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Thursday - May 22, 2008

Game 55: Texas A&M at Texas (Big 12 Tournament)

I left work a bit early today so I could "watch" the game. I borrowed a Windows laptop so I actually could watch the CSTV video stream. I did not listen to it, though. I listened to Craig Way and Keith Moreland on KVET. It was a bit disconcerting, though, since the audio was usually about 2 pitches or so ahead of the video. But, I got used to it. I mostly listened and then would watch to see a particular play unfold. It worked pretty well. And, this report is based mostly on the radio broadcast with occasional details provided by what I could see on the video stream.

The Horns jumped on the Aggies early, scoring 7 in the 1st, 3 in the 2nd, and 2 in the 3rd...all unanswered. But, the Aggies did not go down without a fight. They scored 6 (3 unearned) in the 6th to make things interesting. The Horns responded with 2 more in the the bottom of the inning and held on to win 15-9. Austin Wood went 5.1 and got the win. Brooks Raley took the loss for the Aggies.

Texas offensive summaries:

• Michael Torres went 2-for-5 with a run scored.
• Travis Tucker, poor guy, was the only Texas player who failed to get a hit or score a run. He went 0-for-4 with a sac bunt.
• Jordan Danks went 3-for-4 (including a triple) with 3 runs scored, 2 batted in, and a walk.
• Preston Clark went 1-for-2 with 2 runs scored, 1 batted in, and 3 walks.
• Kyle Russell went 1-for-4 (a triple) with a run scored, 2 batted in, a walk, and 1 strikeout.
• Russell Moldenhauer went 2-for-5 (including a double) with 3 runs scored, and 1 batted in.
• Brandon Belt went 4-for-5 (including a double and a homerun!) with 2 runs scored and 4 batted in. He was also caught stealing once.
• Cameron Rupp went 2-for-5 with a run scored, a run batted in, and 2 strikeouts.
• David Hernandez went 2-for-4 (with a homerun!) with 2 runs scored, 3 batted in, and a walk.

The final line (as displayed on GameTracker):

And, here's how things played out:

