Texas A&M's Dallas Shines, Bullpen Struggles In Sunday Split vs. Penn

Micah Dallas made his mark early, but a shaky bullpen gives up the lead for A&M in a series loss to Penn

Micah Dallas is the new man on campus for Texas A&M baseball. Although he's second in the rotation, performances like Sundays could make him the Ace when all is said and done. 

Dallas pitched eight quality innings in the cool Sunday sun at Olsen Field to give Texas A&M a 5-0 win in the first of the double-header matchup against Penn. Unfortunately, the bullpen struggled in the eighth and ninth inning of Game 2, giving the Quakers an 8-5 win and series victory. 

"We got a long way to go, obviously," Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "We got great starting pitching. We just left a lot of runs on bases." 

A three-run first inning gave Dallas (2-0) a comfortable lead to power through. The Texas Tech transfer dazzled on the mound, striking out 10 Quakers and allowing just one hit, coming on the second pitch of the game. 

"It was all working pretty well for me," Dallas said. "I was able to get ahead with my fastball and my slider, too."

The Aggies (5-2) tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning but could have added more with better-timed hits. A&M left eight runners stranded behind Dallas' performance and only connected once with a runner in scoring position. 

The hits were limited late in the nightcap outing. Freshman Ryan Prager looked stronger than his first outing against Fordham, but the young gun still has work to do. Prager would throw 95 pitches in 5.2 innings of work, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out eight. 

"I just went out there and was me," Prager said. "Fastball command was a lot better, which is my bread and butter. Everything else plays off of that."

A&M's offense piled on runs through the first six innings. Five walks in the fifth allowed the Aggies to plate three and make it 4-1. An RBI single from right fielder Brett Minnich allowed third baseman Kole Kahler to score and extend the lead by four. 

That should have been the end of the story with most of Schlossnagle's bullpen rested. Instead, a new game ensued in the final three frames. 

Penn's Ben Miller picked up an RBI single in the seventh following a Wyatt Henseler double. A bases-loaded walk by Robert Hogan made it 5-3 before Brad Rudis and Joseph Menefee would strike out back-to-back Quakers to end the bleeding.

Things only soured more in the top of the ninth inning behind the Aggies' bullpen. A base-clearing double to Penn's Craig Larsen plated three and gave the visitors a 7-5 lead. The Quakers would score another off an RBI double from Henseler before the final two outs. 

"Certainly, the bullpen fell apart there at the end, but it all adds on top of itself," Schlossnagle said.

A&M returns to Olsen Field Tuesday to face Houston Baptist before heading to the Frisco Classic next weekend. First pitch from Blue Bell Park is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. 

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