A&M pulls out close win, 4-3

After struggling at the plate earlier in the evening, freshman designated hitter Cole Lankford came through when it counted most, ripping a two-run, two-out single in the bottom of the sixth to give the Aggies a 4-3 lead, and fellow rookie pitcher Daniel Mengden sealed the deal in the bottom of the ninth in Texas A&M's victory Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night.

"Cole Lankford came up and got a big two-out hit to take the lead as a freshman, and a freshman finished the game so I'm real proud of our team," head coach Rob Childress said. "We got better tonight."

Sophomore Derrick Hadley drew the start and gave up five hits, eventually leaving the game after four innings with the Aggies down 2-3. But Hadley's rough start gave the Aggies a chance to showcase the quality of their bullpen, as Childress deployed four pitchers to keep the Lumberjacks from building on their lead.

"I really was proud of our bullpen tonight," Childress said. "Five shutout innings, they really came in and did a great job."

Freshman Jason Freeman earned the win by tossing two innings, allowing zero hits and striking out three.

"I felt pretty good and the defense made really good plays behind me," Freeman said. "There were a couple balls were hit hard there but the defense was there so they made it easy."

Freeman and the others received help from the defense in crucial situations, most notably when senior second baseman Scott Arthur gloved a screaming line drive late in the contest, and again when he knocked down a ground ball and tossed it successfully to first base while still splayed on the ground.

"He's just an incredible athlete," Childress said. "We put him anywhere on the field and he's going to be one of our better defenders; whether it's on the dirt or in the outfield, he's just a good player."

A&M scored in the opening salvo, pushing two runs across the plate in the bottom of the first thanks to a sacrifice fly from sophomore Brandon Wood and a balk by SFA's Jason Choate. But the Jacks clamped down thereafter, keeping the Aggies off the basepath until Lankford's run-scoring hit in the sixth.

The evening was a true coming out party for A&M's freshman, as Childress called on another rookie to close out the game.

"[Daniel Mengden]'s got a big arm and he doesn't think he's a freshman," Childress said. "I was glad to have him in that spot: a one run lead, in the ninth inning, with four or five thousand people here. He needs to feel that. He got a chance to throw this weekend but it wasn't a one run game, and tonight we probably couldn't have absorbed a mistake in a one run game in the ninth inning. The more spots he can be in like that the better it'll be for us when it matters most."

Mengden, who spent most of high school as a starting pitcher and also catches for the Aggies, said he likes the role reversal.

"I have to warm up a little differently," Mengden said. "It takes me a good while to get warmed up but I like the intensity of coming in for one inning. You just go out there throwing as hard as I can, throwing strikes and ending the ball game."

The Aggies' next game comes Friday night when they welcome Holy Cross to a weekend series at Blue Bell Park. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m.