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Updated April 29, 2007 8:35 AM

Aggies take second game against Baylor

By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Sports Writer

Don't think the significance of Saturday's 5-3 victory over Baylor escaped Texas A&M coach Rob Childress.

"We haven't done this all conference long," Childress said. "It's the first time [we've been] 2-0 and have a chance to sweep. We need to take advantage of it."

TEXAS A&M 5, BAYLOR 3 RECORDS: Texas A&M (35-10, 11-8 Big 12), Baylor (24-21, 7-13) WP: David Newmann (7-1) LP: Randall Linebaugh (2-5) GAME 3: 1 p.m. Sunday at Olsen Field

The 16th-ranked Aggies (35-10, 11-8 Big 12) will go for their first three-game Big 12 series sweep since May 2004 at 1 p.m. Sunday at Olsen Field.

The Bears (24-22, 7-13) will be trying to avoid being swept for the third time this Big 12 season. Baylor lost all three games to two of the top three teams in the league, Texas and Oklahoma State.

Childress was nearly as pleased with how the Aggies won as he was with being up two games in a series.

"Today was a well-played game," Childress said. "I'd much rather play this [kind of] game than yesterday's game. It was pitched well, and there was good defense all the way around. It was a good baseball game."

Aggie starting pitcher David Newmann (7-1) bounced back from a two-inning outing against Oklahoma State last Saturday to throw 7 1/3 solid innings for the win.

"I knew I was better than I showed last week," Newmann said. "This was very encouraging. I came out today, keeping the ball down a majority of the time, and it builds your spirits up."

His lone crucial mistake was sent over the left-field fence by his former junior college roommate and batterymate at San Jacinto College, Matt Czimskey, who hit a three-run homer in the third.

"He's a great hitter, and I left it over the zone," Newmann said "He deserved it I guess. It's terrible. He gave me a grin."

Newmann gave up five hits, three walks and three runs, all earned, while striking out seven.

"I thought he was extremely efficient," Childress said of Newmann. "I know he'd like to have that one pitch back, but he was outstanding today. And Kyle Thebeau getting back on the horse with pressure on him did a great job getting the last five outs of the game."

Thebeau came in with one out and a runner on in the eighth and picked up his team-leading fifth save by not allowing any of the five hitters he faced to reach base.

A&M upped its home run total to 42 for the season with two shots to left.

Craig Stinson put the Aggies on the board in the second with a leadoff homer, his sixth of the season.

"It just gives us a little spark to get the offense going," Stinson said. "I got a good hitter's count and got a fastball middle in and did what your supposed to do with it."

Blake Stouffer added to the lead in the same frame with a two-run single up the middle to plate Parker Dalton and Brandon Hicks.

Enlarge photo

Buy this photo Eagle Photo/Gabriel Chmielewski Baylor's Matt Czinskey tags out Texas A&M's Luke Anders at home plate, but the Aggies still won 5-3 over the Bears on Saturday afternoon at Olsen Field.

The fourth and final run of the frame came when Stouffer got caught in a rundown but stayed alive long enough for Ben Feltner to race home from third.

All four runs came off Randall Linebaugh (2-5), who was lifted after the second inning.

"Our starters have struggled the last two weeks, and Randall has struggled more than anybody," Baylor coach Steve Smith said. "It's hard for me to pull a veteran pitcher out that's had success in the past."

Dalton's solo homer in the fourth, his fifth of the season, was the final run of the game.

Dalton's homer was off Willie Kempf, who otherwise kept the Bears in the game by allowing just four hits over 4 2/3 innings. Tim Matthews finished for Baylor with 1 1/3 innings of no-hit ball.

Both teams' pitchers got help from their defenses, most notably from Baylor shortstop Beamer Weems. He had five assists and ranged into left field near the foul line to rob Luke Anders of a hit.

"I think we played very well. It wasn't like we gave the game away," Smith said. "This was about as well played a college baseball game as you'll see. There were so many good plays defensively by both infields, and I think Beamer is in a league by himself defensively."

The loss keeps the Bears in ninth place. If the season ended this weekend, Baylor would be out of the Big 12 Tournament for the first time.

"We haven't talked about that at all," Smith said. "I haven't looked at the standings. I didn't even know what our record was until I said that last week and [a media member] told me. Nobody likes to lose, and everybody wants to win today, but this group of guys ... there time will come."

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NOTES - A&M had two wins and a tie in its final home series last season against Kansas State. The final game, which was postponed for a couple of hours because of rain, ended in a tie because of the Big 12's travel rule. ... Baylor's Chase Gerdes had his 12-game hitting streak halted, going 0 for 4. ... Feltner singled in the first to keep his hitting streak alive at 10. ... Two freshmen will start in the series finale. Kendal Volz is 5-1 with a 4.98 ERA for Baylor. Clayton Ehlert will get his first Big 12 start. He is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA.