Texas A&M baseball took us through the emotional spin cycle on Saturday night as head coach Jim Schlossnagle and his gritty squad faced the Stanford Cardinal in the NCAA Regional, coming from behind late to defeat the Regional host 8-5 in one of the more thrilling victories for the Maroon and White this season.
As the No.2 seed, the Aggies (38-25) sent Stanford (39-17) to Sunday afternoon’s elimination round to face Cal State Fullerton, who Texas A&M defeated 12-7 in the opening round of the Regional on Friday night. Trailing 4-2 in the 6th inning, shortstop Hunter Haas delivered time and time again, first with a game-tying 2 RBI double, leading to his eventual bases-clearing double in the top of the 8th to catapult the Aggies to a 7-4 lead with just one inning remaining.
On the mound, the team’s early hole came after starter Justin Lamkin’s 1.2-inning struggle. Yet, reliever Evan Aschenbeck (one unearned run on five hits and one walk in 2.2 innings), Brandyn Garcia (2.2 IP with just one walk), and Matt Dillard (one run on two hits, with one walk and a hit by a pitch in 1.1 IP) provided enough stability to keep the Cardinal at Bay, as only one run crossed the plate in the bottom of the 9th.
After the game, Jim Schlossnagle, Hunter Haas, and Brandyn Garcia discussed the big win as the Aggies look forward to facing Stanford or Cal State Fullerton in the Regional Final on Sunday night, slated for 8:00 pm CT. on ESPN+. Here is what they had to say:
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=5]