Saturday, February 20
College Station
2:00 PM
Texas A&M
2-0
15
vs
4
Hofstra
0-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Hofstra
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
4
7
0
Texas A&M
1
0
4
0
6
1
3
0
X
15
16
0
Melton Powers Aggies to 15-4 Victory over Hofstra
Feb 20, 2016 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Senior Hunter Melton had his best career day at the plate, going 5-of-5 with one double, two home runs and six RBI to pace the No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies to a 15-4 win over the Hofstra Pride Saturday afternoon on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
Melton tied career-highs with his home run and RBI tallies and his four runs and five hits were both new career bests.
The senior led an arsenal that produced 16 hits, including three doubles, one triple and four home runs. Michael Barash and Ronnie Gideon each added round-trippers. Gideon's home run was a grand slam, the second of his career.
Cole Bedford and Alan Campero each logged doubles as their first career hits. George Janca added two hits, the first two of his career. Boomer White went 2-for-4 with one hit-by-pitch and one run. Nick Banks batted 2-for-4 with one triple, three runs and one RBI.
Texas A&M pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts on the day. Corbin Martin (1-0) earned the win in his first career start. He allowed three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out a career-high nine in 5.0 innings of work. Jace Vines retired all six batters he faced in two innings of relief, including two strikeouts. Kaylor Chafin fanned two of three batters in the ninth in his first career appearance.
The Aggies drew first blood in the bottom of the first. With one out, White was hit by a pitch and replaced by Banks at first after a fielder's choice grounder to second. Banks moved to second on a wild pitch and scored when Melton laced a single down the leftfield line.
Hofstra (0-2) offered an immediate response in the top of the second. Ryan Karl hit a leadoff single to leftfield to start the frame. Vito Friscia drew a walk and Teddy Cillis singled to left. Nick Bottari knocked both runners into scoring position with a deep fly ball to centerfield and Brad Witkowski gapped a single to right-center to plate both runners for the 3-1 cushion.
Texas A&M (2-0) got the bats rolling in the home half of the third. White bounced a single up the middle to start the frame and Banks rattled a triple down the rightfield line to cut the lead to 3-2. Melton staked the Aggies to a 4-3 lead when he crushed a 1-1 offering over the 400-foot mark in centerfield. A&M went back-to-back for the first time since May 10, 2015 (vs. South Carolina) when Michael Barash blasted the first pitch of the at-bat to leftfield for the 5-3 advantage.
The Aggies created separation with six runs in the fifth highlighted by Gideon's grand slam for the 11-3 led.
Melton hit a solo shot for his second home run to lead off the sixth and the Maroon and White closed out their scoring with three runs in the seventh.
The Aggies go for the sweep on Sunday with first pitch slated for 12:04 pm on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
Thoughts on the game…
"I was really proud of our team. Momentum is a funny thing. It really doesn't show up in the box score. You look at the score, 15-4, and you might think it wasn't a close game but they got after us in the second and had a 3-1 lead. The defining moment was the top of the third, they had runners on first and second and nobody out, looking to extend the lead. Corbin (Martin) just really showed enough courage to come in and strike out the side. Then we come back and score four runs. Then we were able to relax a little bit with the big inning in the fifth. Played great defense. I thought we played really well today."
On Corbin Martin…
"Very proud of Corbin. He had a little bit of adversity and was just able to settle in and get us through five innings. His stuff was outstanding."
On Hunter Melton's performance…
"Hunter had a great day - 5-for-5. It's just been fun to watch him develop into a special hitter over the last four years. He's a great person and a great kid and you want these things for someone like that. We knew early in the fall that he was going to our four-hole hitter. He's got strength and power and a great approach. He is tough to pitch to.
Junior outfielder Nick Banks...
Thoughts on the game...
"After the third inning where we stranded all their runners we really got rolling with all the momentum on our side. It was a great team win and it really showed what we can do on offense.
On rebounding off his slow start in the opener...
"It's baseball. You are going to have nights like that. You just have to give the credit to your teammates for picking you up and also credit the coaches. I knew everything was going to be alright. Everyone has those nights. It was just good to get a "W" last night, and another one tonight."
Senior first baseman Hunter Melton
On the win...
"It was a great team win. It was good to see our guys come out today and put the average offensive day we had yesterday behind us. It was nice to get the sticks rolling. Credit the guys up and down the lineup, forcing their pitchers to throw the pitches and making them pay for it.
5-for-5 performance…
"Credit the guys in front of me. Boomer White with his two-strike approach getting a pitch he can handle and hitting that one up the middle in the first. And Nick (Banks) was taking the pitches and allowed the pitcher to make a mistake when he faced me. I got some pitches I could handle and made the most of it."
Melton tied career-highs with his home run and RBI tallies and his four runs and five hits were both new career bests.
The senior led an arsenal that produced 16 hits, including three doubles, one triple and four home runs. Michael Barash and Ronnie Gideon each added round-trippers. Gideon's home run was a grand slam, the second of his career.
