Aggies Drop 3-2 Decision as Mississippi State Evens the Series

Saturday, April 11

College Station

1:00 PM

Texas A&M

32-3, 10-3

Mississippi State

22-15, 6-8

Mississippi State

Texas A&M

Apr 11, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies were unable to claw back from a three-run deficit as they dropped a 3-2 decision Saturday afternoon against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

The loss set up a rubber match for the series on Sunday at 1:05 pm.

Mississippi State (22-15, 6-8 SEC) drew first blood in the top of the third inning. With one out, Cody Brown deposited a first-pitch offering from Kyle Simonds over the rightfield fence for a 1-0 lead. It marked the first earned run Simonds yielded in 29.1 innings of work. The Bulldogs went from long ball to short ball as Jacob Robson blooped a bunt into a Bermuda Triangle to the left of the pitcher's mound for a single. Gavin Collins reached on a fielding error by Aggie third baseman Ronnie Gideon to put two runners on and a groundout to first by Reid Humphreys pushed both runners into scoring position. John Holland tacked on another run, singling to centerfield. Robson scored on the Holland hit and Collins was thrown out at the plate.

The Bulldogs added a key insurance run in the fourth. Wes Rea blasted a double to leftfield to start the frame and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Gridley. Michael Smith threaded a single through the right side of the infield to plate Rea and stake Mississippi State to a 3-0 lead.

Texas A&M (32-3, 10-3 SEC) responded with a run in the home half of the fourth. With two outs, JB Moss hit a gapper to right-center for a double and Hunter Melton reached on a single to third to put runners on the corners. Michael Barash cut the Bulldogs' lead to 3-1 with a single when rightfielder Smith was unable to glove a sinking liner despite a heroic dive.

Leading by two runs heading to the bottom of the eighth, Mississippi State went to the bullpen with Levi Mintz relieving starter Preston Brown. Logan Taylor gave him a rude greeting, launching a 2-1 offering over the fence in left-center for a solo home run, his second dinger of the season and eighth of the year, closing the gap to 3-2.

The Bulldogs wasted no time trying to stifle the potential momentum swing, calling on closer Trevor Fitts. He struck out all three batters he faced to get out of the eighth.

Texas A&M appeared to be brewing up some Olsen Magic early in the ninth. Fitts struck out Barash with a 1-2 offering in the dirt, but Mississippi State catcher Collins was unable to get a glove on the ball and Barash reached on the wilds pitch. The mercurial Nick Choruby was called on to pinch-run for Barash. Choruby didn't spend much time on the base paths as he didn't get an immediate break on a pitch in the dirt and was retired at second base. The game ended with Blake Allemand and Logan Nottebrok both flying out.

The Aggies were doomed by nine players left on base and .214 batting (3-for-14) with runners on base.

Simonds (2-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits while striking out two in 5.0 innings. The A&M bullpen worked hitless frames with six strikeouts. Andrew Vinson struck out three of the five batters he faced in 1.1 innings. Ryan Hendrix fanned three of the six batters he faced in 2.0 innings.

Melton was the lone Aggie with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Robson and Holland each logged two hits for Mississippi State.

Brown (5-3) earned the win for the Bulldogs. He yielded one run on eight hits and two walks while striking out two in 7.0 innings. Fitts picked up his sixth save of the season fanning four of the six batters he faced in 2.0 innings.

Head Coach Rob Childress
On the game…
“You have to give Mississippi State a lot of credit. They played almost a perfect game. They had a great start on the mound from Preston Brown and they made every routine play and every tough play as well. They didn't have very many opportunities to score but when they did they cashed in. They hit the home run and then we made the mistake defensively. Then they got a big two-out hit putting us down 2-0. They were able to extend the lead with a leadoff double, moved him to third and got the big hit. We didn't have an awful lot of opportunities, so you got to give Brown a lot of credit.”

Junior catcher Michael Barash
Thoughts on the loss…
“We had a lot of opportunities to score, but we couldn't seem to piece anything together. LT (Logan Taylor) hit a bomb. Early in the game we had another opportunity. We left a lot of guys on base with some rollover groundballs. We'll correct that and tomorrow will be a better day."

On the Mississippi State defense…
“They played a perfect game to beat us. We came out, played hard and hustled on and off the field. We played Aggie baseball and it took a great game to beat us and that's what happened to them on defense today.”

Junior Starting Pitcher Kyle Simonds
On the home run and first earned run allowed….
“It was bound to happen. I just left a fastball up and over the middle. He put a good swing on it. Their hitters did a great job all day just attacking me, through the first pitch and throughout the at bat. They put good swings on the ball.”

On the outing…
“I felt good. My arm was loose all day. I was just trying to keep the ball down and a few times I made a mistake and left it up and I paid for it. When it came down to it they just outcompeted me.