COLLEGE STATION — The Texas A&M Aggies struck first blood and never looked back as they downed the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 5-3 at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
In the bottom of the first inning, Bryce Blaum scored on a double steal to give Texas A&M a 1-0 lead.
Jared Martin tied things up 1-1 in the top of the second by scoring on a double play for Stephen F. Austin.
Ty Coleman, who was 1-of–3 from the plate, hit his first career home run to give Texas A&M a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Mike Hoehner had two hits during the game, one of them an RBI groundout to first that scored Blaum and gave Texas A&M a 3-1 lead.
The Lumberjacks loaded the bases and Skylar Black scored on a two-out walk by Martin. The Aggies still led 3-2 in the top of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Allonte Wingate scored on a fielding error from Martin to give Texas A&M a 4-2 lead. Blaum hit an RBI single to left field that scored Zach DeLoach and the Maroon & White took a 5-2 lead.
During the top of the eighth, Manny Vasquez scored on a one-out single from Josh Campbell, but the Aggies would win 5-3.
Dustin Saenz threw for 4.0 innings, allowed one run on five hits, and tied a career best with four strikeouts. Bryce Miller got the win, his first with Texas A&M, and had 1.2 scoreless innings while fanning one and walking two. Kasey Kalich closed the game to produce his second save of the year, as he pitched 1.2 innings and allowed one hit while striking out three. The pitching staff’s 11 strikeouts is the third time in the last four games they have had 10-plus strikeouts.
“It was definitely a hard-fought game,” said Texas A&M coach Rob Childress. “Dustin Saenz could not have been better in the first inning. Give the Stephen F. Austin hitters credit. When he made a mistake they found a barrel, and they found it hard. We mixed and matched the rest of the way out. Each guy, when they came in, grabbed momentum.”
Texas A&M returns to the diamond for a midweek showdown with the Prairie View A&M Panthers Wednesday with a 6:32 p.m. first pitch.