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Sunday, June 1 Houston rallies to clinch regional Associated Press |
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Houston took advantage of a Texas A&M pitching meltdown in the 10th inning Sunday night, pulling out a 7-6 comeback victory to win the NCAA College Station regional. Brian Martin and Sam Mitchell drew back-to-back two-out walks for the Cougars in the 10th. Then Stuart Musslewhite hit a slow dribbler in front of the mound that A&M pitcher Matt Farnum fielded and threw away, allowing Martin to score the winning run. The Cougars, who trailed 6-2 going into the bottom of the eighth, scored two runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to force the game into extra innings. Houston (36-28) will meet Rice in the super regional next weekend. A&M ends its season at 45-19. The Cougars, who came up through the loser's bracket, won the early game Sunday, forcing a second game. A&M built a 3-1 lead after three innings on home runs by Scott Beerer, Justin Pouk and Cliff Pennington. A&M added two more runs in the sixth, capitalizing on a Houston error and an RBI single by Erik Schindewolf. A solo homer by John Infante made it 6-1 in the eighth inning. Houston started its comeback in the bottom of the eighth when Hyung Cho scored on a wild pitch by A&M reliever Scott Beerer. Michael Bourn scored on an RBI single by Matt Farrington. Brett Logan scored on a triple by Bourn in the ninth. Then, Bourn scored on a sacrifice fly by Travis Tully, tying the game at 6. A&M threatened in the 10th as Beerer led off with a double, but reliever Ryan Wagner was able to escape the jam. Wagner (6-5) got the victory. Farnum (7-2) took the loss. In the earlier game, Cho hit a two-run home run in the seventh and Wagner pitched two scoreless inning as the Cougars downed Texas A&M 7-6. Cho went 3-for-4 with three RBI. His homer over the left-center field fence off reliever Dan Donaldson (1-3) erased a one-run deficit in a game that went back and forth all day. Houston jumped on top early with three runs on two hits and three A&M errors in the first inning, but the Aggies came back with a run in the third and three in the fourth to take the lead. The Cougars took the lead again in the bottom of the fourth before A&M tied it at 5-5 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Scott Beerer that scored Cory Patton. A&M's Justin Ruggiano homered in the seventh for a 6-5 lead. Wagner pitched a perfect eighth and struck out the side in the ninth after a leadoff walk for his 14th save. Kevin Roberts (1-0) pitched 1 and 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit.
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