.
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AGGIE BASEBALL
KANSAS 17, TEXAS A&M 13, 11 innings
RECORDS: Texas A&M (19-3, 1-1 in Big 12), Kansas (13-10, 1-1)
WP: Paul Smyth (1-0)
LP: Scott Migl (3-1)
Key play: Kansas escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the ninth when A&M cleanup hitter Craig Stinson bounced into a double play
GAME 3: 1 p.m. Sunday, starters A&M's Jason Meyer (2-0); KU'S Andy Marks (3-2)
RADIO: WTAW, 1620 AM
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Childress had a long talk with his players when they came to the dugout in the middle of the fourth, telling the Aggies to chip away at the deficit instead of expecting a big inning. A&M scratched out a run, but Kansas responded by scoring three in the top of the fifth for a seemingly safe 10-2 lead.
Then came the big inning Childress didn't anticipate. The Aggies scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth, which was stuffed with clutch hits, a costly error and a huge call by the umpiring crew.
A leadoff double by Hicks, a walk and an RBI double by Stouffer chased KU starter Zach Ashwood. Darby Brown delivered a two-run single, and another run scored on an error by second baseman Price.
Kansas nearly got out of the inning with a 10-6 lead when Parker Dalton took an abbreviated swing at a 1-2 pitch, but the umpires ruled it no swing. Dalton grabbed the second chance with a liner to right-center that drove in two runs.
Stouffer's second double of the inning drove in two more runs for a crazy 10-10 tie.
The Jayhawks shook off that potential knockout punch, however. KU scored two runs in the seventh, getting a walk and three consecutive hits against reliever Kiel Renfro.
A&M again proved its ability to take a punch by scoring two in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch hitter Brodie Greene had a leadoff single, Hicks delivered his fourth hit and Stouffer coaxed a chopper up the middle under the glove of the shortstop to make it 12-12 and give Stouffer six runs batted in.
• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.
College Baseball
Texas Tech 9, Nebraska 8: LUBBOCK - Doug Thennis hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Texas Tech past Nebraska 9-8 on Saturday.
Texas Tech (17-8, 2-1, Big 12) led 6-3 going into the eighth inning, but the Cornhuskers (10-7, 1-2) rallied when Andrew Brown hit a three-run homer to right-center field. Tech took an 8-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth before Nebraska tied the game in the ninth on a pitching error and a run-scoring single by D.J. Belfonte.
James Leverton also homered for the Red Raiders, and Andy Gerch drove one in for Nebraska.
Paul Gonzalez (3-1) got the win while Steve Edlefsen (0-1) took the loss for giving up Thennis' game-winning run.
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