Olsen Magic: Texas A&M Scores Seven in Ninth, Advances to Super Regionals

Behind the bats of Dylan Rock and Jack Moss, the Aggies return to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2017

COLLEGE STATION -- Texas A&M might be down. In fact, it happens often depending on the night. That's fine with coach Jim Schlossnagle so long as the Aggies are never out. 

This Aggie ball club is never out. Even when down by one in the ninth inning, A&M continues to keep the 'Olsen Magic' alive. And in front of a sold out crowd in the walls of Blue Bell Park, the Aggies plated seven runs late to pick up the 15-9 win over TCU.  

The fifth-seeded Aggies (40-18) will move on to the Super Regionals and remain in College Station for another week. As for Schlossnagle, he'll earn bragging rights over his former team with a victory in the first matchup since leaving Fort Worth last offseason. 

“Just when you think our guys are going to give in, they don’t. Most resilient team I’ve ever coached," Schlossnagle said. "Just an honor to be in the dugout with them.”

Over the course of five hours from first pitch and into the early Monday morning, the Aggies had highs and lows. On the mound, starter Ryan Prager allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings pitch while giving up four hits before Schlossnagle saw enough. 

Reliever Chris Cortez was called upon in the third and took two innings to find his rhythm. A&M's defense did no favors for the freshman pitcher. An error by shortstop Kole Kaler kept the fourth inning alive with zero outs. 

Cortez had his own error on a sacrifice bunt from TCU second baseman Gray Rodgers, allowing David Bishop to score from second. Left fielder Porter Brown tacked on another run on a fielder's choice in the fourth to make it 3-0. 

Things went according to plan for Horned Frogs starter Austin Krob. As the night rolled on, the junior left-hander made mincemeat of the Aggies' bats, allowing three hits while striking out eight through 5 1/3 innings. His one blemish came in the sixth with a walk to outfielder Dylan Rock. It eventually would lead to a run thanks to an RBI single from Aggies second baseman Ryan Targac. 

"We would have liked to pitch a little bit differently at the tail end, but I can't say enough out about our guys and our program and the heart they showed," TCU coach Kirk Saarloos said.  

A&M showed life following Krob's departure. A wild pitch from reliever Luke Savage allowed Austin Bost to score from third and put A&M down by one. A leadoff single from Brett Minnich and double from Jordan Thompson put runners in scoring position for third baseman Trevor Werner to tie the game with an RBI single. 

The Aggies took the lead with a sacrifice fly from first baseman Jack Moss before Rock's three-run dinger put A&M ahead by five. 

“Just keep fighting. Never give up. Just keep going, winning pitches,” Rock said. “Just do what we do.”

Nothing can be easy in matchups with the Horned Frogs. Reliever Joseph Menefee allowed four runs in the bottom frame, including a three-run blast from third baseman Brayden Taylor to tie the game at seven. Schlossnagle went back to the bullpen, this time calling on Will Johnston (2-1) to end the inning with a strikeout. 

Werner broke the tie in the eighth with an RBI single, but the Horned Frogs responded soon after with a two-run homer from shortstop Tommy Sacco in the bottom half of the inning. TCU had the advantage and needed three outs to force another game, but the Aggies had different plans. 

Catcher Troy Claunch tied the game for a fifth time with an RBI single in the ninth. Outfielder Jordan Thompson gave A&M the lead on an RBI groundout. From there, the hits kept coming. 

Moss continued his postseason success with a two-run single to left field to extend the lead. Rock followed up his three-run blast with a bases clearing double to right-center field. 

Designated hitter Austin Bost put the finishing touches on a flawless ninth with an RBI single. Freshman reliever Brad Rudis came in needing only 20 pitches to end the night. 

“Once they get a little bit of momentum, especially playing at home, it feeds off itself,”  Saarloos said. “We just couldn’t get it stopped.”

The Aggies will face the winner of Louisville-Michigan next week in a best-of-three series for a shot at the College World Series. The last time A&M made it to Omaha, it played in front of the home crowd with a series sweep over Davidson in 2017. 

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