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Updated 8:20 AM on Sunday, May 20, 2007

Texas rallies past Aggies for victory

By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Sports Writer

AUSTIN - If the Texas A&M baseball team has visions of winning championships, the Aggies can look across the infield this weekend to see how.

The fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns clinched their second consecutive Big 12 regular season title with an opportunistic 3-2 victory over the No. 9 Aggies on Saturday night at Disch-Falk Field.

AGGIE BASEBALL TEXAS 3, TEXAS A&M 2 RECORDS: Texas (41-14, 20-6), Texas A&M (41-14, 13-12) WP: Joseph Krebs (7-1) LP: Kirkland Rivers (1-3) NEXT: Texas A&M at Texas, 2 p.m. Sunday

They won by taking advantage of the only break they got - an error in the eighth inning that set up a game-winning single by Josh Prince.

"If we score a lot of runs, we can overcome an error or two, but facing a good team like Texas, if you make a couple of mistakes, they are going to take the game from you, and that's what they did tonight," A&M coach Rob Childress said. "That's what they do. That's why they are so good."

The Longhorns were given an extra out and an extra base in the eighth when first baseman Blake Stouffer was unable to hang on to what would have been the Aggies' third double play of the game.

"I've caught that ball a million times in my life, and I thought I had it, and it just tipped off my glove," Stouffer said. "I thought I had it, and it got past me."

Instead of getting out of the inning with the game tied at 2, hard-luck loser Kirkland Rivers (1-3) had to face Prince, who sent a 1-0 pitch up the middle to drive in Chais Fuller, who alertly went to second on the error.

"That's what it finally came down to," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "There was only one [opportunity] for us. [A&M] executed beautifully, but then it finally took that miscue to put Fuller in scoring position, and then we got the clutch hit by Josh Prince."

Texas left-hander Joseph Krebs (7-3) delivered in relief of starter Adrian Alaniz, blanking the Aggies on two hits over 4 1/3 innings. UT closer Randy Boone struck out the side in the ninth for his 12th save.

Garrido gave assistant coach Skip Johnson credit for bringing Krebs out of the Longhorn bullpen at the right time.

"Krebs' lengthy outing is why we won," Garrido said. "Alaniz was trying too hard and lost his rhythm and struggled. Coach Johnson made a great move to bring in Joseph."

A&M chased Alaniz with single runs in the third and fourth innings.

Brandon Hicks drew a leadoff walk off of Alaniz, who struggled to find the plate for most his 3 2/3 innings. With two outs, Luke Anders singled Hicks to third, and Craig Stinson drove Hicks home with a hard single to left-center.

In the fourth, Dane Carter walked, stole second and eased home on Hicks' single to left.

Texas answered in the fourth and fifth to square the game at 2. David Newmann, who went a strong 6 1/3 innings, leaned on his defense to keep the things from getting worse.

Bradley Suttle singled and Preston Clark doubled to start the fourth. Carter gloved a grounder to third and kept the runners at second and third while getting the first out. Fuller then plated Suttle and moved Clark to third with a single.

Stouffer slowed the Longhorns' small-ball attack by moving in quickly on a safety squeeze bunt attempt by Prince and throwing out Clark at home to end the threat.

Texas' Jordan Danks walked, and Kyle Russell and Chance Wheeless each singled to open the fifth. Wheeless' hit scored Danks, but it produced just one run because Stinson threw out Russell trying to steal just before the hit.

The Aggies ended the fifth-inning uprising with one of their two double plays.

With one game remaining in the regular season, the Longhorns are 41-14 overall and 20-6 in the Big 12. A&M fell to 41-14 and 13-12.

"We have to learn to play at a high level in a relaxed state of mind, and we are going to have to get to that point in a hurry," Childress said. "I felt we got a little bit tight at the end. That's what we've got to learn from, and this team will."

Garrido had made a prediction of sorts at the beginning of the season.

"It really wasn't a guarantee. I just said we were going to win because I have confidence in all the players we have, and more confidence in their attitude," Garrido said. "And that's why I had the courage to say we were going to win the championship."

Game 3 will be at Disch-Falk at 2 p.m. Sunday.

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NOTES - Texas Tech was eliminated from the Big 12 tournament field Friday night, and Kansas' season also will end Sunday after the Jayhawks lost to Nebraska 11-9 on Saturday. ... By winning the first two games of the series, the Longhorns won the final State Farm Lone Star point to win the trophy 10 1/2 to 8 1/2.