Saturday, June 4
College Station
8:45 PM
Texas A&M
47-14
22
vs
2
Wake Forest
35-26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Texas A&M
1
5
0
2
6
0
5
1
2
22
24
1
Wake Forest
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
6
3
Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 1 Aggies Leave Demon Deacons in their Wake, 22-2
Jun 05, 2016 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies pounded out 24 hits, including six doubles and two home runs, as they coasted to a 22-2 victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in NCAA Division I Baseball Championship play Saturday on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
The win sends the Aggies to the title portion of the College Station Regional where they will have two opportunities to secure one win against the victors of Sunday afternoon's elimination game between Minnesota and Wake Forest (3 pm).
Texas A&M (47-14) had 11 different players log hits, including nine players with multiple hits. Austin Homan led the hit parade going 4-for-7 with two doubles, two runs and one RBI. Boomer White batted 3-for-4 with two walks, four runs, one home run and four RBI. Ryne Birk hit 3-for-4 with two doubles, two walks, two runs and one RBI. Jonathan Moroney batted 2-for-4 with one home run and six RBI.
The 22 runs are the most for the Maroon and White in NCAA Championship play since a 22-4 victory over the Houston Cougars at the 2008 College Station Regional.
The Aggies drew first blood in the top of the first inning. With two outs, White slapped a single to rightfield and Birk drew an eight-pitch walk. Michael Barash laced a single through the right side of the infield to plate White for the 1-0 lead. Barash's single extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games.
The Demon Deacons wasted no time knotting the score with a run in the bottom of the first. With one out, Nate Mondou pounced on a 2-0 pitch, sending it to rightfield for a solo home run.
Texas A&M reclaimed the lead with a vengeance in the top of the second inning. With one out, Hunter Melton bounced a single up the middle and Homan doubled down the leftfield line to put two runners in scoring position. After J.B. Moss was hit by a pitch to fill the bags with Ags, Nick Banks rattled a double in the corner down the leftfield line to drive in two runs. White followed by sending a full-count offering to the rec center construction zone in leftfield for a three-run dinger, staking Texas A&M to a 6-1 lead.
The Aggies tacked on two runs in the fourth. Moss got things rolling with a leadoff double and came around to score on a one-out single by White. After a Birk double and Barash hit-by-pitch, Moroney knocked in White with a sac fly, inflating the cushion to 8-1.
The Maroon and White would tack on six runs in the fifth and five in the seventh to put the game out of reach.
Brigham Hill (9-1) earned the win for the Aggies. He allowed two runs on five hits and four walks while recording a career-high 10 strikeouts over 6.0 innings. Stephen Kolek, Ryan Hendrix and Corbin Martin worked scoreless frames to close out the game.
Drew Loepprich (3-2) was saddled with the loss. He yielded seven runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out one in 3.1 innings.
The Aggies face either Minnesota or Wake Forest at 8:04 pm on Sunday. A win would send Texas A&M to next week's Super Regional action. A loss would send the teams to a winner-take-all game on Monday.
Texas A&M
Wake Forest
Texas A&M quotes
Head Coach Rob Childress
Opening statement…
"I felt like we stayed focused on the mound and from a defensive standpoint. From an offensive standpoint we were very impressive. I'm proud of our guys, but we have a long way to go, but our players know that. We are going to come out and I think we'll be ready to play tomorrow night at eight o'clock."
On the big second inning...
"It wasn't just the second inning. In the first we had great at-bats, too, but we only had one run to show for it. We hit a lot of balls right at them. I think that approach carried right over into the second and there on the rest of the night. I thought our guys were really locked it all night. We didn't let it get away from us and stayed focus even when we grabbed a bigger lead."
Senior third basemen Boomer White
On his evening…
"I have to give all the credit to the guys in front of me for putting me in a positions to get some big knocks. We were putting great swings on him the first couple of at-bats. I got the pitch after the big at-bat by Nick (Banks). We were just able to tack it to all the big RBI by your team all night. We just have to put big bats together and the scoreboard will take care of itself."
Wake Forest quotes
Head Coach Tom Walter
Opening Statement…
"Thank you. Obviously disappointing, you know. Not a whole lot of fun out there tonight but certainly give credit to Texas A&M. They played a really good ball game all the way around today. Early in the game, [Drew] Loepprich wasn't making pitches like we normally do. He didn't really command the baseball and Texas A&M took advantage of all those mistakes. Anything he left in the center of the plate was hit and hit hard. I thought the swing in the game was 5-1, we have first and second, nobody out, two innings in a row and didn't really get anything going. Give credit to their starting pitcher who did a good job changing speeds on us. We knew coming in the game we were going to see a lot of soft, a lot of off speed and I thought when we got behind and the game sped up on us a little bit, we were chasing pitches out of the zone. Give credit to him for executing those pitches and we didn't adjust back to that. Once we got behind against a good club, obviously we didn't come here just to be respectable, we came here to try to win. We're looking at 27 innings having to come through the loser bracket, having to get 27 innings so you pitch the middle and the end of the game a little differently than you might have otherwise have pitched it in the hopes of saving some arms for the rest of this tournament. I have no doubts we'll come out and play well tomorrow against Minnesota and hopefully if we do then we get another shot at these guys but credit to Texas A&M, they played a great ball game tonight."
