Aggies Top No. 15 Texas State, 8-4

Tuesday, April 5

Bryan-College Station

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

17-11

Texas State

23-7

Texas State

Texas A&M

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Apr 05, 2022 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Katy Gallaher, Texas A&M Athletics Communications

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M baseball team scored seven runs in a five inning stretch and pulled away from the 15th-ranked Texas State Bobcats to secure an 8-4 win Tuesday night on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

The Aggies and Bobcats exchanged one run apiece through the first two innings, with the Maroon & White breaking the deadlock in the bottom of the third. Kole Kaler and Jack Moss made their way around the bases with assistance from Troy Claunch and Brett Minnich's RBIs, respectively.

In the bottom of the fifth, Dylan Rock singled through the left side and made it to second on a balk. Moss reached second on a throwing error while Rock returned home. Moss advanced to third on a wild pitch and Minnich's RBI single up the middle sent him home. A&M added a trio of runs in the home half of the seventh and staved off the Bobcats' comeback effort in the final two frames to secure the 8-4 victory.

Minnich led the way in the batter's box, hitting 3-for-4 with two RBI. Moss continued his streak of impressive performances Tuesday night, going 3-for-5 with a solo home run and an RBI. Claunch chipped in with a pair of RBI to help round out A&M's performance.

Will Johnston started on the mound for the Maroon & White tonight to mark his first career start. Chris Cortez entered the game in the third inning to earn his fourth career win with one strikeout in 2.1 innings pitched. Jacob Palisch came in to relieve Cortez in the sixth inning, tallying four strikeouts in 2.0 innings pitched and allowing no hits. Rawley Hector and Brad Rudis each came in and recorded an inning of work to close out A&M's second consecutive top-15 midweek triumph.

TOP AGGIE PERFORMERS
Jacob Palisch – 2.0 IP, 4 K, 0.00 ERA
Jack Moss – 3-for-5, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Brett Minnich – 3-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI

GAME SUMMARY
B1| Rock reached on a leadoff walk. Moss followed with a double to left center allowing Rock to advance to third. Claunch broke the scoring seal after grounding out to first base to advance Moss to third and send Rock home. A&M 1, TXST 0

T2| Daylan Pena singled to right center and advanced to second as a result of Wesley Faison's fly-out to center field. Pena advanced to third on a wild pitch and reached home after Cameron Gibbons RBI double down the right-field line. A&M 1, TXST 1

B3| Kaler started off with a walk to first. With two outs, Kaler made his way back to home plate after Moss and Claunch's singles through the right side. Minnich's RBI single up the middle completed Moss' journey. A&M 3, TXST 1

B5| Rock started with a single through the left side and made it to second on a balk. Moss reached second on a throwing error while Rock made it to home plate. Moss advanced to third on a wild pitch and Minnich's RBI single up the center sent him home. A&M 5, TXST 1

B7| Moss gained the first run after hitting a dinger. Minnich singled to left center prior to a walk to first by Claunch, sending him to third. Boat advanced to second, Minnich got to third on a failed pickoff attempt resulting in a throwing error, and Claunch finished his way around the bases. Minnich scored on Targac's RBI fly out. A&M 8, TXST 1

T8| Pena doubled down the third base line and advanced to home plate after Jose Gonzalez's RBI double down the first base line. A&M 8, TXST 2

T9| August Ramirez started his journey after being hit by a pitch and advanced to second after Ben McClain singled to left field. John Wuthrich reached on a fielder's choice and Ramirez made it to home plate after a throwing error. Justin Thompson's RBI double to left center allowed Wuthrich to finish his journey. A&M 8, TXST 4

UP NEXT
Texas A&M baseball is set to compete against Kentucky in this weekend's series on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. First pitch in the opening act of the series is slated for 8:02 p.m. on Thursday, Apr. 7.

TEXAS A&M QUOTES

Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle
On the bullpen and the team's overall success Tuesday…
"I thought everybody did the job that we needed them to do. I would have liked to have had Rawley (Hector) finish the game, but with the wind blowing out we had to get Brad (Rudis) in there. I thought (Chris) Cortez and (Jacob) Palisch played well. I don't know if Will Johnston had ever started a game here before or not, but if he hasn't, at least he's gotten that out of the way. We will get through the weekend and see what we have to do as we go on. We extended the lead against a nationally ranked team that has been playing better baseball than we have. This was a really good win. Coach (Steven) Trout has a really good team over there."

Sophomore first baseman Jack Moss
On his teammates performance against a nationally-ranked team…
"We are a really good team. We expect to be able to compete against these guys. We have played some really good teams, but we have a really good group here. When we can get things rolling on all cylinders we are a fun team to watch, and we become a tough team to beat. It has just been a matter of consistency, but when you have arms out of the bullpen like Jacob Palisch, Chris Cortez, Brad Rudis and all those guys. It makes it easier to play defense. Offensively, we have guys like Dylan Rock and Brett Minnich swinging the bat, which really helps us."

Graduate LHP Jacob Palisch
On his focus on the mound…
"I came in, our offense had already done a good job of getting runs. We try to really put an emphasis on those rebound zeros after our offense scores. That was really what my focus was on, was keeping anything from starting on their side."

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