Building Champions
 (#7) Texas 5, (#14) Texas A&M 4

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May 10, 2009

Final Stats

AUSTIN - No. 7 Texas capitalized on three free passes and two errors in the first inning, scoring five runs and holding on for a 5-4 win over No. 14 Texas A&M in the series finale Sunday afternoon before 7,613 fans at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The Aggies shut down the Longhorn offense from that point on, out-hitting Texas 13 to five on the afternoon, but were not able to erase the early deficit. The loss dropped A&M to 33-18 and 14-10 in Big 12 play, and eliminated the Aggies from Big 12 title contention. UT improved to 36-12-1 and 17-9-1 and can win the conference championship with an Oklahoma loss Sunday afternoon to Oklahoma State.

Two errors and A&M's inability to turn a double play led to a five-run first for the Longhorns. With two on and two out, Russell Moldenhauer hit a grounder back up the middle. Shortstop Adam Smith stepped on second, but his throw to first was just up the right-field line and Aggie first baseman Luke Anders was ruled to not have touched the bag, putting runners at the corners with two out.

The next batter, Cameron Rupp, hit a grounder to third, but the throw over skipped in to first and away from Anders to bring home the game's first run. Texas would then tack on runs on a bases-loaded hit batsmen, a two-run single through the infield and another fielding error to take a 5-0 lead into the second and chase A&M starter Barret Loux.

The Aggies, who left runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, finally broke through in the fourth and chased Texas starter Taylor Jungmann. Brodie Greene, Brooks Raley and Luke Anders began the frame with consecutive singles to load the bases, and Kyle Colligan drew a walk on an eight-pitch at bat to force home A&M's first run. The next batter, Joe Patterson, quickly fell behind 0-2 but laced the next pitch inside the bag at third. The two-run single pulled the Aggies back in the game at 5-3.

 

 

Tremendous relief work by Kyle Thebeau and Alex Wilson, who combined for 7 1/3 innings of three-hit shutout action out of the bullpen, kept Texas A&M's comeback hopes alive.

In the seventh, Caleb Shofner pulled A&M within one on a double into the right field corner that scored Kyle Colligan and made the score 5-4. That put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, but UT closer Austin Wood got a strikeout and groundout to end the threat.

The Aggies got runners on in both the eighth and ninth innings, but Wood closed out the innings unscathed to register his 13th save of the year and take the series for Texas.

The top of the order led the A&M offense, as Greene and Raley each went 3-for-5. Anders and Patterson each had a pair of hits on the afternoon.

Loux (3-2) made it through just 2/3 of an inning, allowing two hits, walking two and hitting one. All five runs he allowed were unearned. Thebeau went five complete, giving up three hits and no runs, while Wilson tossed the last 2.1 frames and did not allow a baserunner.

Texas starter Taylor Jungmann (6-1) gave up nine hits and three runs over four-plus innings of work. He walked three and fanned one. Wood gave up three hits and no runs in 2.2 innings to pick up the save.

Texas A&M plays its final regular-season home game on Tuesday when the Aggies host Texas State at Olsen Field. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate or online at aggieathletics.com.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Sunday's crowd of 7,613 was the 10th largest in UFCU Disch-Falk Field history...it was the eighth largest collegiate crowd at the stadium and the third largest in a regular-season game.

• Brodie Greene extended his hit streak to a career-high 10 games with a fifth-inning single...Joe Patterson tied a season high by moving his hit streak to six games...Kyle Colligan, who was making his 100th consecutive start in center field, saw a nine-game hit streak come to an end.

• Game-time temperature was 87 degrees with mostly cloudy skies and winds blowing out to left center at 10 miles per hour (gusting to 21).

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH Rob Childress: "That call in the first inning didn't cost us the game, and didn't cost us a run. We had our opportunity with two outs to get out of that inning and we didn't do that. Thebeau and Willy did as good as they could possibly do on the mound, and gave us a chance to get back in it. In the third, fifth and seventh innings we had our opportunities to break it open, and we didn't come away with the big inning. It's a disappointing loss. I felt like we played well enough to win after the first inning, and sometimes when you're great on the mound, one inning is all it takes and the game's over. Texas proved that today."

(on the series loss) "It's extremely disappointing (to lose the series). But there are bigger and better things in front of this team, I can promise you that. This team's leaving here this weekend understanding they can play with the best in the country."

(on playing Texas State) "Ty Harrington has done a phenomenal job. They have an RPI in the mid-30s and they are running away with the Southland Conference. They are a team that without question if the season ended today will be an at-large team. It's a big game for them and for us too. It's the last regular-season game at Olsen Field. We'll start Clayton Ehlert and I know he'll give us a good start."

SENIOR 1B Luke Anders: (on the first-inning play) "Smitty (Adam Smith) threw the ball low to me, and I went down and got it. I thought I touched the bag twice, but he saw that I didn't, I guess. He called him safe. I can't argue with him, so I just went on and focused on the rest of the inning."

(on losing the series) "It's real tough. This whole weekend, both teams were grinding. This weekend we played one of the best teams we've played all year. They made great plays, and so did we, but they were able to come out on top twice. We were just one or two plays from sweeping them, but we have to keep our heads up. We have a bunch of baseball left to play, and we just have to keep our heads up and keep working."

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