Spring Break
Baseball team wins second consecutive
By: Brad Cox
Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: Sports
No. 13 Texas A&M needed six pitchers and eight innings to beat UT Arlington on Tuesday at Olsen Field.
In their second consecutive win after riding a five game losing streak, the Aggies won 11-8.
Freshman Randall Thorpe made his second career start in the game. His father Randy Thorpe played for UT Arlington in the 1970s. Despite hitting a home run against Missouri on Sunday, Thorpe's encore was less successful, going 0-for-1 at the plate with a sacrifice hit.
The Mavericks took an early lead with a run in the first inning, marking the fourth consecutive game A&M has allowed its opponent to score in the first inning.
However the Aggies struck back in the bottom half of the first after senior centerfielder Kyle Colligan led off with a single to left field. Sophomore second baseman Caleb Shofner drove him home from second base with a single to right field to tie the game.
Shofner paced the Aggies with three hits and a career-high four RBIs in the game.
"It was a good night, I was seeing the ball well," Shofner said. "They left some pitches up in the zone, and I was able to put a good swing on them and put the ball in play."
Shofner scored from third base when junior third baseman Nick Anders hit a two-out infield single to third base.
UT Arlington came back with two runs each in the fourth and fifth inning, giving the Mavericks a 5-2 lead. The two runs in the fifth inning were on a two-out two-run home run over the left field wall by Mavericks' right fielder Matt Otteman.
Otteman led UT Arlington with three hits and three RBIs.
The Aggies tied the game in the bottom half of the fifth inning, hitting around the lineup and reaching base seven times to score three runs on two hits. A&M scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take an 8-5 lead.
"We have left a lot of runners in scoring position," Shofner said. "It was big tonight to have guys step up and get big hits in those situations."
In their second consecutive win after riding a five game losing streak, the Aggies won 11-8.
Freshman Randall Thorpe made his second career start in the game. His father Randy Thorpe played for UT Arlington in the 1970s. Despite hitting a home run against Missouri on Sunday, Thorpe's encore was less successful, going 0-for-1 at the plate with a sacrifice hit.
The Mavericks took an early lead with a run in the first inning, marking the fourth consecutive game A&M has allowed its opponent to score in the first inning.
However the Aggies struck back in the bottom half of the first after senior centerfielder Kyle Colligan led off with a single to left field. Sophomore second baseman Caleb Shofner drove him home from second base with a single to right field to tie the game.
Shofner paced the Aggies with three hits and a career-high four RBIs in the game.
"It was a good night, I was seeing the ball well," Shofner said. "They left some pitches up in the zone, and I was able to put a good swing on them and put the ball in play."
Shofner scored from third base when junior third baseman Nick Anders hit a two-out infield single to third base.
UT Arlington came back with two runs each in the fourth and fifth inning, giving the Mavericks a 5-2 lead. The two runs in the fifth inning were on a two-out two-run home run over the left field wall by Mavericks' right fielder Matt Otteman.
Otteman led UT Arlington with three hits and three RBIs.
The Aggies tied the game in the bottom half of the fifth inning, hitting around the lineup and reaching base seven times to score three runs on two hits. A&M scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take an 8-5 lead.
"We have left a lot of runners in scoring position," Shofner said. "It was big tonight to have guys step up and get big hits in those situations."
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