On Drew Loepprich's outing…
"I thought the ball was sinking but again it was just more middle and usually he's on the edges and the ball was elevated and middle and that's not his game. Again, they did a good job. Their lefties did a good job of hitting the ball the other way in their big inning. We get a ball that bounces over the third baseman's head that's two inches different might have been a double play ball and the inning is over. Then [Boomer] White comes up and homers on two strikes and kind of changes the complexion of the game. Obviously he's really good and you can't make mistakes on him or he's going to punish you."
Junior infielder Nate Mondou
On Brigham Hill's pitching…
"He threw very well tonight, mixing speeds with that slider curveball he has and commanded the fast ball on both sides of the plate. He did what he needed to do with a big lead. He pitched the ball in the zone, made enough pitches in the zone with the lead that he held the lead for the game like you saw. He did a good job tonight."
The win sends the Aggies to the title portion of the College Station Regional where they will have two opportunities to secure one win against the victors of Sunday afternoon's elimination game between Minnesota and Wake Forest (3 pm).
Texas A&M (47-14) had 11 different players log hits, including nine players with multiple hits. Austin Homan led the hit parade going 4-for-7 with two doubles, two runs and one RBI. Boomer White batted 3-for-4 with two walks, four runs, one home run and four RBI. Ryne Birk hit 3-for-4 with two doubles, two walks, two runs and one RBI. Jonathan Moroney batted 2-for-4 with one home run and six RBI.
The 22 runs are the most for the Maroon and White in NCAA Championship play since a 22-4 victory over the Houston Cougars at the 2008 College Station Regional.
The Aggies drew first blood in the top of the first inning. With two outs, White slapped a single to rightfield and Birk drew an eight-pitch walk. Michael Barash laced a single through the right side of the infield to plate White for the 1-0 lead. Barash's single extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games.
The Demon Deacons wasted no time knotting the score with a run in the bottom of the first. With one out, Nate Mondou pounced on a 2-0 pitch, sending it to rightfield for a solo home run.
Texas A&M reclaimed the lead with a vengeance in the top of the second inning. With one out, Hunter Melton bounced a single up the middle and Homan doubled down the leftfield line to put two runners in scoring position. After J.B. Moss was hit by a pitch to fill the bags with Ags, Nick Banks rattled a double in the corner down the leftfield line to drive in two runs. White followed by sending a full-count offering to the rec center construction zone in leftfield for a three-run dinger, staking Texas A&M to a 6-1 lead.
The Aggies tacked on two runs in the fourth. Moss got things rolling with a leadoff double and came around to score on a one-out single by White. After a Birk double and Barash hit-by-pitch, Moroney knocked in White with a sac fly, inflating the cushion to 8-1.
The Maroon and White would tack on six runs in the fifth and five in the seventh to put the game out of reach.
Brigham Hill (9-1) earned the win for the Aggies. He allowed two runs on five hits and four walks while recording a career-high 10 strikeouts over 6.0 innings. Stephen Kolek, Ryan Hendrix and Corbin Martin worked scoreless frames to close out the game.
Drew Loepprich (3-2) was saddled with the loss. He yielded seven runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out one in 3.1 innings.
The Aggies face either Minnesota or Wake Forest at 8:04 pm on Sunday. A win would send Texas A&M to next week's Super Regional action. A loss would send the teams to a winner-take-all game on Monday.
Texas A&M
- Texas A&M improved their overall record to 47-14, extending their win streak to six. The Maroon and White are now 66-46 all-time in the NCAA Regional and 35-14 in postseason NCAA games at Olsen Field/Blue Bell Park.
- Texas A&M will play the winner of Minnesota and Wake Forest at approximately 8:00 PM on Sunday evening.
- Boomer White records another multi-hit game, a team-high 27th time this year
- Brigham Hill notched a career-high ten strikeouts
- Back-to-back multi-hit games for Austin Homan, Jonathan Moroney, and Michael Barash
- Hitting streaks extended: Michael Barash (13), Austin Homan (9), Jonathan Moroney (7), and Boomer White (4)
- Eight Aggies with multiple hits: 4 – Austin Homan; 3 – Boomer White, Ryne Birk; 2 - JB Moss, Michael Barash, Hunter Melton, Ronnie Gideon and Jonathan Moroney
- Jonathan Moroney has homered in both games of the College Station Regional
- Eight of A&M's nine starters tallied a base hit, as well as two players off of the bench
- Most runs in NCAA Tournament game for the Aggies since 1989 (25 vs. BYU)
- First time in 2016 A&M has three innings with five or more runs
- Most hits by a team thus far in the 2016 Tournament and most since the 2012 Tournament
- The Maroon and White move to 2-0 all-time against Wake Forest and has won these games by a combined 30 runs
- Austin Homan is hitting .545 throughout two games in the regional
- Team highs for 2016 season: AB (51), hits (24), runs (22), RBI (21), and doubles (tied with 6)
Wake Forest
- Most runs and hits given up by Wake Forest in 2016
- Wake Forest will play Minnesota at 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon in an elimination game.
