Friday, February 19
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Texas A&M
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Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies Win Opener vs. Hofstra, 5-2
Feb 19, 2016 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Senior J.B. Moss and junior Boomer White each logged two extra-base hits as the Texas A&M Aggies won the season opener, 5-2, against the Hofstra Pride Friday evening on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
With the victory, the Aggies improved to 10-1 in season openers under Rob Childress. The Maroon and White played in front of a raucous crowd at Blue Bell Park with an attendance of 6,806, the third-highest crowd for a season opener at Olsen Field and the largest opening day crowd since the stadium renovation in 2012.
Moss and White led the Aggies at the plate with two hits apiece. White went 2-for-4 with one double and one home run. Moss batted 2-for-3 with two triples and two runs. Birk logged a pair of RBI with two sacrifice flies.
White made an immediate impact at Olsen Field, launching a 2-1 offering over the leftfield fence for a solo home run in his first at-bat as an Aggie in the home half of the first inning.
Hofstra evened the contest in the top of the second. Ryan Karl reached on a single with a misread ball to rightfield. Vito Friscia followed with a single through the left field and Karl advanced to third on a fly out by Teddy Cillis to put runners on the corners. Nick Bottari lofted a single down the leftfield line to plate the equalizer.
The Pride claimed the lead in the top of the third. David Leiderman slapped a leadoff double down the leftfield line and scored when Steven Foster poked a single to leftfield for the 2-1 advantage.
Texas A&M knotted the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third. Senior J.B. Moss hit a wall-banger to the gap in right-center for a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryne Birk.
The Aggies took the lead with an unearned run in the fourth. Hunter Melton gapped a single to left-center to start the frame. With one out, Joel Davis punched a single to rightfield and the outfielder misplayed the ball allowing both runners to move into scoring position. Walker Pennington knocked a sacrifice fly to rightfield, plating Melton with the go-ahead run as the Maroon and White staked claim to a 3-2 advantage.
The bottom of the fifth echoed the bottom of the third as Moss hit a leadoff triple, this time to leftfield, and Birk sent him home with a sacrifice fly for the 4-2 edge.
The Aggies capped off the scoring in the sixth. Melton was issued a four-pitch walk, advanced to second on a balk and scored when Michael Barash bounced a single up the middle.
Kyle Simonds (1-0) picked up the win as the opening day starter. He yielded two runs on seven hits while striking out three in 5.0 innings. Brigham Hill scattered three hits while striking out two in 2.1 of shutout relief. Ryan Hendrix picked up his first save of the season with one walk and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings.
Alec Eisenberg (0-1) was saddled with the loss for Hofstra. He allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits while striking out one in 4.0 innings.
Leiderman, Karl and Brad Witkowski each had two hits for Hofstra. Leiderman logged the Pride's only extra-base hit with a double.
The Aggies and Pride return to action Saturday with a 2 pm contest on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On the game…
"Kyle (Simonds) battled through some adversity in the second and third on the mound, but we put up runs in four straight innings and we pitched really well out of the bullpen."
On Hofstra…
"You never know what you're going to get when you have a team coming from the north that has had limited practice outside, but that's a really well-coached Hofstra team and they have some really good older players. If you watched their batting practice, they're as physical of a team as you will see."
Junior Infielder Boomer White...
Thoughts on the game...
"We played like a veteran group. Things may have not gone really well early on, we punched them and they punched back. We were just fortunate to put enough runs on the board to get a W.
On the home run in his first at-bat...
"He started me off with a changeup in. Then he threw me a couple sliders up and in and almost clipped me. I knew he was going to come with a lot of junk. But I figured if he had done it to (Ryne) Birk he would do it to me. I was hunting for that fast ball. He threw it middle in, I got some back spin on it and up into the wind and got that ball out of here."
Senior Outfielder J.B. Moss
On the win...
"It's always fun to get that first one out of the way. I though Kyle (Simonds) was really good for us tonight wasn't as good as he could have been, but for him to get five innings I was really proud of him. Then Brigham (Hill) came in and pounded the zone and gave it to Hendrix, who was lights out."
Getting the start...
"I was really fortunate to get the start tonight. We have a lot of guys on the bench who are good enough to start anywhere in the country and they can really play. I'm just really blessed to have the opportunity. Just trying to do my best and that's all I can ask for."
With the victory, the Aggies improved to 10-1 in season openers under Rob Childress. The Maroon and White played in front of a raucous crowd at Blue Bell Park with an attendance of 6,806, the third-highest crowd for a season opener at Olsen Field and the largest opening day crowd since the stadium renovation in 2012.
