Aggies Fall to Cardinal 13-5 in Game 1 of Stanford Regional
The No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies were downed 13-5 by No. 8-seeded Stanford in Game 1 of the Stanford Regional championship on Sunday at Klein Field Sunken Diamond in Stanford, Calif.
The Aggies' loss forces a deciding game on Monday to advance to the Super Regional round next week. The winner of Monday's game will face the Texas Longhorns, which won the Coral Gables Regional Sunday in a 3-0 sweep.
Stanford (41-17) got on the board early with two runs in the bottom of the first off starter Troy Wansing. A&M's offense responded in the bottom of the frame with a three-run home run from Jace LaViolette that scored Jack Moss and Trevor Werner. Ryan Targac gave the Aggies a 4-2 lead on a solo blast that cleared the treeline in right.
But then the Stanford offense struck again with four runs in the top of the second inning as Carter Graham hit a bases-clearing double that scored Saborn Campbell, Eddie Park and Tommy Troy for a 5-2 Cardinal lead. Braden Montgomery then made it 6-4 Stanford with a double that scored Graham.
The Aggies (38-26) inched closer with a Brett Minnich solo homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it a one-run differential, but a seven-run seventh from Stanford ended any chance for an A&M comeback.
Alberto Rios doubled to deep center to score Montgomery, then Malcolm Moore knocked in Rios with a two-run shot to right field. Troy finished off the scoring with a grand slam to score Campbell, Temo Becerra, and Park to extend the Cardinal's lead by eight.
The Aggies will take on the Cardinal in the Stanford Regional championship game at 8 p.m. CT at Sunken Diamond. A&M manager Jim Schlossnagle has not announced a starter as of this time.
Follow Timm Hamm on Twitter and Instagram
Subscribe to the Texas A&M Aggies Daily Blitz Podcast!
Hey 12th Man! Want to see the Aggies in action? Get your Texas A&M game tickets from SI Tickets here!
Follow AllAggies.com on Facebook and Twitter!
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Aggies? Click Here to Subscribe to the All Aggies Newsletter
Want even more Texas A&M Aggies News? Check out the SI.com team page here