HOUSTON -- A game that started as a pitcher's duel turned into a blowout after a seven-run inning pushed No. 1 Texas A&M past No. 5 UC Irvine 9-2 on Friday at Minute Maid Park.
Aggies' sophomore southpaw Brooks Raley took on Anteaters' junior southpaw Daniel Bibona in five innings of two-run baseball. Both pitchers were hitting their spots, holding batters to a combined seven hits in the first five innings.
"[Bibona] is a great pitcher," Raley said. "We've been talking about him all week. I'm glad our offense showed up."
Irvine was the first team on the board when junior second baseman Casey Stevenson scored from second base on junior right fielder Sean Madigan's double to right field. Madigan led the Anteaters at the plate, going 2 for 4 and driving in one run.
The Aggies answered in the top of the fifth inning when sophomore third baseman Caleb Shofner scored from third base on a wild pitch, tying the game at 1-1.
The floodgates opened in the top of the sixth inning when A&M pushed seven runs across the plate. Junior left fielder Dylan Petrich led the inning off with a single and was driven home when senior first baseman Luke Anders knocked a Bibona pitch into the Crawford Boxes for a two-run home run.
"When you see a guy like that challenge me and say 'hey I'm going to come after you,' and I'm in the box saying 'hey I want your best stuff,'" Anders said about Bibona. "That's a great competition in baseball right there."
Later in the inning Anders hit a two-out single to right field to score freshman shortstop Adam Smith from third base and junior right fielder Brodie Greene from second base. Anders went 3 for 5 in the game, hitting four RBIs.
In the inning, sophomore catcher Kevin Gonzalez hit a double that landed on the warning track on Tal's Hill in center field. The ball one-hopped and hit the wall at approximately 420 feet.
"He had two balls on me and I knew a fastball was coming so I was just ready to go and my approach was straight up the middle," Gonzalez said. "I did think it was going to go that far. That's probably the farthest ball I've ever hit that didn't go out."
The game marked the fourth time in 2009 that A&M has scored most of its runs in the sixth inning.
With an 8-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning, the Aggies pushed one more run across the board when junior second baseman Nick Anders scored from third base on Gonzalez's sacrifice fly to center field.
Raley earned the win in six inning of work, holding the Anteaters to two runs, five hits and striking out two. Senior reliever Kyle Thebeau replaced Raley to start the seventh inning. Thebeau gave up one hit in three innings and earned the save.
The Aggies will return to Minute Maid Park on Friday night to play No. 10 Rice. A&M shares a history with the Owls, having lost to them in the previous two Super Regionals.
Junior fireballer Alex Wilson will start the game for the Aggies and will take on Rice junior right-hander Ryan Berry. Wilson struck out 14 batters in his previous start.
"It's going to be pretty intense," Gonzalez said. "Lights are going to be on and when lights come on [Wilson] is ready to go after it."
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