Texas A&M
49-12
Cal
36-21
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Texas A&M | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | X | 3 | 8 | 1 |
Super Regional Bound!
Jun 01, 2015 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Matt Kent offered up his second phenomenal start in four days to propel the No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies to a regional championship-clinching 3-1 win over the California Golden Bears Monday night on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
Kent (9-1), named the College Station Regional Most Outstanding Player, battled through 7.0 innings, allowing one run on five hits and two walks while striking out five. He ended the tournament, allowing just one run on 11 hits and three walks while striking out 14 in 14.0 innings of work.
Kyle Simonds, who earned his only other save of the season on opening day, retired all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings to pick up his second.
Texas A&M's pitching staff put up spectacular stats in the tournament, posting a 1.20 ERA and allowed only seven extra-base hits while striking out 52 in 52.1 innings of work.
The Aggies broke the scoring seal in the bottom of the second. With one out, Hunter Melton hit a ball off the glove of a diving third baseman for a single. Jonathan Moroney followed with a five-pitch walk and Logan Nottebrok punched a single through the right side of the infield to load the bases. Michael Barash drove a 1-0 offering to centerfield to plate Melton for with the sacrifice fly.
After being limited to just two hits in the first six innings, California (36-21) briefly cracked the Kent code. Chris Paul started the inning by launching an 0-1 pitch over the leftfield fence for the equalizer.
Texas A&M (49-12) offered up an immediate response in the bottom of the seventh. Moroney worked a four-pitch walk and Nottebrok followed by drawing a five-pitch walk. Barash moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and Blake Allemand plated the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
The Maroon and White would push across an insurance run in the eighth. Mitchell Nau started the frame by reaching on an error when pitcher Erik Martinez was unable to handle a toss at the bag from the first baseman. Logan Taylor followed with a single to rightfield and a fielders choice groundout to second to put runners at the corners. Melton staked the Aggies to a 3-1 lead when he bounced a single up the middle to drive in Nau.
With the win, the Aggies advanced through the Losers' Bracket to win a regional for the third time, the most for any school. The Maroon and White also improved to 6-3 all-time in winners-take-all Regional Game Sevens, also the most for any program.
The Aggies' 49 wins are the most for the program since the 1999 squad went 52-18 in a College World Series campaign.
In addition to Matt Kent, the Aggies also had Nick Banks, Ryne Birk, Mitchell Nau, Logan Nottebrok and Logan Taylor named to the All-Tournament Team.
Texas A&M will play TCU next weekend in Fort Worth. Game dates and times are to be determined and will be announced at the earliest convenience.
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California
Head coach David Esquer
Opening Statement...
"Well first of all congratulations to Texas A&M, boy what an effort by them. You know they played the equivalent of six games this weekend and had to beat us twice and that's not an easy task. We're tough to beat when we pitch and play defense and play with a little heart and energy. We are a tough out and that's exactly what we were this weekend. I am so proud of our guys and players like Chris Paul and these seniors. I am so proud of our team and our program grew by leaps and bounds this weekend. We've learned a lot of things and played in front of a great crowd again. The tournament organizers put on a first class tournament. The fans were great it was an atmosphere that inspired us, even though there was probably about six thousand routing against us and 50 routing for us. I think we were able to take some energy and inspiration from the crowd here tonight, so it couldn't have been a better atmosphere. I'm disappointed to lose. We had high expectations, and there's no moral victory on our club. We wanted real victory. We didn't get that, but in leaving the tournament I am very proud of our club."
On their offense against Matt Kent...
"We've had much better offensive days. Kent was tough. He threw a lot of strikes and his walk numbers were really low during the year. He gave up some hits but we weren't able to get to them."
On his pitchers...
"My hats go off to my pitching coach who has them prepared and ready to go in all situations. And has them pretty fearless. They trust the plan. They trust the pitch calling. I thought Mitchell Kranson did an excellent job at catching. And quite frankly by the end of the tournament Kranson was calling pitches because he knew the hitters. And you got to have big trust in your catcher to let him make calls in a college game. That doesn't happen too often. But that's the level we were playing at in the end. We were trusting people to do their jobs. When I look back on this and see the level that this atmosphere that this game and Texas A&M brought out of our team and our program, we can only build off of that and go higher."
