The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M
No. 7 Baseball rallies from three-run deficit for 5-3 victory over Texas A&M
04.29.2006 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Kyle McCulloch won for the sixth time in his last six starts and Preston Clark went 4-for-5 at the plate as No. 7 Texas scored five unanswered runs to overcome a three-run deficit and earn a 5-3 victory over Texas A&M in front of 7,740 fans at Olsen Field during the opening game of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown on Saturday, April 29.
With their win over the Aggies (21-24, 4-15 Big 12), the Longhorns (30-15, 14-4) not only won for the eighth time in their last 10 conference contests, but also notched their first triumph at Olsen Field since May 22, 2004.
After UT had posted a hit in each of the first four frames and were kept off scoreless by Aggies starter Jason Meyer, Texas A&M used three doubles in the bottom of the fourth to score twice and then a passed ball on a strikeout that combined with a throwing error to pull in front 3-0. Looking to answer immediately in the top of the fifth, the Horns put runners on second and third with one out via a leadoff single from Kyle Russell (Tomball, Texas), an error on a fielder's choice bunt and a sacrifice. Although Meyer would get his next batter to hit a come-backer to the mound that resulted in an out at the plate, Drew Stubbs (Atlanta, Texas) followed with his 11th round-tripper of the season to knot the game at 3-3. One inning later in the sixth, Russell came up with a one-out single, stole second and scored on a two-out, RBI-double off the bat of Nick Peoples (Round Rock, Texas) to give Texas a 4-3 advantage.
McCulloch, meanwhile, set down 10 of his next 11 batters, including seven in a row, to move the game to the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Kyle Colligan came up with his second double in the game to place the tying run in scoring position with two outs for the Aggies. UT's Joseph Krebs (Bridgeport, Texas), who came on for reliever Randy Boone (Yoakum, Texas) in the inning, then struck out the first batter he faced to stymie the rally.
In the ninth, UT placed two runners on with one out via a pair of infield errors before Preston Clark (Rockwall, Texas) delivered a RBI-single to center field to extend the lead to 5-3. Down to their final three outs and trailing by two, A&M looked to rally, but Austin Wood (Kingwood, Texas) emerged from the Texas bullpen and worked a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the win and notch his sixth save of the season. Improving to 7-4 overall and 6-1 in league play was McCulloch, who allowed only two earned runs on five hits and struck out four over seven innings, while Meyer shouldered the loss for the Aggies despite surrendering one earned run over a seven-inning effort.
Paving the way for the Longhorns' 13-hit attack on the afternoon was Clark, who collected a career-best four hits in five at bats while driving in one run, Stubbs, who tallied three RBI during a two-hit outing that included his 30th career home run, and Russell, who went 2-for-4 with one run scored and a stolen base. The Aggies, meanwhile, were led offensively by Colligan, who went 2-for-4 with one run scored, and Austin Boggs, who recorded a pair of hits to go along with one run scored and one RBI. Of additional note for UT, Stubbs extended his current hit streak to 11 games and moved into a tie for fifth place on the school career home run list with former Longhorn John Langerhans (1969-72).
This series continues with a 2 p.m. Central contest at Olsen Field on Sunday, April 30.
