Aggies pull away late against in-state foe UT Arlington

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M baseball team used a five-run sixth inning to propel themselves past the University of Texas at Arlington, resulting in a 10-5 victory Tuesday night on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Will Johnston struck out a pair of batters in 1.1 innings of work, en route to picking up his first win of the season. Freshman Ryan Prager earned the start on the mound before Chris Cortez, Wyatt Tucker, Robert Hogan and Jack Hamilton were called on in relief. The pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts on the night while only allowing six hits.

Designated hitter Dylan Rock led the Aggies at the plate batting .750 (3-for-4) highlighted by a dinger to leftfield, a double, three RBI and accounting for two runs. Eight of A&M’s 10 runs came in the fifth and sixth innings.

TOP AGGIE PERFORMERS
Dylan Rock: 3-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR, BB, 2 SB
Austin Bost: 1-for-4, R, 3 RBI, 2B, BB
Will Johnston: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

GAME SUMMARY

B1| With no outs, Kole Kaler and Dylan Rock drew a walk and worked their way into scoring position via a pair of stolen bases. A groundout by Austin Bost brought Kaler around, allowing the Aggies to get on the board early. A&M 1, UTA 0.

B2| Trevor Werner drew a walk and Ryan Targac took first on a hit-by-pitch before the pair stole third and second, respectively. With no outs, a sac-fly to centerfield by Jordan Thompson brought Werner home to advance the Aggies’ lead. A&M 2, UTA 0

T4| A leadoff double by Boone Montgomery sparked an offensive burst for UTA. With no outs, Montgomery advanced to third on a wild pitch and Oscar Ponce reached base with a beanball. A sac-fly to centerfield by Wilson Galvan plated Montgomery, forcing the Aggies to make their first call to the bullpen. With two outs, the Mavericks’ capitalized on a pair of singles and an issued walk to take a one-run lead. UTA 3, A&M 2

T5| With no outs, the Mavericks loaded the bases through the combination of a walk, single by Montgomery and a hit-by-pitch. Following back-to-back strikeouts, UTA plated another by walking Matt Cavanagh home. UTA 4, A&M 2

B5| With one out, Dylan Rock launched his 12th long ball of the season to bring the Maroon & White within one. Moss singled to center and advanced on a wild pitch before Bost drew a walk, positioning runners on the corners. The Aggies capitalized on a throwing error by UTA’s pitcher to plate Bost and get back in front. A&M 5, UTA 4

T6| UTA’s Tanner Rice drew a walk and advanced to second on a sac-bunt by Cason Gregory. Brown drew a walk, and the pair of Mavericks worked their way around the bases on a wild pitch. With one out, Rice came charging home on a passed ball to knot the score at five apiece. A&M 5, UTA 5

B6| A&M took a commanding lead by loading the bases, courtesy of a leadoff single by Taylor Smith, walk issued to Thompson, and Kaler being hit by a pitch. With no outs, Rock doubled down the leftfield line, plating two before Moss reached safely on a UTA fielding error. A two-RBI double by Bost sent another pair of Aggies home before a one-out sac-fly by Werner extended A&M’s lead to five, ensuring the victory. A&M 10, UTA 5

UP NEXT
The Aggies return to Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park on Friday at 6:32 p.m. to begin a weekend series against South Carolina.

TEXAS A&M QUOTES

Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle
On Dylan Rock’s performance… “He did an awesome job playing banged up. He got back on the baseball. It was pretty typical of what we’ve seen all season. He laid off the bad pitches and swung at the good ones. That’s what he’s been doing all season.”

Sophomore lefthanded pitcher Will Johnston
On the scoring streak in the middle innings… “You can’t say enough about our offense. We’re a team that’s relentless offensively. We’re going to work deep in counts, we’re going to take balls and we’re going to swing strikes. When you’ve got guys who are going to do that consistently, top-to-bottom, we’re going to be really tough to handle. It’s going to take everybody, but we have all the right people, we just need to work as one unit.”

Graduate designated hitter Dylan Rock
On tonight’s win… “This past weekend I didn’t see many strikes, but when I did, I was late. Before today’s game, Coach Earley and I went down to the cages to work on timing. I was just trying to get a rhythm going and get my foot timing down.”