Texas A&M baseball ekes out opening CWS win thanks to late-night heroics

Texas A&M baseball pulls out a dramatic victory thanks to fielding, pitching after long weather delay

When Texas A&M baseball finally took the field against the Florida Gators, it was roughly four hours after the originally scheduled start time. Had the storms stuck around for even 45 more minutes, we may still be waiting for first pitch.

Just before 10:30 PM central, however, the Aggies finally made their way out onto Charles Schwab field for their showdown with the Gators. Through the first three innings, things were moving along at a great clip; Aggie starter Justin Lamkin was throwing some amazing stuff, and Florida was keeping pace for the most part.

The Ags plated two early on, however, which was bad news for Florida—you don't want to play from behind when you're facing this Aggie squad. The Gators began to make some more contact when Chris Cortez took the mound starting in the fourth—a strategic move precipitated by the dearth of arms available to the Aggies after Shane Sdao's injury. Cortez had some straight heat going, hitting triple digits with his fastball, but the Gators kept trying to chip away.

The drama began to become palpable later on in the game. The Gators scored two off of Cortez, but he limited the damage before the Aggies' Closer of the Year winner Evan Aschenbeck came in to put things away.

It didn't all come easy. Though Aschenbeck was playing well, the patient approach at the plate for Florida was getting them a baserunner here and there. The highest drama was saved for the top of the ninth, when a one-out, one-on launch from Florida looked like it would give the Gators the lead; however, Jace LaViolette had other plans. It took every bit of his 6'6" frame, but he snagged the catch to record the Aggies' second out and save the day for the Maroon and White.

Omaha has a way of delivering dramatic moments, and so far this season, this Texas A&M baseball team has delivered in those moments big time. The Aggies will need to keep doing so as they draw ever nearer to the CWS crown.