A three-run sixth inning snapped a 1-1 stalemate
and the pitching of junior David Newmann lifted No. 9
Texas A&M (16-2) to a 7-1 victory over Florida (9-8) on Friday night in
front of 3,165 fans at Olsen Field. Newmann (3-0) notched
his first career complete game by scattering five hits, set a personal best
with nine strikeouts and retired 15 of the final 16 Gator batters he faced. A
two-run triple by junior Blake Stouffer gave the Aggies
the lead and the hosts tacked on three more runs in the eighth to finalize the
scoring.
The Gators grabbed a quick 1-0 advantage in the
first on senior Austin Pride’s (Longwood, Fla.)
grounder that scored junior Jon Townsend
(London, Ky.).
Townsend and freshman Cole Figueroa (Tallahassee, Fla.) had
opened the game with consecutive singles off Newmann and
advanced on senior Matt LaPorta’s (Port
Charlotte, Fla.)
fly ball to the warning track in right field. UF’s bid
for a second run was denied on a great defensive play by Aggie senior second
baseman Parker Dalton, who threw out junior Dustin Bamberg (Winter Haven,
Fla.) from the outfield grass
to end the frame as Figueroa was coming home.
The Aggies evened the
game in the third on a one-out triple to straightaway center field by Dalton. Junior Bryan Augenstein
(Sebastian, Fla.) faced the minimum of six batters
through two frames before issuing a leadoff walk to senior Josh Stinson. Dalton’s first
three-bagger of the campaign was his fourth RBI.
Limited to one hit through five innings, A&M
totaled five hits and plated three runs in the sixth to seize a 4-1 lead. Dalton began the stanza
with a single up the middle and junior Ben Feltner
punched a one-out single into shallow left field to give the hosts a pair of
runners aboard. Stouffer, who entered the game with a .418 average, ripped a
two-run triple down the right-field line to put the Aggies
on top. After Auguenstein had senior Craig Stinson
fly out to left, junior Darby Brown drove in his teammate with an RBI single
for a three-run lead. Sophomore Luke Anders delivered a pinch-hit single and a
passed ball left A&M with two runners in scoring position. The right-hander
prevented further trouble by having Josh Stinson ground out.
Texas A&M added three
insurance runs in the eighth to build a 7-1 lead. Feltner
opened the stanza with an infield hit and swiped his 14th base in 14 attempts
before Stouffer earned a free pass. Augenstein
notched his fifth strikeout of the night by punching out Craig Stinson and was
replaced by senior David Hurst (Jacksonville, Fla.).
Over 7.1 innings, Augenstein (2-3) yielded seven hits
and six runs and issued two walks. The Aggies
executed a double steal for runners on second and third and Hurst uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Feltner to score. Brown collected his second RBI single of
the night, stole second and junior Daman Aaron drew a walk from Hurst to keep the Aggies in business with one down. Josh Stinson’s base-knock
into left scored Brown and chased Hurst, who did not record an out. Sophomore Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill.)
threw one pitch and it resulted in sophomore Kyle Colligan
grounding into an inning-ending double play.
Texas A&M held a 9-5
advantage in hits, as the trio of Feltner (2-for-4,
two runs, two stolen bases), Brown (2-for-4, two RBI) and Dalton (2-for-3) had multiple-hit outings.
Townsend went 2-for-4 to lead the Gators, while sophomore Avery Barnes’ (High Springs,
Fla.) career-best seven-game
hitting streak ended with a 0-for-3 performance. Sophomore LHP Stephen Locke (Tampa, Fla.)
(2-1, 3.54) will pitch for Florida
in tomorrow’s second game at 3 p.m. against Aggie sophomore RHP Kyle Thebeau (1-0, 3.52). The game will be carried live on Cox
Sports.
-UF-
