Like they did in the regular-season series finale with everything on the line against TCU, the Longhorns (39-20) thrived in the big moment. Led by its All-American infielder and ace righthander, who is now throwing like an All-American, throwing on fumes and flu-like symptoms, Texas attacked the game.
As the sold-out crowd of 7,046 erupted in the top of the first inning and began to direct boisterous, burnt orange-themed cheers down towards the diamond, how the game played out became clear: The Longhorns were ready to make the game theirs, and the Aggies (40-21) were not. Texas defeated Texas A&M 8-3 and is now one win away from winning the Austin Regional.
After David Hamilton led off the game with a single and Duke Ellis was hit by a pitch, the energy in UFCU Disch-Falk Field went from about a seven to a 10. Unsurprisingly, Kody Clemens delivered. When a 2-1 slider was left over the plate, Clemens smashed a three-run bomb well over the right field fence, which created a pop unlike anything in college baseball.
“We fed off of it,” said David Pierce when asked to describe the environment. “We talked about it in our pregame meeting. We basically said we would be the most electric crowd in the country tonight and let’s feed off of it. With the early lead we were able to keep doing that and keep the crowd in the game the entire time.”
As Clemens rounded second base, he proudly raised a “Hook ‘Em” towards left field, and when he rounded third base, he briefly glared into the Texas A&M dugout.
“We’re all competitors. It’s a Saturday night in a regional and he’s in the moment,” said Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress when asked about Clemens staring towards the A&M dugout after his homer. “If you don’t like it, you should go out there and make a better pitch. He gave Texas all the momentum in this one.”
Gifted a 3-0 lead and an entire stadium’s worth of adrenaline and momentum, Nolan Kingham, who moved around the mound at a sloth’s pace before the batter stepped into the box, went to work. He challenged the Aggie lineup early, often, and snapped off some of his best sliders of the season. Hamilton booting a routine 6-4-3 double play ball in the bottom of the third inning gifted Texas A&M a run that came on a bunt, but Kingham retired A&M star Braden Shewmake to end the threat.
Immediately the next inning, Texas responded. DJ Petrinsky, who led off the inning, was able to extend his arms and pulled a breaking ball over the left field wall for a solo homer to make it 4-1 Texas. Later in the inning, Texas loaded the bases with two outs and added another run when Texas A&M starter Mitchell Kilkenny hit Zach Zubia with a pitch.
In the top of the fifth inning, Texas made it 7-1. With one out, Petrisnky lined a single off the chest of A&M reliever Dustin Saenz, who shook off the injury and remained in the game. Tate Shaw followed with a double, and Jake McKenzie plated Petrinsky with a sacrifice fly. Then with two outs, Hamilton pulled a single through the right side to knock in another Texas run.
Clemens wasn’t done providing fireworks.
“I was super-excited coming into this game,” said Clemens.
With a lefty on the mound, he led off the sixth inning with a towering solo homer that landed just beyond the right-center wall.
The Aggies started to put better swings on Kingham the third time through the order, and pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth. After a scoreless seventh by Kingham, he exited to a standing ovation with two outs in the eighth inning and his team ahead, 8-3.
As the junior righthander from Las Vegas, Nevada slowly walked from the mound towards his home dugout, he started aggressively pointing towards the home turf while yelling, ‘this is our house,’ with a possible expletive mixed in there somewhere.
During the ninth inning, Clemens hit a towering fly ball in the infield that found the turf for an infield single thanks to a misplay. A jubilant Texas crowd followed with a loud “SEC!” chant.
Texas will meet the winner of Indiana versus Texas A&M (2:00 p.m.) at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. The Longhorns are one win away from advancing to a super regional for the first time since 2014.
Key moment in the game
While Clemens’s three-run bomb in the top of the first inning created a noise and scene like magical Disch-Falk times of years past, how Texas increased its lead to 5-1 told the story of the postseason environment. Following Petrinsky’s homer in the fourth inning, Texas A&M pitched around Clemens to load the bases with two outs. And as Zubia worked a 3-2 count against Kilkenny, the sold-out crowd quickly jumped to its feet in a raucous fashion in anticipation of the 3-2 offering. With all the pressure of the situation and environment on his shoulders, Kilkenny hit Zubia with a fastball that wasn’t even close.
It was then that everyone in the stadium knew who would win the game.
Battle on the hill
Winning pitcher – Nolan Kingham, Texas (8-3)
Losing pitcher – Mitchell Kilkenny, Texas A&M (8-5)
Clearly under the weather, Kingham gave everything he had on the mound for his team. The junior righthander didn’t aim to be perfect, and didn’t get cute. Rather, he challenged Texas A&M from pitch one to pitch 96, and dared the opposition to earn each bit of offense it could.
