Recap: Aggies Draw Doubles In Final Tune-Up Game Against Rice
HOUSTON, Texas — Zach DeLoach preached about being consistent on all cylinders and how a team is only as strong as their weakest link. Senior outfielder Cam Blake could have been considered that heading into Tuesday's game with a .231 average.
Instead, Blake responded like a veteran would, coming in clutch when his team needed him most. Behind the likes of a pair of doubles, the Aggies improved to 1-0 on the road, defeating the Rice Owls, 6-2.
"Being a senior, you always want to start what could potentially be your last year hot,” Blake said. “It doesn’t always happen that way, and that’s baseball for you. Once I realized that and got that pressure and let it go, things started to turn around for me.”
The Aggies (15-3) were held hitless through four frames before back-to-back doubles by Austin Bost and Blake would give A&M a 2-1. Bost, who finished the last series against New Mexico State with three long balls, would go 2-of-4 with a run a scored.
A go-ahead single from Ray Alejo in the seventh inning would make it a 3-2 game in favor of the Aggies before the bats came to life. Logan Sartori would score on a Hunter Coleman single before Zane Schmidt would plate two more on a bases-loaded single.
Blake, who found his rhythm against the shaky Owls (2-14) pitching, closed out the game, going 2-for-2 while drawing a walk.
“Confidence is a fleeting thing,” A&M manager Rob Childress said. “When you have it, you wish you could bottle it up and sell it, and when you don’t it’s the hardest thing to find, but you could see him swinging with some confidence and intent.”
Johnathan Childress, who returned less than a week after aggravating his arm, looked sharp on his way to a quality start. The redshirt freshman would allow two runs off four hits while striking out six in five innings of work. Dustin Saenz (2-0) would grab the win after 1 1/3 innings, striking out three batters.
The Aggies would use seven pitchers from the pen to get the job done, but Saenz and Childress will the top names to follow as both continue their success heading into conference play. Childress mentioned after the game that the younger Childress would be available for the weekend series against Auburn.
"I feel like he's fine," Rob Childress said. "It's just precautionary, just want to get him off the mound. Don't want to risk any injury with that guy, but early reports are that he will be fine and ready to rock this weekend."
Once a powerhouse program, Rice has been best by many following the retirement of Wayne Graham in 2018. For A&M, it's the perfect tune-up game to best prepare the team for No.14 Auburn, who bounced back following their series sweep of UCF.
After three underwhelming outings from the Ags against top-notched programs in Frisco, A&M's man in command is pleased with their rebound. Now, Childress hopes for results such as Tuesday to be the building blocks for the start of play in games that truly matter.
“It was certainly important when you think about how we played at Frisco that we come down here and play well,” said Childress. “We didn’t start great offensively, but in those middle innings and in the fourth quarter, we ended up winning. Made a lot of moves in the bullpen and each and every guy we went to got their guy and did a great job for us.”
The Aggies return to the diamond Friday for a three-game series at Plainsman Park. Childress has yet to name the starting rotation.