• 1st inning - TAMU
• Austin Wood on the mound for Texas.
• Carter (3b) grounded out on a slow bouncer to the pitcher.
• Colligan (cf) flew out to shallow rf (nice play by Kyle Russell to run hard and catch up to the ball).
• Duran (ss, Big 12 Player of the Year) lined into cf for a base hit.
• Anders struck out swinging.
• 1st inning - UT
• Brooks Raley on the mound for the Aggies.
• Michael Torres (dh) singled through the right side.
• Travis Tucker (2b) hit a sac bunt down the 1b line (1-unassisted) to move Michael to 2b.
• Jordan Danks (cf) lined a 3-0 pitch into rf, scoring Michael.
• Preston Clark (3b) walked on 4 pitches.
• Kyle Russell (rf) tripled to the lf/cf gap, scoring Jordan and Preston.
• Russell Moldenhauer (lf) grounded out to 2b, scoring Kyle.
• Brandon Belt (1b) reached on an infield single hit past 2b.
• Cameron Rupp (c) singled up the middle, moving Brandon to 2b.
• David Hernandez (ss) hit a 3-run homer over the lf fence (1st pitch)!!!
• Michael Torres (2nd at-bat of the inning) grounded out to ss.
• Texas up 7-0. Wow.
• 2nd inning - TAMU
• Ruggiano (rf) grounded out to ss (first pitch).
• Fleece (dh) grounded out to ss.
• Stouffer (2b) flew out to rf.
• Texas up 7-0.
• 2nd inning - UT
• Travis Tucker lined out to lf (first pitch).
• Jordan Danks, after fouling off a few pitches, hit a high fly ball to rf. The right fielder (Ruggiano) lost the ball in the sun and it dropped in front of him. Jordan was running hard all the way and made it safely to 3b with a sliding triple.
• Preston Clark singled past the drawn-in infield into lf to score Jordan (first pitch).
• Kyle Russell walked (full count, 8 pitches), moving Preston to 2b.
• Russell Moldenhauer reached on a 6-4 fielder's choice.
• Brandon Belt doubled down the rf line, scoring Kyle and Russell.
• The Aggies finally took pity on Brooks Raley and sent Shane Minks to the mound.
• Cameron Rupp went down swinging.
• Texas up 10-0. Wow.
• 3rd inning - TAMU
• Gonzalez (c) was hit by a 1-0 pitch.
• Greene (lf) grounded out to 2b, moving Gonzalez to 2b.
• Carter reached on an infield single hit to 2b, moving Gonzalez to 3b.
• Colligan flew out to cf. The runner from 3b made a move home but retreated to 3b when Jordan Danks made a clean catch and throw home.
• Duran flew out to left center.
• Texas up 10-0.
• 3rd inning - UT
• David Hernandez walked (full count) and moved to 2b on a wild pitch with Michael Torres at the plate.
• Michael lined out to lf at the warning track. David tagged on the play and moved to 3b.
• Travis Tucker grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Jordan Danks singled up the middle, scoring David.
• Jordan moved up to 2b on a wild pitch to Preston Clark and then on to 3b as the catcher tried to catch him at 3b but threw high (E2).
• Preston worked the count full and drew a walk to put runners at the corners.
• The Aggies sent Kirkland Rivers to the mound, replacing Minks.
• With Kyle Russell at the plate, Jordan scored and Preston moved up to 2b on another wild pitch.
• Kyle Russell flew out to cf.
• Texas up 12-0.
• 4th inning - TAMU
• Anders struck out swinging for the 2nd time in the game. Second strikeout of the game as well.
• Ruggiano flew out to rf down the line.
• Fleece also flew out to rf.
• Texas up 12-0.
• 4th inning - UT
• Russell Moldenhauer grounded out (high chopper) to the pitcher.
• Brandon Belt singled to lf.
• Cameron Rupp flew out to cf.
• With David Hernandez at the plate, Brandon was thrown out stealing 2b. He beat the throw to 2b but came off the bag a bit and was tagged out.
• Texas up 12-0. First inning the Horns did not score.
• 5th inning - TAMU
• Stouffer went down swinging.
• Gonzalez singled into shallow cf.
• Greene hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
• Texas up 12-0.
• 5th inning - UT
• David Hernandez (left at the plate in the 4th) grounded out to 2b.
• Michael Torres singled through the left side.
• Travis Tucker flew out to rf.
• Jordan Danks failed to get a hit for the first time in the game as he grounded out to the pitcher.
• Texas up 12-0.
• 6th inning - TAMU
• Carter reached on an infield single to ss.
• Colligan singled up the middle, moving Carter to 2b.
• Duran singled up the middle, scoring Carter and moving Colligan to 2b.
• Anders grounded out to the pitcher, moving the runners to 2b and 3b. The batter took a full swing but the ball went down the 3b line like a bunt. Nice play by Austin Wood.
• Ruggiano reached on an error by ss, scoring Colligan and moving Duran to 3b. On the play, David Hernandez fielded the ball and the off-line throw pulled Brandon Belt off the 1b bag. Runners at the corners with 1 out.