Although his fastball lacked some of its usual velocity, Kingham was able to reach back from time-to-time to find some extra gas in the tank. More importantly, he consistently controlled his sinking two-seamer down in the zone, and showed command to both sides of the plate. The weapon that dominated the Aggies, though, was his slider, which consistently generated swings and misses, including some very ugly ones, and uncomfortable swings all night. In fact, his slider was so good he threw just a few changeups the entire outing.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Kingham, but he’ll be remembered most by two of his last three starts: the terrific performance against TCU to set the tone in a huge series, and tonight’s gutsy effort that saw a guy come back from illness, stand on the mound, and become the most confident guy in the park with all eyes on him.
Over 7.2 innings, Kingham gave up three runs on nine hits, one walk, and he struck out eight.
READ: Kingham threw up this morning, wasn't close to 100-percent and Pierce had Blair Henley ready just in case
Josh Sawyer retired the only batter he faced, and after hitting a batter to begin the ninth inning, Andy McGuire induced a double play and ground out to end the game.
Breaking down the batter's box
Star of the game – Clemens finished 3-for-5 with two homers, four RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. During Monday’s Selection Show, Clemens erupted when he saw Texas A&M was in Texas’s regional. Tonight, he backed it up, and starred under the brightest lights.
“It was kind of just in the moment. I’m super-competitive. Playing A&M, you get pretty emotional,” responded Clemens about staring towards the A&M dugout after his first home run.
Frustrating day at the office – Texas A&M left fielder Logan Foster went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Dustin's extra bases
Everyone in the Texas lineup reached base, and as dominant as the first three hitters were (8-for-14 with five RBI and five runs scored), the bottom third added some big punch too 5-for-11 with two RBI and three walks). After a solid night against Texas Southern, Tate Shaw doubled off a lefthander, a very positive sign for Texas. Petrinsky continues to show his power, and his first at-bat was a very hard grounder right at an infielder.
Hamilton was locked-in offensively, and committed to hitting the ball to all fields. Ellis put together his usual highly competitive at-bats, and although Zubia finished 1-for-5, he appeared to be getting closer to breaking out. If there’s an area of concern, it’s Hibbeler and Ryan Reynolds, who combined to go 1-of-10.
Once again, the Longhorns were aggressive on the bases. They used the hit-and-run again, stole on first move multiple times, put down bunts successfully, and pushed the game’s action while also utilizing a patient approach in the batter’s box (seven walks).
Pierce stated tonight Blair Henley will start tomorrow’s game, and Chase Shugart will be available if needed out of the bullpen.
As the sold-out crowd of 7,046 erupted in the top of the first inning and began to direct boisterous, burnt orange-themed cheers down towards the diamond, how the game played out became clear: The Longhorns were ready to make the game theirs, and the Aggies (40-21) were not. Texas defeated Texas A&M 8-3 and is now one win away from winning the Austin Regional.
After David Hamilton led off the game with a single and Duke Ellis was hit by a pitch, the energy in UFCU Disch-Falk Field went from about a seven to a 10. Unsurprisingly, Kody Clemens delivered. When a 2-1 slider was left over the plate, Clemens smashed a three-run bomb well over the right field fence, which created a pop unlike anything in college baseball.
“We fed off of it,” said David Pierce when asked to describe the environment. “We talked about it in our pregame meeting. We basically said we would be the most electric crowd in the country tonight and let’s feed off of it. With the early lead we were able to keep doing that and keep the crowd in the game the entire time.”
As Clemens rounded second base, he proudly raised a “Hook ‘Em” towards left field, and when he rounded third base, he briefly glared into the Texas A&M dugout.
“We’re all competitors. It’s a Saturday night in a regional and he’s in the moment,” said Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress when asked about Clemens staring towards the A&M dugout after his homer. “If you don’t like it, you should go out there and make a better pitch. He gave Texas all the momentum in this one.”
Gifted a 3-0 lead and an entire stadium’s worth of adrenaline and momentum, Nolan Kingham, who moved around the mound at a sloth’s pace before the batter stepped into the box, went to work. He challenged the Aggie lineup early, often, and snapped off some of his best sliders of the season. Hamilton booting a routine 6-4-3 double play ball in the bottom of the third inning gifted Texas A&M a run that came on a bunt, but Kingham retired A&M star Braden Shewmake to end the threat.
Immediately the next inning, Texas responded. DJ Petrinsky, who led off the inning, was able to extend his arms and pulled a breaking ball over the left field wall for a solo homer to make it 4-1 Texas. Later in the inning, Texas loaded the bases with two outs and added another run when Texas A&M starter Mitchell Kilkenny hit Zach Zubia with a pitch.