Texas A&M quotes
Head Coach Rob Childress
Opening statement…
"I felt like we stayed focused on the mound and from a defensive standpoint. From an offensive standpoint we were very impressive. I'm proud of our guys, but we have a long way to go, but our players know that. We are going to come out and I think we'll be ready to play tomorrow night at eight o'clock."
On the big second inning...
"It wasn't just the second inning. In the first we had great at-bats, too, but we only had one run to show for it. We hit a lot of balls right at them. I think that approach carried right over into the second and there on the rest of the night. I thought our guys were really locked it all night. We didn't let it get away from us and stayed focus even when we grabbed a bigger lead."
Senior third basemen Boomer White
On his evening…
"I have to give all the credit to the guys in front of me for putting me in a positions to get some big knocks. We were putting great swings on him the first couple of at-bats. I got the pitch after the big at-bat by Nick (Banks). We were just able to tack it to all the big RBI by your team all night. We just have to put big bats together and the scoreboard will take care of itself."
Wake Forest quotes
Head Coach Tom Walter
Opening Statement…
"Thank you. Obviously disappointing, you know. Not a whole lot of fun out there tonight but certainly give credit to Texas A&M. They played a really good ball game all the way around today. Early in the game, [Drew] Loepprich wasn't making pitches like we normally do. He didn't really command the baseball and Texas A&M took advantage of all those mistakes. Anything he left in the center of the plate was hit and hit hard. I thought the swing in the game was 5-1, we have first and second, nobody out, two innings in a row and didn't really get anything going. Give credit to their starting pitcher who did a good job changing speeds on us. We knew coming in the game we were going to see a lot of soft, a lot of off speed and I thought when we got behind and the game sped up on us a little bit, we were chasing pitches out of the zone. Give credit to him for executing those pitches and we didn't adjust back to that. Once we got behind against a good club, obviously we didn't come here just to be respectable, we came here to try to win. We're looking at 27 innings having to come through the loser bracket, having to get 27 innings so you pitch the middle and the end of the game a little differently than you might have otherwise have pitched it in the hopes of saving some arms for the rest of this tournament. I have no doubts we'll come out and play well tomorrow against Minnesota and hopefully if we do then we get another shot at these guys but credit to Texas A&M, they played a great ball game tonight."
On Drew Loepprich's outing…
"I thought the ball was sinking but again it was just more middle and usually he's on the edges and the ball was elevated and middle and that's not his game. Again, they did a good job. Their lefties did a good job of hitting the ball the other way in their big inning. We get a ball that bounces over the third baseman's head that's two inches different might have been a double play ball and the inning is over. Then [Boomer] White comes up and homers on two strikes and kind of changes the complexion of the game. Obviously he's really good and you can't make mistakes on him or he's going to punish you."
Junior infielder Nate Mondou
On Brigham Hill's pitching…
"He threw very well tonight, mixing speeds with that slider curveball he has and commanded the fast ball on both sides of the plate. He did what he needed to do with a big lead. He pitched the ball in the zone, made enough pitches in the zone with the lead that he held the lead for the game like you saw. He did a good job tonight."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hill, Brigham (9-1)
L: Loepprich, Drew (3-2)
Batting:
2B: Moss, J.B. 1 ; Banks, Nick 1 ; Birk, Ryne 2 ; Homan, Austin 2
HR: White, Boomer 1 ; Moroney, Jonathan 1
RBI: Banks, Nick 3 ; White, Boomer 4 ; Birk, Ryne 1 ; Barash, Michael 3 ; Moroney, Jonathan 6 ; Choruby, Nick 1 ; Gideon, Ronnie 2 ; Homan, Austin 1
SF: Moroney, Jonathan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Moss, J.B. 3 ; Banks, Nick 1 ; White, Boomer 4 ; Birk, Ryne 3 ; Barash, Michael 2 ; Bedford, Cole 1 ; Moroney, Jonathan 1 ; Choruby, Nick 2 ; Melton, Hunter 3 ; Homan, Austin 2
HBP: Moss, J.B. 1 ; Birk, Ryne 1 ; Barash, Michael 1 ; Melton, Hunter 1
Batting:
HR: Mondou, Nate 1
RBI: Mondou, Nate 1 ; Breazeale, Ben 1
SF: Breazeale, Ben 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mondou, Nate 1 ; Craig, Will 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
7
R
2
H
4
RBI
1
AB
4
R
4
H
3
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballLSU Postgame: Michael Earley, Jace Laviolette, Clayton Freshcorn
Friday, May 23
Highlights: A&M 3, LSU 4
Friday, May 23
Auburn Postgame: Michael Earley, Justin Lamkin, Kaeden Kent
Thursday, May 22
Highlights: Texas A&M 3, Auburn 2
Thursday, May 22