Cole Bedford and Alan Campero each logged doubles as their first career hits. George Janca added two hits, the first two of his career. Boomer White went 2-for-4 with one hit-by-pitch and one run. Nick Banks batted 2-for-4 with one triple, three runs and one RBI.
Texas A&M pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts on the day. Corbin Martin (1-0) earned the win in his first career start. He allowed three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out a career-high nine in 5.0 innings of work. Jace Vines retired all six batters he faced in two innings of relief, including two strikeouts. Kaylor Chafin fanned two of three batters in the ninth in his first career appearance.
The Aggies drew first blood in the bottom of the first. With one out, White was hit by a pitch and replaced by Banks at first after a fielder's choice grounder to second. Banks moved to second on a wild pitch and scored when Melton laced a single down the leftfield line.
Hofstra (0-2) offered an immediate response in the top of the second. Ryan Karl hit a leadoff single to leftfield to start the frame. Vito Friscia drew a walk and Teddy Cillis singled to left. Nick Bottari knocked both runners into scoring position with a deep fly ball to centerfield and Brad Witkowski gapped a single to right-center to plate both runners for the 3-1 cushion.
Texas A&M (2-0) got the bats rolling in the home half of the third. White bounced a single up the middle to start the frame and Banks rattled a triple down the rightfield line to cut the lead to 3-2. Melton staked the Aggies to a 4-3 lead when he crushed a 1-1 offering over the 400-foot mark in centerfield. A&M went back-to-back for the first time since May 10, 2015 (vs. South Carolina) when Michael Barash blasted the first pitch of the at-bat to leftfield for the 5-3 advantage.
The Aggies created separation with six runs in the fifth highlighted by Gideon's grand slam for the 11-3 led.
Melton hit a solo shot for his second home run to lead off the sixth and the Maroon and White closed out their scoring with three runs in the seventh.
The Aggies go for the sweep on Sunday with first pitch slated for 12:04 pm on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
Thoughts on the game…
"I was really proud of our team. Momentum is a funny thing. It really doesn't show up in the box score. You look at the score, 15-4, and you might think it wasn't a close game but they got after us in the second and had a 3-1 lead. The defining moment was the top of the third, they had runners on first and second and nobody out, looking to extend the lead. Corbin (Martin) just really showed enough courage to come in and strike out the side. Then we come back and score four runs. Then we were able to relax a little bit with the big inning in the fifth. Played great defense. I thought we played really well today."
On Corbin Martin…
"Very proud of Corbin. He had a little bit of adversity and was just able to settle in and get us through five innings. His stuff was outstanding."
On Hunter Melton's performance…
"Hunter had a great day - 5-for-5. It's just been fun to watch him develop into a special hitter over the last four years. He's a great person and a great kid and you want these things for someone like that. We knew early in the fall that he was going to our four-hole hitter. He's got strength and power and a great approach. He is tough to pitch to.
Junior outfielder Nick Banks...
Thoughts on the game...
"After the third inning where we stranded all their runners we really got rolling with all the momentum on our side. It was a great team win and it really showed what we can do on offense.
On rebounding off his slow start in the opener...
"It's baseball. You are going to have nights like that. You just have to give the credit to your teammates for picking you up and also credit the coaches. I knew everything was going to be alright. Everyone has those nights. It was just good to get a "W" last night, and another one tonight."
Senior first baseman Hunter Melton
On the win...
"It was a great team win. It was good to see our guys come out today and put the average offensive day we had yesterday behind us. It was nice to get the sticks rolling. Credit the guys up and down the lineup, forcing their pitchers to throw the pitches and making them pay for it.
5-for-5 performance…
"Credit the guys in front of me. Boomer White with his two-strike approach getting a pitch he can handle and hitting that one up the middle in the first. And Nick (Banks) was taking the pitches and allowed the pitcher to make a mistake when he faced me. I got some pitches I could handle and made the most of it."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Martin, Corbin (1-0)
L: Weiss, Chris (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Witkowski, Brad 1
HR: Karl, Ryan 1
RBI: Karl, Ryan 1 ; Witkowski, Brad 3
SH: Archer, Tom 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Karl, Ryan 1 ; Friscia, Vito 2 ; Cillis, Teddy 1
HBP: Annunziata, Mat 1
Batting:
2B: Melton, Hunter 1 ; Bedford, Cole 1 ; Campero, Alan 1
3B: Banks, Nick 1
HR: Melton, Hunter 2 ; Barash, Michael 1 ; Gideon, Ronnie 1
RBI: Banks, Nick 1 ; Melton, Hunter 6 ; Barash, Michael 1 ; Bedford, Cole 1 ; Davis, Joel 1 ; Moss, J.B. 1 ; Gideon, Ronnie 4
Base Running:
RUNS: White, Boomer 1 ; Banks, Nick 3 ; Choruby, Nick 1 ; Melton, Hunter 4 ; Barash, Michael 2 ; Davis, Joel 1 ; Moss, J.B. 1 ; Gideon, Ronnie 1 ; Janca, George 1
CS: White, Boomer 1
HBP: White, Boomer 1 ; Barash, Michael 1 ; Moss, J.B. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
4
H
5
RBI
6
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
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