In the top of the fifth inning, Texas made it 7-1. With one out, Petrisnky lined a single off the chest of A&M reliever Dustin Saenz, who shook off the injury and remained in the game. Tate Shaw followed with a double, and Jake McKenzie plated Petrinsky with a sacrifice fly. Then with two outs, Hamilton pulled a single through the right side to knock in another Texas run.
Clemens wasn’t done providing fireworks.
“I was super-excited coming into this game,” said Clemens.
With a lefty on the mound, he led off the sixth inning with a towering solo homer that landed just beyond the right-center wall.
The Aggies started to put better swings on Kingham the third time through the order, and pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth. After a scoreless seventh by Kingham, he exited to a standing ovation with two outs in the eighth inning and his team ahead, 8-3.
As the junior righthander from Las Vegas, Nevada slowly walked from the mound towards his home dugout, he started aggressively pointing towards the home turf while yelling, ‘this is our house,’ with a possible expletive mixed in there somewhere.
During the ninth inning, Clemens hit a towering fly ball in the infield that found the turf for an infield single thanks to a misplay. A jubilant Texas crowd followed with a loud “SEC!” chant.
Texas will meet the winner of Indiana versus Texas A&M (2:00 p.m.) at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. The Longhorns are one win away from advancing to a super regional for the first time since 2014.
Key moment in the game
While Clemens’s three-run bomb in the top of the first inning created a noise and scene like magical Disch-Falk times of years past, how Texas increased its lead to 5-1 told the story of the postseason environment. Following Petrinsky’s homer in the fourth inning, Texas A&M pitched around Clemens to load the bases with two outs. And as Zubia worked a 3-2 count against Kilkenny, the sold-out crowd quickly jumped to its feet in a raucous fashion in anticipation of the 3-2 offering. With all the pressure of the situation and environment on his shoulders, Kilkenny hit Zubia with a fastball that wasn’t even close.
It was then that everyone in the stadium knew who would win the game.
Battle on the hill
Winning pitcher – Nolan Kingham, Texas (8-3)
Losing pitcher – Mitchell Kilkenny, Texas A&M (8-5)
Clearly under the weather, Kingham gave everything he had on the mound for his team. The junior righthander didn’t aim to be perfect, and didn’t get cute. Rather, he challenged Texas A&M from pitch one to pitch 96, and dared the opposition to earn each bit of offense it could.
Although his fastball lacked some of its usual velocity, Kingham was able to reach back from time-to-time to find some extra gas in the tank. More importantly, he consistently controlled his sinking two-seamer down in the zone, and showed command to both sides of the plate. The weapon that dominated the Aggies, though, was his slider, which consistently generated swings and misses, including some very ugly ones, and uncomfortable swings all night. In fact, his slider was so good he threw just a few changeups the entire outing.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Kingham, but he’ll be remembered most by two of his last three starts: the terrific performance against TCU to set the tone in a huge series, and tonight’s gutsy effort that saw a guy come back from illness, stand on the mound, and become the most confident guy in the park with all eyes on him.
Over 7.2 innings, Kingham gave up three runs on nine hits, one walk, and he struck out eight.
READ: Kingham threw up this morning, wasn't close to 100-percent and Pierce had Blair Henley ready just in case
Josh Sawyer retired the only batter he faced, and after hitting a batter to begin the ninth inning, Andy McGuire induced a double play and ground out to end the game.
Breaking down the batter's box
Star of the game – Clemens finished 3-for-5 with two homers, four RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. During Monday’s Selection Show, Clemens erupted when he saw Texas A&M was in Texas’s regional. Tonight, he backed it up, and starred under the brightest lights.
“It was kind of just in the moment. I’m super-competitive. Playing A&M, you get pretty emotional,” responded Clemens about staring towards the A&M dugout after his first home run.
Frustrating day at the office – Texas A&M left fielder Logan Foster went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Dustin's extra bases
Everyone in the Texas lineup reached base, and as dominant as the first three hitters were (8-for-14 with five RBI and five runs scored), the bottom third added some big punch too 5-for-11 with two RBI and three walks). After a solid night against Texas Southern, Tate Shaw doubled off a lefthander, a very positive sign for Texas. Petrinsky continues to show his power, and his first at-bat was a very hard grounder right at an infielder.
Hamilton was locked-in offensively, and committed to hitting the ball to all fields. Ellis put together his usual highly competitive at-bats, and although Zubia finished 1-for-5, he appeared to be getting closer to breaking out. If there’s an area of concern, it’s Hibbeler and Ryan Reynolds, who combined to go 1-of-10.
Once again, the Longhorns were aggressive on the bases. They used the hit-and-run again, stole on first move multiple times, put down bunts successfully, and pushed the game’s action while also utilizing a patient approach in the batter’s box (seven walks).
Pierce stated tonight Blair Henley will start tomorrow’s game, and Chase Shugart will be available if needed out of the bullpen.
