Friday, May 13
Columbia, S.C.
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
38-10, 17-8
3
at
0
South Carolina
37-12, 16-8
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4
5
6
7
8
9
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H
E
Texas A&M
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
3
6
1
South Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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0
5
2
Photo by: Rick Yeatts
Aggies Goose Egg the Gamecocks, 3-0
May 13, 2016 | Baseball
COLUMBIA, South Carolina – Brigham Hill and Mark Ecker combined on a five-hit shutout as the No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies won the series opener against No. 8 South Carolina, 3-0, Friday evening at Founders Park.
Coming on the heels of Kyle Simonds' no-hitter last Saturday against Vanderbilt, Texas A&M recorded back-to-back shutouts in league play for the first time since 1990 when the Aggies blanked Texas Tech in consecutive Southwest Conference games.
Hill (6-1) scattered five hits and two walks while striking out six over 6.0 innings.
After Hill hit the leadoff batter in the seventh inning with the Aggies leading 1-0, Ecker entered to game to quell the rally. After a sacrifice bunt put the runner at second, Ecker fanned a pair to get out of the frame.
Ecker fanned six of the 10 batters he faced, allowing just one baserunner with a walk in 3.0 shutout innings to earn his fourth save of the season. Ecker moved into ninth place on Texas A&M's career saves list with his 11th.
South Carolina (37-12, 16-8 SEC) was held to 2-17 hitting with runners on base, including 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
After six scoreless frames, the Aggies scratched out a run in the seventh. Ryne Birk slipped a leadoff single through the left side of the infield and Michael Barash was hit by a pitch when squaring up for a sacrifice bunt. Nick Banks followed with a bunt single to load the bases. When Joel Davis was unable to punch a ball past the pitcher, Birk was retired at home. Austin Homan followed with a grounder second and Barash came home to score when the Gamecocks couldn't turn the double play.
Texas A&M (38-10, 17-8 SEC) added two more runs in the eighth. Nick Choruby took advantage of lax outfield play, legging out a double to left-center. With two outs, Choruby moved to third on a passed ball and after Birk was intentionally walked, reliever Tyler Johnson was summoned from the bullpen. Barash worked the count full and then roped a single to leftfield to plate Choruby. A wild pitch and a walk to Banks loaded the bases. Jonathan Moroney added an insurance run with a pinch-hit walk, staking the Aggies to a 3-0 lead.
For the second consecutive series opener, the Aggies out-dueled an SEC ace. Clarke Schmidt fell to 9-2 on the year as he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four over 7.2 innings.
The Aggies and Gamecocks return to action with game two of the series Saturday at 6:30 pm from Founders Park. The game will air nationally on SEC Network.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On getting back-to-back shutouts in league play since 1990…
"I felt like Brigham (Hill) came out with purpose tonight. South Carolina had him wobbling early, but each time they had runners on bases he made the pitches he needed to make. We played great defense behind him. And we got the ball to Ecker in the seventh and he didn't let their batters get anything going. He was just relentless."
On Mark Ecker's performance…
"He stopped them right in their tracks. It's a one-run game and they get the leadoff guy on. We go to him and after the sacrifice bunt moves the runner to second he gets us off the field with two strikeouts. He was very efficient and we should be able to go back to him at some point."
Sophomore pitcher Brigham Hill
On his outing…
"I felt great. I needed a good response after last weekend's outing. I was just trying to get quick outs and get us off the field. It's a great win. Every win down the stretch is big."
On getting the shutout despite a lot of traffic on base…
"Our defense did some great work. South Carolina was relentless, but we came up with big plays when they got runners into scoring position. And Ecker came in and was huge."
Coming on the heels of Kyle Simonds' no-hitter last Saturday against Vanderbilt, Texas A&M recorded back-to-back shutouts in league play for the first time since 1990 when the Aggies blanked Texas Tech in consecutive Southwest Conference games.
Hill (6-1) scattered five hits and two walks while striking out six over 6.0 innings.
After Hill hit the leadoff batter in the seventh inning with the Aggies leading 1-0, Ecker entered to game to quell the rally. After a sacrifice bunt put the runner at second, Ecker fanned a pair to get out of the frame.
Ecker fanned six of the 10 batters he faced, allowing just one baserunner with a walk in 3.0 shutout innings to earn his fourth save of the season. Ecker moved into ninth place on Texas A&M's career saves list with his 11th.
South Carolina (37-12, 16-8 SEC) was held to 2-17 hitting with runners on base, including 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
After six scoreless frames, the Aggies scratched out a run in the seventh. Ryne Birk slipped a leadoff single through the left side of the infield and Michael Barash was hit by a pitch when squaring up for a sacrifice bunt. Nick Banks followed with a bunt single to load the bases. When Joel Davis was unable to punch a ball past the pitcher, Birk was retired at home. Austin Homan followed with a grounder second and Barash came home to score when the Gamecocks couldn't turn the double play.
Texas A&M (38-10, 17-8 SEC) added two more runs in the eighth. Nick Choruby took advantage of lax outfield play, legging out a double to left-center. With two outs, Choruby moved to third on a passed ball and after Birk was intentionally walked, reliever Tyler Johnson was summoned from the bullpen. Barash worked the count full and then roped a single to leftfield to plate Choruby. A wild pitch and a walk to Banks loaded the bases. Jonathan Moroney added an insurance run with a pinch-hit walk, staking the Aggies to a 3-0 lead.
For the second consecutive series opener, the Aggies out-dueled an SEC ace. Clarke Schmidt fell to 9-2 on the year as he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four over 7.2 innings.
The Aggies and Gamecocks return to action with game two of the series Saturday at 6:30 pm from Founders Park. The game will air nationally on SEC Network.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On getting back-to-back shutouts in league play since 1990…
"I felt like Brigham (Hill) came out with purpose tonight. South Carolina had him wobbling early, but each time they had runners on bases he made the pitches he needed to make. We played great defense behind him. And we got the ball to Ecker in the seventh and he didn't let their batters get anything going. He was just relentless."
On Mark Ecker's performance…
"He stopped them right in their tracks. It's a one-run game and they get the leadoff guy on. We go to him and after the sacrifice bunt moves the runner to second he gets us off the field with two strikeouts. He was very efficient and we should be able to go back to him at some point."
Sophomore pitcher Brigham Hill
On his outing…
"I felt great. I needed a good response after last weekend's outing. I was just trying to get quick outs and get us off the field. It's a great win. Every win down the stretch is big."
On getting the shutout despite a lot of traffic on base…
"Our defense did some great work. South Carolina was relentless, but we came up with big plays when they got runners into scoring position. And Ecker came in and was huge."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hill, Brigham (6-1)
L: Schmidt (9-2)
S: Ecker, Mark (4)
Batting:
2B: Choruby, Nick 1
RBI: Barash, Michael 1 ; Moroney, Jonathan 1 ; Homan, Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Choruby, Nick 1 ; Birk, Ryne 1 ; Barash, Michael 1
HBP: Barash, Michael 1
Batting:
2B: DTW 1
SH: Tolbert 1
Base Running:
SB: Cone 1 ; Stokes 1
CS: Cone 1
HBP: Cullen 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
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INF
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RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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