OKLAHOMA CITY -- Neither a win or a loss against Texas Tech Saturday would have earned Texas A&M a spot in the conference tournament title game -- but the Aggies did not play that way.
With its chances of a Big 12 tournament championship in Oklahoma City dashed by Missouri's win against Oklahoma and having to wait out a hour and 45-minute rain delay, A&M played as if it was still in contention, defeating the Red Raiders 11-4.
The Tigers and the Aggies both finished pool play in the tournament with a 2-1 record, but Missouri beat A&M in the tournament opener Wednesday to earn the tie-breaker. Missouri plays Texas in the championship game Sunday.
"That was huge the way we responded after knowing full well we weren't going to have the opportunity to play tomorrow," A&M Head Coach Rob Childress said. "It was a disappointment but from the word 'go' we came out and played with the same intensity we played with yesterday. We're leaving here with a newfound swagger offensively."
The Aggies continued a strong hitting approach against Tech that earned them a win against Oklahoma Thursday. They hit .375 as a team and were 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
A&M scored ten runs in the first four innings to take a commanding lead the Raiders could not respond to.
With two outs in the first inning, senior first baseman Luke Anders turned on the first pitch he saw and blasted a ball over the right field wall beyond the visitor's bullpen to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead. Anders was 3-for-5 in the game with the home run, a double and a single, ending a triple shy of the cycle.
"Our main goal today was make sure our offense was going like it was last night and get the win," Anders said. "Even though we're not able to play for the championship tomorrow we still have stuff to build on and we did that tonight."
A&M added to the lead in the second and third innings with four runs in each and solo runs in the fourth and sixth innings.
Freshman southpaw Ross Hales started on the mound for the Aggies and pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs, three of them earned, and striking out five.
The Raiders earned their first two runs in the second inning. Hales walked junior left fielder Michael Reed with two outs and Reed advanced to third base on freshman right fielder Garrett Totten's single to right field.
Reed scored when sophomore catcher Jeremy Mayo hit a single off Hales glove. Totten later scored on a passed ball.
Senior first baseman Chris Richburg hit a solo home run in the third inning and Totten scored on a double by Mayo after hitting a two-out triple in the fourth inning to round out Tech's scoring.
Senior reliever Kyle Thebeau replaced Hales in the sixth inning and pitched 3.2 hitless innings to earn a three-inning save.
Though they did not win the conference tournament, the Aggies have all but earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The host sites for the tournament will be announced Sunday, but experts have said A&M will not host its third consecutive Regional tournament. The remainder of the field of 64 will be named Monday.
"I feel pretty good about our opportunities," Childress said. "Whether it's at Olsen Field or on the road, it doesn't matter. We're five wins away from Omaha."
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