Senior infielder Chris Paul
On Matt Kent…
"It's funny. I've played against him the past two summers as well in the Northwest League. He has great command of his pitches. He threw to both sides of the plate and would extend when he could and got some strikes, and just kept throwing strikes, and challenging us. He did a great job. Hats off to him."
On his home run...
"Leading off with a homerun, then getting some more guys on base - with a first and third situation and guys we trust that can get it done. We hit the ball hard. Unfortunately, in the wrong spot. It kind of killed a little bit of momentum but we trust our guys. Just came up a little short today."
Texas A&M
Head Coach Rob Childress
Opening statement…
"I can't tell you how proud I am of our guys. Three incredible games against a really good Cal team- well coached and very good players. We're very fortunate to do what we did. It comes to down to a lot of heart on our guys' part. Everybody, including the coaches, thought it was going to be a 12-10 game. The pitches and defense was on the forefront today just like it was the two other games with Cal. Very fortunate to win today and looking forward to moving on."
On pitching performances throughout the tournament…
"Our backs are against the wall. We're very depleted on the mound. The two left-handers couldn't have been more efficient. It was probably as fast a game seven you're going to see when both teams have played as many games as they did. We've had a lot of guys step up on the mound and step up in the defensive standpoint. Obviously, we've done enough offensively to get through this regional."
On moving on to Super Regionals…
"I'm excited for this team. It's a very talented team. It's a close a team and as fun a team as I've ever been a part of. They're earned it, and I'm certain their attitude is they're not done yet. There's work to be taken care if. Next weekend, it's back to a 3-game series."
On California's defensive fight…
"I can't give Cal enough credit. I thought their pitching coach did a fabulous job pitching to our guys. It didn't matter who he went to; they all made pitches. They've got a very good staff. The left side of their infield is as good as your going to see in the country."
On the crowd…
"Unbelievable. It was as loudest I've ever seen Olsen Field in my ten years here. They were so impactful to or success throughout the course of the weekend. I just can't say thank you enough. All year long it's been special. This weekend is as good as it's ever been since I've been here. There have bene a lot of special moments."
Junior pitcher Matt Kent
On coach walking to the mound…
"He got about half way there, and the fans were expecting me to come out. He asked, 'Are you done?' I told him, 'No, I'm not done.' We went through the scenario of what was about to play out with the hitter in the box and the one on deck. My mind was on what we could do to get off the field without any more damage."
On preparing for Super Regionals…
"It's amazing. The jubilation and the excitement that's in the locker room right now knowing that we've taken this step, but we're not done. We've still got work to do leading into this week. We're going to celebrate this for the night and maybe into tomorrow and then we're going to get going tomorrow."
Senior third baseman Logan Nottebrok
On defensive double-plays…
"When Matt normally throws, he keeps the ball down. You just have to keep yourself ready and loose. The coaches do a good job of putting pressure on you during practice and making sure you're ready to go. Matt did a great job of keeping the ball down tonight."
On his excitement for Super Regionals as a senior…
"I've been at three different schools, and I've never been a part of a team that's this talented. Not only talented, but guys who have good character and want the best for the guys on the left and the right. It's awesome getting to play behind these guys every day. It's just an unbelievable experience. I'm blessed to be a part of this organization and so happy to be here."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kent, Matt (9-1)
L: Schick, Alex (3-2)
S: Simonds, Kyle (2)
Batting:
HR: Paul, Chris 1
RBI: Paul, Chris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Paul, Chris 1
Batting:
2B: Nau, Mitchell 1
RBI: Allemand, Blake 1 ; Melton, Hunter 1 ; Barash, Michael 1
SH: Barash, Michael 1
SF: Allemand, Blake 1 ; Barash, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nau, Mitchell 1 ; Melton, Hunter 1 ; Moroney, Jonathan 1
CS: Birk, Ryne 1
