Louisville Gets Revenge Over Texas A&M In 14-5 Win At Shriners Children’s College Classic
HOUSTON -- Friday nights are the start of the weekend. Here's hoping the first-night scares won't carry over for Texas A&M baseball into Saturday.
The No. 15 Aggies saved themselves from being run-ruled for the first time since 2013 thanks to a three-run home run in the seventh inning by Austin Bost against No. 14 Louisville. Still, the early damage was already done, leading to 14-5 victory for the Cardinals at the Shriners Children’s College Classic.
"We played really bad," A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle said postgame. "I thought Louisville came out with a complete [game plan]. They had to sit over there and watch that complete pregame video of us winning last year. You could tell they were ready to play."
Ten years to the date, the Aggies lost 14-2 against No. 1 North Carolina in the annual classic at Minute Maid Park. Prior to the top of the seventh, Louisville held the shutout thanks to six quality innings from Ryan Hawks.
For A&M (5-4), things took a turn for the worst from the start. Natan Dettmer allowed back-to-back doubles to begin the first frame before a wild pitch scored the first run. Two innings later, the Cardinals (8-1) led by four. Midway through the third, it was 6-0.
"We haven't gotten off to a great start of the season, but this is the first game where we really played for the most part poorly in all phases," Schlossnagle said.
Mistakes were made across the diamond, especially behind the plate. Max Kaufer, the 17-year-old phenom who elected to enroll early, missed two balls that led to a pair of Cardinals runs in the first.
Relief pitcher Matt Dillard also threw a wild pitch in the fifth inning that ricocheted off Kaufer's knee, allowing Patrick Forbes to score.
"Kaufer looked like a high school player playing college ball," Schlossnagle said. "He's a better player than that."
A&M struck out 11 times, eight coming off Hawks (3-0), who used his four-seam-sinker combo to get the Aggies to chase low. Outside of Bost, Trevor Werner and Austin Bost were the only two starters to nab a hit.
“I thought Hawks was the story of the game, to be honest with you,” Schlossnagle said. “He attacked the strike zone with two different kinds of fastballs. He threw his breaking ball for strikes enough. Guys chased at some.
Cardinals shortstop Christian Knapczyk finished 2-for-5 and had a pair of extra-base hits. Last season against the Aggies in the College Station Super Regional, the sophomore finished with four hits, including a double, but finishing with a .346 batting average in the seires.
"He's that guy you wish was on your team," Schlossnagle said of Knapczyk. "You hate him on the other team. I still don't know to get him out."
The Aggies will return to Minute Maid Park for Game 2 of the Shriners Children’s College Classic against Rice. The Owls (4-5) defeated Texas Tech 3-2 in the Friday opener.
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