Moss and White led the Aggies at the plate with two hits apiece. White went 2-for-4 with one double and one home run. Moss batted 2-for-3 with two triples and two runs. Birk logged a pair of RBI with two sacrifice flies.
White made an immediate impact at Olsen Field, launching a 2-1 offering over the leftfield fence for a solo home run in his first at-bat as an Aggie in the home half of the first inning.
Hofstra evened the contest in the top of the second. Ryan Karl reached on a single with a misread ball to rightfield. Vito Friscia followed with a single through the left field and Karl advanced to third on a fly out by Teddy Cillis to put runners on the corners. Nick Bottari lofted a single down the leftfield line to plate the equalizer.
The Pride claimed the lead in the top of the third. David Leiderman slapped a leadoff double down the leftfield line and scored when Steven Foster poked a single to leftfield for the 2-1 advantage.
Texas A&M knotted the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third. Senior J.B. Moss hit a wall-banger to the gap in right-center for a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryne Birk.
The Aggies took the lead with an unearned run in the fourth. Hunter Melton gapped a single to left-center to start the frame. With one out, Joel Davis punched a single to rightfield and the outfielder misplayed the ball allowing both runners to move into scoring position. Walker Pennington knocked a sacrifice fly to rightfield, plating Melton with the go-ahead run as the Maroon and White staked claim to a 3-2 advantage.
The bottom of the fifth echoed the bottom of the third as Moss hit a leadoff triple, this time to leftfield, and Birk sent him home with a sacrifice fly for the 4-2 edge.
The Aggies capped off the scoring in the sixth. Melton was issued a four-pitch walk, advanced to second on a balk and scored when Michael Barash bounced a single up the middle.
Kyle Simonds (1-0) picked up the win as the opening day starter. He yielded two runs on seven hits while striking out three in 5.0 innings. Brigham Hill scattered three hits while striking out two in 2.1 of shutout relief. Ryan Hendrix picked up his first save of the season with one walk and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings.
Alec Eisenberg (0-1) was saddled with the loss for Hofstra. He allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits while striking out one in 4.0 innings.
Leiderman, Karl and Brad Witkowski each had two hits for Hofstra. Leiderman logged the Pride's only extra-base hit with a double.
The Aggies and Pride return to action Saturday with a 2 pm contest on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On the game…
"Kyle (Simonds) battled through some adversity in the second and third on the mound, but we put up runs in four straight innings and we pitched really well out of the bullpen."
On Hofstra…
"You never know what you're going to get when you have a team coming from the north that has had limited practice outside, but that's a really well-coached Hofstra team and they have some really good older players. If you watched their batting practice, they're as physical of a team as you will see."
Junior Infielder Boomer White...
Thoughts on the game...
"We played like a veteran group. Things may have not gone really well early on, we punched them and they punched back. We were just fortunate to put enough runs on the board to get a W.
On the home run in his first at-bat...
"He started me off with a changeup in. Then he threw me a couple sliders up and in and almost clipped me. I knew he was going to come with a lot of junk. But I figured if he had done it to (Ryne) Birk he would do it to me. I was hunting for that fast ball. He threw it middle in, I got some back spin on it and up into the wind and got that ball out of here."
Senior Outfielder J.B. Moss
On the win...
"It's always fun to get that first one out of the way. I though Kyle (Simonds) was really good for us tonight wasn't as good as he could have been, but for him to get five innings I was really proud of him. Then Brigham (Hill) came in and pounded the zone and gave it to Hendrix, who was lights out."
Getting the start...
"I was really fortunate to get the start tonight. We have a lot of guys on the bench who are good enough to start anywhere in the country and they can really play. I'm just really blessed to have the opportunity. Just trying to do my best and that's all I can ask for."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Simonds, Kyle (1-0)
L: Eisenberg, Alec (0-1)
S: Hendrix, Ryan (1)
Batting:
2B: Leiderman, David 1
RBI: Foster, Steven 1 ; Bottari, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Leiderman, David 1 ; Karl, Ryan 1
CS: Foster, Steven 1
Batting:
2B: White, Boomer 1
3B: Moss, J.B. 2
HR: White, Boomer 1
RBI: Birk, Ryne 2 ; White, Boomer 1 ; Barash, Michael 1 ; Pennington, Walker 1
SF: Birk, Ryne 2 ; Pennington, Walker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: White, Boomer 1 ; Melton, Hunter 2 ; Moss, J.B. 2
SB: Pennington, Walker 1
HBP: Melton, Hunter 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
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