MORGANTOWN, WV — Down to their last strike of the season, Aggie second baseman Bryce Blaum blasted a 3-2 pitch over the leftfield fence for a walk-off grand slam in No. 19 Texas A&M’s 11-10 triumph over the No. 15 West Virginia Mountaineers in an NCAA Regional elimination game Sunday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.
The Aggies trailed 9-1 heading to the bottom of the seventh but a pair of grand slams keyed the epic comeback.
Blaum ended the game, going 2-for-5 with one walk, one run, two stolen bases and four RBI. Logan Foster, who hit a seventh-inning grand slam, finished 2-for-4 one walk, one double, one home run, two runs and four RBI. Braden Shewmake and Mikey Hoehner added two hits apiece and Cam Blake plated two runs.
Aggie starter Christian Roa battled through 3.1 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits and one walk while striking out two. Kasey Kalich (3-1) earned the victory out of the bullpen. He allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out two in 2.1 innings.
UP NEXT
The Aggies continue their battle out of the losers’ bracket Sunday at 6:30 p.m. when they face the Duke Blue Devils. Texas A&M needs two consecutive wins over Duke while the Blue Devils just need one win to claim the regional title.
SCORING SUMMARY
T2 | Ivan Gonzelez led off with an infield single to shortstop and scored on a two-run home run over the leftfield fence by Kevin Brophy. WVU 2, A&M 0.
T4 | With one out, TJ singled to leftfield and moved to third when the ball was misplayed by Blake. Tevin Tucker knocked in Lake by threading a double down the leftfield line. Tucker moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a throwing error by Roa. WVU 4, A&M 0.
T5 | Darius Hill led off with an infield single to second base and with one out, Paul McIntosh hit a two-run home run. WVU 6, A&M 0.
B5 | Zach DeLoach and Ty Coleman reached on errors to start the frame, giving the Aggies runners on the corners. DeLoach scored when Shewmake bounced into a 6-4-3 double play. WVU 6, A&M 1.
T6 | With one out, Austin Davis drew a walk, stole second base, moved to third on a throwing error by the catcher and scored when Tyler Doanes slapped a single up the middle. WVU 7, A&M 1.
T7 | Gonzalez doubled to rightfield and Kevin Brophy drew a walk. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position and they scored when Lake singled to rightfield. WVU 9, A&M 1.
B7 | Singles by Ty Coleman and Shewmake started the frame. The pair moved to scoring position on a deep fly ball by Blaum and scored when Blake punched a single to rightfield. Hoehner drew a five-pitch walk and Hunter Watson reached on a throwing error by the Duke first baseman. Foster hit the first pitch of his at-bat down the rightfield line for his second grand slam of the season. WVU 9, A&M 7.
T8 | Marques Inman started the rally with a double to leftfield. Tristen Hudson pinch-ran for Inman, moving to third on a groundout by Gonzalez and scoring when Brophy bounced a single up the middle. WVU 10, A&M 7
B9 | Foster gapped a doubled to left-center to start the frame. With one out, Aaron Walters drew a pinch-hit walk. After Ty Coleman swung and missed at strike three, Shewmake drew a walk to load the bases. Blaum worked the count full before launching a blast over the leftfield wall. A&M 11, WVU 10.
