Series Recap: Texas A&M Baseball Takes Two from Pepperdine

The Aggies made easy work of a much inferior opponent in Bowling Green on Opening Weekend a week ago. They annihilated the Falcons, scoring an astonishing 50 runs over three games. This weekend was much different, as pitching led the way for both teams in a big way.

We knew that the Pepperdine Waves were a much better team than Bowling Green. We knew that this was going to be the first true test for a youth-driven team riding high off that 50-run output, followed by a walk off win over a familiar, in-state opponent. The Aggies and Waves were very evenly matched for the majority of the weekend, and they delivered a dandy of a series.

Friday: Texas A&M 3, Pepperdine 0

Quick Hitters:

• Brigham Hill toed the rubber on Friday night for the maroon and white, as he will for the foreseeable future, and he was simply tremendous. Over a career-high 7.2 innings, Hill struck out 10 Waves hitters, while walking only one and allowing a measly two hits. Dynamite, dynamite performance from Brigham.
• Pepperdine’s starter Ryan Wilson was almost equally as impressive, scattering eight baserunners over his 7.0 innings of one-run baseball. The only blemish on his night came from a two-out RBI single off the bat of freshman fan-favorite Jorge Gutierrez in the first inning.
• 2B Braden Shewmake continued his torrid start to his freshman season in Aggieland, going 2-4, with an RBI and a run scored.

Saturday: Pepperdine 2, Texas A&M 1

• Pepperdine’s starter Max Gamboa was phenomenal in game two of the series. Over his 6.2 innings of work, he allowed just one run on five hits and two walks, while striking out 10 Aggie hitters. Gamboa was in control throughout the majority of the day, and when it mattered, he made the pitches he needed to keep the Aggie bats at bay.
• Stephen Kolek was also very impressive for the Aggies, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks in his 6.0 innings of work.

Sunday: Texas A&M 10, Pepperdine 6

• For the first four-and-a-half innings, this game played out like the previous two. Heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Ags and Waves were knotted at two. From there, however, the two teams began to score in bunches. The Ags jumped out to an 8-2 advantage over the next two-and-a-half frames. In the eighth, Pepperdine put up a four-spot to cut the lead to 8-6. The Ags put a couple of insurance runs on the board in the bottom half of the eighth to put the game on ice.
• The fish struck again in game three. Logan Foster hit his first two career home runs, both solo shots, and Braden Shewmake went 5-5, with three RBI and a mammoth two-run blast that almost hit the tracks beyond the visitors bullpen in right. Shewmake is #good at #BasedBall, and he was also #ATripleShy, if you care about that sort of thing.
• Another word about Nick Choruby: the senior went 4-11 on the weekend, a step down from his monster run in the first four games of the season. But Chorbs is also leading the team in batting average and runs scored. This guy just keeps producing at the top of the lineup. Keep doing the thing, and stay #woke, Chorbs.

What’s Next?

The Ags have two midweek games, one on Tuesday against 1-8 Prairie View, and one on Wednesday against 5-4 Incarnate Word. First pitch for both games will be at 6:30.

Next weekend, the Ags will travel down to Houston for the Shriners’ Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park. They’ll take on #11 Texas Tech (gross), #1 TCU (smh) and an upstart, 8-0 Baylor team (.....). Should be a fun weekend.