Texas A&M Baseball defeats Houston 4-3 to sweep the Houston Regional

Texas A&M baseball have advanced to their third consecutive Super Regional appearance after sweeping through the Houston Regional.

You couldn’t have scripted the story any better than this. Texas A&M was listed as one of the committee’s “Last Four In”. Now they are hosting a Super Regional.

The Regional Final against the Houston Cougars started just like most other games in Houston this weekend with a rain delay. Mother Nature was no friend to the Aggies. Had the rain not interfered the Cougars would have had to play a double heard on Sunday. Instead their pitching staff got one more day of rest.

Texas A&M 4 – Houston 3 (Full Boxscore)

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At 12:35 local time the game got under way and the Aggies wasted no time to get themselves on the scoreboard. Senior Blake Kopetsky drove a two out single up the middle to give Texas A&M an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

The score would stay at 2-0 through the first several innings thanks in part to a pair of incredible outfield plays by Walker Pennington in left and Kopetsky in right. It was another impressive defense display for the Aggies. That was true despite Austin Homan recording Texas A&M’s first error of the regional in the fifth.

Senior Nick Choruby tripled in the seventh to extend the Aggie lead to 3-0. They got one more run in the form of a pinch hit solo dinger from Baine Schoenvogel in the ninth to make it 4-0. That run proved to be the game winner.

Houston managed a run off a solo home run in the ninth and added another with a bases loaded single. A sac fly would cut the lead to 4-3. The Aggies made it interesting, but Cason Sherrod closed the game out with a clutch strikeout to seal the victory. It was dramatic, but at the end of the day Texas A&M completed the three team sweep of the Houston Regional.

Player of the Game

Stephen Kolek

Kolek started the season as the Aggies’ Saturday starter but slipped to the Sunday role to make room for Corbin Martin. Martin has been electric, but Kolek has quietly continued to produce. He made a loud statement Monday.

His final line: 8.1 innings pitched, 2 runs allowed (1 earned), 5 hits, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts. Chafin and Sherrod would close it out, but Kolek did the brunt of the work.

Championships are built on pitching and defense. The Aggies got both of those in Houston and the result was a clean sweep of the Baylor Bears, Iowa Hawkeyes and Houston Cougars. This was expected to be a rebuilding year. Instead, the Aggies are two wins away from a trip to Omaha and the College World Series.

Next: Predicting every game of the 2017 Football season

Up Next

Texas A&M returns to Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park on Friday, June 9. They will host the Davidson Wildcats, who upset Chapel Hill Regional host North Carolina. Game times will be announced later this week.

***Stats from SEC Sports***

Texas A&M Baseball defeat the Houston Cougars to sweep Houston Regional

By Matthew Bartlett | Jun 5, 2017