Dartmouth Falls to 14th-Ranked Texas A&M, 8-1

Saturday, February 28

College Station, Texas

3:05 PM

Dartmouth College

0-2

Texas A&M

11-0

Dartmouth

Texas A&M

Dartmouth Falls to 14th-Ranked Texas A&M, 8-1

2/28/2015 5:28:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Junior Joe Purritano gave Dartmouth an early 1-0 lead with solo home run, but the 14th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies scored five unanswered runs to run their winning streak to 11 with an 8-1 victory over the visiting Big Green (0-2) on Saturday afternoon at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. Hunter Melton had three of the 12 hits for Texas A&M (11-0) and drove in two runs to help the Aggies extend their season-opening win streak to 11.

With two gone in the top of the third, Purritano lined an 0-1 pitch to right that just cleared the low fence into the Texas A&M bullpen to put Dartmouth on top.

Senior right-hander Louis Concato held the Aggies scoreless through the first three innings before Texas A&M loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth without getting the ball past the mound. Mitchell Nau was plunked by a 1-2 offering and moved up to second when Ryne Birk reached on catcher's interference. Nick Banks then laid down a bunt toward third and just beat the throw for an infield hit, and Logan Taylor with a single just past a diving Matt Parisi at short for an RBI single, knotting the score at one.

The first out was recorded on strikes when Concato pumped a full-count fastball by the hitter, but Melton followed with a two-run single up the middle. Concato escaped further damage by inducing a foul pop and a fly to right, leaving the score at 3-1 through four frames.

The score was still 3-1 in the seventh when the Aggies struck with two down. G.R. Hinsley drew a walk against freshman reliever Marc Bachman, and Banks followed with an opposite-field shot to left that carried out of the park to double the Texas A&M lead to four at 5-1.

The Aggies tacked on three runs in the eighth on the strength of doubles by Melton and Blake Allemand, while Michael Barash capped the inning with an RBI single.

Melton was 3-for-4 with a double, run and two RBIs, while Banks had two hits including his first homer of the season. Taylor Kopetsky and Logan Taylor also chipped in a pair of safeties.

Grayson Long (2-0) picked up the victory on the mound by hurling six innings of one-run ball, yielding five hits and a walk while fanning four. Three Aggie relievers each pitched scoreless stanzas to close out the game.

Concato (0-1) was stuck with the loss for surrendering three runs, two earned, six hits without a walk and two strikeouts in five frames of work.

Dartmouth managed just six hits, one each for six different hitters in the starting lineup, including Purritano's four-bagger and freshman Dustin Shirley's first career hit.

The two teams will conclude their three-game series tomorrow at noon (CST) as the Big Green attempt to salvage one against the Aggies.