• Fleece singled through the left side, scoring Duran and moving Ruggiano to 2b.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound but did not make a pitching change.
• Stouffer hit a ground ball to ss. David Hernandez mis-played the ball, tried to rush his throw after catching up to the ball, but threw wild. Ruggiano scored (unearned) on the play and Fleece moved to 3b. Runners at the corners...still just one out. Two errors were charged to ss on the play, by the way. Sigh...
• Texas sent Brandon Workman to the mound.
• Feltner went in to pinch-run for Stouffer.
• Gonzalez singled through the left side, scoring Fleece (unearned) and moving Feltner to 3b.
• Greene walked (full count) to load the bases. Sigh...
• Carter (10th batter of the inning) reached on a 6-4 fielder's choice. David Hernandez struggled with the ball again and just got the ball to Travis Tucker at 2b. Feltner scored (unearned) and Gonzalez moved to 3b.
• With Colligan at the plate, Carter stole 2b.
• Colligan struck out looking (full count).
• Texas up 12-6. Geesh.
• 6th inning - UT
• Defensive changes for the Aggies: Ruggiano moved to to 2b, Greene moved to rf, and Feltner stayed in the game in lf.
• Preston Clark grounded out to ss.
• Kyle Russell worked the count full but went down swinging.
• Russell Moldenhauer reached on an infield single to 1b. The first baseman managed to knock the ball down and keep it from going into rf but he had no chance to throw Russell out at 1b.
• Brandon Belt hit his 6th homerun of the season (and 4th hit of the game!) to score 2.
• Cameron Rupp went down swinging.
• Texas up 14-6.
• 7th inning - TAMU
• Duran flew out to rf. Excellent running catch by Kyle Russell in rf!
• Anders grounded out to ss. Nice job by David Hernandez to put the errors from the previous inning behind him.
• Ruggiano singled through the left side.
• Fleece hit a 2-run homerun over the lf fence.
• Feltner grounded out to ss.
• Texas up 14-8.
• 7th inning - UT
• David Hernandez singled into cf.
• Michael Torres flew out to cf.
• Travis Tucker popped out to 2b.
• Jordan Danks walked (full count), moving David to 2b.
• The Aggies sent Clayton Ehlert to the mound, replacing Rivers.
• With Preston Clark at the plate, the runners advanced a base on a wild pitch.
• Preston reached on a walk (full count) to load the bases. His 3rd walk of the day.
• Kyle Russell flew out to cf. The center fielder had to make a diving catch to make the play. Shucks.
• Texas up 14-8.
• 8th inning - TAMU
• Texas sent Kyle Walker to the mound, replacing Brandon Workman.
• Gonzalez struck out looking.
• Greene walked (full count).
• Carter singled through the right side, moving Greene to 2b. Greene fell down after crossing 2b and was almost thrown out by Kyle Russell. Alas, not.
• Colligan reached on an infield single to the left side. Preston Clark had to run hard to his left and try to field a short-hopper and just couldn't make the play. I'm not sure if he'd fielded cleanly he would've had any chance at a play at any base.
• Duran hit a sac fly to rf, scoring Greene. The other runners remained at 1b and 2b.
• Anders went down swinging (third time in the game for Anders).
• Texas up 14-9.
• 8th inning - UT
• Russell Moldenhauer doubled into the rf corner.
• Brandon Belt grounded out to 2b, moving Russell to 3b.
• Cameron Rupp (after a quick chat with Coach Garrido) singled up the middle, scoring Russell.
• David Hernandez hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
• Texas up 15-9.
• 9th inning - TAMU
• Texas sent Stayton Thomas to the mound, replacing Kyle Walker.
• Ruggiano flew out to the alley in left center. Very nice play by Jordan Danks.
• Fleece flew out to lf.
• Brown (pinch-hitting for Feltner) was hit by a pitch.
• Gonzalez flew out to rf (in foul territory) to end the game.

Texas won 15-9!! Who woulda thunk it would be that close after the first couple of innings? Wow.

And, now we have to root for the Sooners to beat the Tigers. The Tigers need to lose two (tonight to OU and Saturday to the Aggies) for Texas to advance to the Championship game on Sunday.

Paraphrased comments from Coach Garrido in the post-game interview:

He was pleased with the start and the way the team capitalized on opportunities. He thought Austin Woods did very well. He was proud of the guys for putting 3 more runs on the board after the Aggies scored in the 6th. In recent games, the team is showing a lot more instinctive responses to the other teams. The team has shown a lot of defensive improvement in recent games and they recovered nicely after having problems in the 6th. He was pleased with the way Walker pitched the 8th and Thomas the 9th...he thought it was very encouraging.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 8:02 PM