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Keys to Texas A&M Baseball’s Game 1 Super Regional win

By Cahil Murchison

May 6, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /
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Texas A&M Baseball showed the true 12th Man spirit of determination in Friday’s 7-6 Super Regional Game 1 win over the Davidson Wildcats.

Despite leaving 20 runners left on base and committing three errors, the Texas A&M Baseball team FINALLY managed to pull out a 7-6 win after 15 long and hot innings. Some might say that it was a little bit of Olsen Magic that allowed the Aggies to get the dub but if we all just gave the credit to the wonderous powers of Olsen Field or the supernatural, well what would I write about?

Pitching Saved the Day

The Davidson Wildcats were scoreless for five straight innings. They had just one man reach base until they got hot starting in the 6th inning. Outside of the last four innings of regulation the Aggie pitching was lights out. They gave up 15 hits but they didn’t allow a single run after the ninth and before the sixth. The majority of Davidson’s hits were singles and handful of those never left the infield. In fact, the Wildcats only had three extra-base hits, all of which came in the innings which they scored. Other than that, it was just simple base knocks and if anyone got on second, it was via bunt or error.

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Many would say that starting pitcher Brigham Hill is the player of the game. His performance on the mound was stellar through five. He added five strikeouts in those five innings. However, it was Hill that allowed the Wildcats to start their run in part because of a throwing error in the 6th. That enabled Brett Centracchio to reach first and eventually be the Wildcats first run.

Cole Bedford: Low Key MVP

For me, the player of the game is the Aggie’s catcher, Cole Bedford. Sure, he didn’t have a great day swinging the bat, but he was a brick wall back behind the plate. There were multiple accounts of the Aggie pitcher throwing a breaking ball short and Bedford was right there to block it, denying any runners to advance bases. But what could perhaps be considered the play of the game, was also executed by Bedford.

In the top of the 13th inning, Davidson had a man on second with one out. Austin Homan botched what should have been a double play, and at least a for sure out at first. He threw the ball away towards first, allowing baserunner Jake Sidwell to advance to third. With the momentum in the Wildcats favor and the heat starting to take a toll on not only the players but also the fans, things were looking slim for the Aggies.

But when Sidwell got a little too cocky and tried to take a bigger lead than he should have, things took a complete 180-degree turn. Bedford saw the giant lead and as soon as he received the pitch from Mitchell Kilkenny. He came up firing and successfully picking off Sidwell. The Aggie fans and team were replenished with new life and enthusiasm and just had that feeling that they were destined to get the win. Without that play, I think it’s safe to say that the Davidson Wildcats probably would’ve scored and deflated the Aggie’s hopes and chances for winning.

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Catch Game 2 Today!

The Aggies will need that same pitching and catching today if they want to get the win and advance to the College World Series. But more importantly, they’ll have to get the bats going. Sure, they started off hot. But leaving 20 people stranded on base is unacceptable and more times than not, will result in a loss. The Aggies play at 5:00 p.m. CT today at Olsen Field in College Station, Texas. It will also be aired on ESPN2.

***Stats from ESPN***