Baseball Suffers Heartbreaking Loss at #14 Texas A&M

Friday, February 27

College Station, Texas

7:35 PM

Dartmouth College

0-1

Texas A&M

10-0

Dartmouth

Texas A&M

Baseball Suffers Heartbreaking Loss at #14 Texas A&M

2/27/2015 10:15:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Much like the first time Dartmouth met Texas A&M on the diamond five years ago at the NCAA Regional in Miami, Florida, the Aggies hit a pair of late-inning home runs to rally for a 4-3 victory at Blue Bell Park. Hunter Melton and Logan Taylor each belted two-run shots to left to erase the 3-0 Big Green lead and extend the season-opening win streak to 10 for 14th-ranked Texas A&M (10-0) while handing Dartmouth (0-1) a season-opening defeat.

The Big Green were cruising along with their 3-0 advantage into the bottom of the eighth when sophomore reliever Chris Burkholder (0-1) ran into trouble with one out. Nick Banks slapped a single through the left side before Melton turned on a high 1-0 fastball and drove it over the wall in left field to suddenly make it a one-run game. The next hitter reached on catcher's interference then took third on a wild pickoff attempt, and on the very next pitch, Taylor hit another high fastball out to left for the 4-3 lead.

Although stunned by the turn of events, Dartmouth mounted a threat in the top half of the ninth when freshman Kyle Holbrook led off with a double just inside the left-field foul line. Texas A&M summoned Ryan Hendrix from the bullpen to preserve the lead, which he did with a strikeout, fly to center and soft liner to first to earn his second save of the year.

The game time temperature may have been 39 degrees, but that must have felt downright balmy to the Big Green compared to the arctic winter that befell upon Hanover in February. Senior Matt Parisi was so thrilled to see live pitching on a baseball diamond that he swung at the first pitch of the season and lined it to center for a single to lead off the top of the first. A high chopper moved him along to second, and with two down, senior Nick Lombardi ripped a ball inside the third-base bag for an RBI double and a 1-0 Dartmouth lead.

Junior right-hander Duncan Robinson, who handcuffed the Aggie hitter for five scoreless innings on just two hits, got himself into a bit of trouble in the second when he walked the bases loaded with two out. But the 6-6 Texas native induced an easy infield pop to short to escape the inning unscathed.

In the third, the Big Green took advantage of some Aggie sloppiness in the field to plate two more runs. Junior Nick Ruppert drew a walk with one out and took second when Lombardi reached on an error with two gone. After fouling off a 2-2 pitch, Holbrook got just enough of a pitch to dunk it over the first baseman's outstretched glove into right field for his first collegiate hit. Not only did Ruppert score on the hit, but Lombardi did as well when the throw into the infield got away for a 3-0 Big Green lead.

Dartmouth had a golden opportunity to tack on to its lead in the fourth when senior Matt MacDowell singled to left, moved up on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a sacrifice by freshman Dustin Shirley. Senior Bo Patterson then dumped a pitch into left, but MacDowell hesitated to make sure the ball wasn't caught. Logan Taylor scooped up the ball and fired home in time to nab MacDowell at the plate, ending the threat.

Texas A&M threatened to dent the scoreboard in the fifth when J.B. Moss short-hopped the left-field wall for a one-out double. But Robinson induced a slow bouncer to third and another over the mound on which Shirley made a nice running play to just nip the runner at first and strand Moss at third.

Burkholder replaced Robinson, who had thrown 92 pitches, to start the sixth and fanned the first two batters he faced. The next two hitters singled, but Patterson gunned down the runner trying to advance to third to end the inning. In the seventh, the Aggies put two runners on once again, but Burkholder induced a routine grounder to third to end the inning.

Aggie reliever Ty Schlottmann (1-0) was credited with the victory for retiring the last two hitters in the top of the eighth before giving way to Hendrix after the leadoff double in the ninth. A.J. Minter started on the mound for Texas A&M, allowing three runs, just one earned, on six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over six stanzas. Moss and Melton each had two of the Aggies nine hits on the evening.

Holbrook and MacDowell also had two hits apiece for the Big Green, which totaled seven safeties in the game.

The two teams will resume their three-game series on Saturday afternoon with first pitch at 2:05 (CST).

Notes: In the 2010 NCAA Regional matchup, Texas A&M hit a solo homer in the top of the eighth and ninth to eliminate Dartmouth, 4-3 … the Big Green are now 12-14 in season openers under head coach Bob Whalen.