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Bullpen Delivers Big In Aggies Win Over Texas State

Chris Cortez and Josh Stewart provided the sprak to give A&M a victory against the Bobcats Tuesday evening.

Cole Thompson

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Chris Cortez weathered the storm multiple times last season when coming out of the bullpen for The Texas A&M Aggies en route to a College World Series appearance. Back in a similar role Tuesday night, he calmed the weather again against Texas State. 

Entering the game with a 10-9 lead at the top of the eighth, Cortez punched out back-to-back Bobcats, leaving the tying run stranded at third. The Las Vegas native retook the mound in the ninth inning and mowed down three straight batters to pick up the one-game series win. 

The Aggies end their five-game homestand on a two-game win streak and finish the week at Blue Bell Park on a 3-2 record. 

“It was kind of a frustrating game, but this might be my favorite win of the season so far because I think we had every opportunity to cash in after the first inning,” Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Then we take a lead, and we give it up, but the guys just hung in there.”

Cortez, who finished his freshman year with a 4.91 ERA and 32 strikeouts, initially won the starting job as the Sunday starter in the Aggies' weekend rotation. Sometimes pitchers can make the jump from the pen into a starting role. 

This wasn't one of those times.

Cortez struggled with his control and secondary pitch, allowing 15 earned runs in five starts. Following a woeful performance against LSU, Schlossnagle made the call to move him back to the pen.

Perhaps Cortez will find his way back into the rotation at some point in his A&M career, but the numbers have been promising since his "demotion." One might consider the switch a promotion as his 86 mph slider was the catalyst in both strikeouts against Texas State. In three games, Cortez has allowed two runs on two hits while striking out three. 

“That’d be awesome to get that the rest of the season, right?” Schlossnagle said.

Cortez closed the door, but Josh Stewart set the tone to complete the comeback. Entering the game in the third, the sophomore stuck out three batters in two innings of work. Stewart also showed promising command while working through a jam in the fourth inning, leaving a pair of runners stranded by forcing a pop-out to end the frame. 

"My fastball location was what helped me with all my other pitches, so getting that established down in the zone just opened up my slider and even my curveball too,” said Stewart. 

Starting pitching for the second half of conference play will make or break the Aggies' season. Left-hander Troy Wansing, who initially won the Saturday role in A&M's rotation, made his first start since March 25 and quickly saw his night come to a close.

The Purdue transfer lasted a season-low 0.2 innings after allowing five runs on three hits, including a first-inning grand slam by designated hitter Ryan Leary. Wansing also issued two walks, one of which gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead prior to the grand slam. 

“I still believe in him,” Schlossnagle said of Wansing. “You’ve got to go do it. Obviously, his confidence is really low. We’ve tried a lot of different things to get him going, but I find it hard to believe that we can’t have a great season without him giving us something.”

Since the start of conference play, A&M's starting pitching has been its Achilles heel. The Aggies rank 10th among SEC teams in team ERA (5.12) and third in hits allowed (261). 

Texas State starter Peyton Zabel has little success working through the heart of the Aggies' lineup, allowing five runs in his lone inning of work. Brett Minnich, and Trevor Werner each plated a run on RBI singles, while freshman Jace LaViolette tacked on two more with a two-out RBI double. LaViolette would come around to tie the game three pitches later on an RBI single from Jordan Thompson. 

Hunter Haas broke the 5-5 time on two-run homer in the fourth. An inning later, Thompson picked up his third RBI of the night on a two-run blast to left-center and extended A&M's lead to four. 

The Bobcats came marching back in the sixth thanks to a bases-clearing RBI double from Daylan Pena. Cade Manning tied the game at 9-9 after cranking a solo shot to dead center. 

Austin Bost, A&M's captain, delivered the biggest swing of the night in the bottom half of the seventh to retake the lead on an RBI double. After that, Cortez showed the baseball world that his fastball might be one of the more dangerous pitches late in games. 

“I definitely think things are coming together,” Bost said. “Guys are starting to come around, starting to get more hits, starting to just put more barrels in the ball, better at-bats. I like where we're at.”

The Aggies will hit the road Wednesday afternoon for an early week three-game series against Auburn. Schlossnagle did not say which pitchers would take the mound on Friday and Saturday, but Nathan Dettmer is expected to get the call to start the road trip Thursday evening. 

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Cole Thompson
COLE THOMPSON

Cole Thompson is a sports writer and columnist covering the NFL and college sports for SI's Fan Nation. A 2016 graduate from The University of Alabama, follow him on Twitter @MrColeThompson

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