Texas A&M Baseball: Freshman Lead the Way as Aggies Overpower the Pepperdine Waves
Game 3 – Sunday, February 26
Texas A&M 10-15-0 / Pepperdine 6-9-2 (extended box)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | |
Waves | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
Falcons | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | 10 |
Both teams saved their offense for getaway day. The teams combined for 11 extra base hits on Sunday afternoon. The teams traded punches in the early innings. Logan Foster hit his first career home run in the first inning, but the Waves would answer with a run of their own in the second.
After trading single scores in the bottom of the third and top of the fifth, Braden Shewmake hit his first collegiate home run following a Foster walk. Texas A&M would not relinquish the lead from that point forward.
Aggie Offense Starts to Click
Blake Kopetsky scored on an interesting failed pick off attempt in an the sixth. The senior went from second to home after the pitcher airmailed the throw into center field. He would have been out by 20 feet had the catcher been able to receive the ball cleanly, but in this case fortune favored the Aggies.
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Cole Bedford picked up some insurance in the seventh, doubling down the left field line with two outs in the frame. Despite the 8-2 lead at the time, those runs would be needed. Pepperdine right fielder Brandon Caruso torched a Corbin Martin fastball, driving in three runs to narrow the Waves’ deficit to 8-6. Texas A&M would score two more in the bottom of the inning, including another Foster home run, but the rough outing by Martin will leave fans with a sour taste in their mouths.
Sunday Takeaways
Seniors Nick Choruby, Walker Pennington, Joel Davis, and Austin Homan combine to hit 3-for-17 with two RBI and four strikeouts in the series finale. Pennington, Davis, and Homan all are hitting below .270 through the first seven games on 2017.
The freshman that saw the plate on Sunday, Foster and Shewmake, were a combined 7-for-9 with three home runs. You can’t cherry pick a single day to prove any given player is superior to another, but both guys are hitting .400 this season and the early results look more than promising.
On the mound, the pitching was pretty good outside of a bad pitch by Corbin Martin that Caruso made him pay for. Kaylor Chafin worked three innings of solid relief, striking out five and Mitchell Kilkenny did a good enough job on the mound. He lasted four and one third innings, which makes me wonder if we might see Turner Larkins take that role back by the end of the season.
Next: Softball Sweeps Mary Nutter Classic
Next up
Texas A&M has a pair of midweek contests this week. On Tuesday the Aggies host Prairie View A&M. Wednesday, Incarnate Word visits Olsen Field. Those will be the final tuneup games before the Aggies head south to Houston for the Shriners’ College Classic at Minute Maid Park.
***Stats from SECsports.com and 12thman.com***