Zach Doss was mobbed by his Aggies teammates as he made his way down to first base, moments after he was plunked to bring in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
Down 5-2 with only one out remaining, the Aggies loaded the bases before using four free passes β capped off by Doss’ hit by pitch β to give the Aggies a series-tying win over the Old Liners in the Fall World Series.
After the Old Liners got off to a hot start, with redshirt-junior Caleb Walls having a big night, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a single and a solo homer, the win seemed in the bag for the team. With Walls as leadoff hitter, the Old Liners put up three runs in the first two innings.
But the Old Liners offense, which held a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, wasn’t enough in the end.
The Aggies started their comeback in the fourth, putting up two runs off two wild pitches and an RBI-groundout from Doss that combined to score Max Costes and Kody Milton, respectively.
With an offense that lagged behind that of the Old Liners, it was the Aggies’ relief pitching that allowed for the late-inning comeback.
After relieving Zach Thompson in the second, left-hander Tuck Tucker went 2.2 innings, recording eight straight outs including four strikeouts.
Then, after a solid fifth inning from Tyler Blohm, redshirt sophomore Mike Vasturia threw a solid sixth inning and worked out of a jam in the top of the seventh to strand a runner at third after recording two strikeouts in a row. With that, the Aggies had a newfound momentum for a late-inning rally.
A walk from pinch-hitter Bryce Cunningham followed by a double down the third-base line from Ben Irvine and a walk to Michael Pineiro gave Costes the chance to give the Aggies the walk-off with two outs.
It took two more three more batters for the walk-off to come, after the Aggies worked four walks in a row and a final hit-by-pitch to seal the deal, making the late-inning comeback possible.
With the series tied at one game apiece, both teams will look claim the fall classic on Monday, with a Game 3 start time of 3:30 p.m.