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OKLAHOMA CITY - Texas A&M had just what it wanted: a 3-0 count on Blake Stouffer with the bases loaded in a one-run game. Nebraska relief pitcher Matt Foust blew a fastball through the zone and followed with two sliders to strike out the Aggies' top run producer and end the top of the eighth. The Cornhuskers (30-23) then scored an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning and held on to beat 11th-ranked A&M 5-3 Wednesday in the first game of the Big 12 Baseball Championship at the Bricktown Ballpark. "If you had to ask me who I wanted at the plate in that situation, there is only one guy," Texas A&M coach Rob Childress said. "He's done it for us all year long, and he'll do it tomorrow." Down 4-3 in the top of the eighth, the Aggies (41-16) loaded the bases on a Parker Dalton walk and infield hits by Brandon Hicks and Ben Feltner. Stouffer said he took the 3-0 pitch "to try and get a run on a walk." Foust's fastball made the count 3-1. "And he came back with two sliders that were probably down in the zone that I shouldn't have chased," said Stouffer, who went 3 for 5 and had his 71st RBI of the season for the Aggies' first run. "They ended up getting me." Foust, who picked up his seventh save with 3 2/3 innings of relief, came off the mound very animated after the strikeout. "It's nice to have a pitch to rely on, and I relied on it there and trusted it," Foust said. "Usually I am chill, but they told me I looked like a fool, so I guess I did [get pumped up]." Unfortunately for the Aggies, Stouffer wasn't the only one to leave men on base. A&M was 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position and one of those hits only moved a baserunner from second to third. A&M left 13 men on base and stranded a runner in scoring position in seven of the nine innings. "It was all about missed opportunities, and that is kind of the way it has been the last couple of weeks," Childress said of the Aggies' five straight Big 12 losses. "Nebraska was able to get their leadoff hitter on, and they moved them into scoring position and capitalized with a runner in scoring position and less than two outs." Nebraska scored runs on a two-out single in the first inning, sacrifice flies in the third, fifth and sixth innings and a balk in the eighth. The first two runs came off A&M starter Clayton Ehlert. Matt Ueckert, Gary Campfield and Travis Starling each gave up one. Leadoff walks led to two of the Cornhusker runs. A&M's tough day at the plate began early. The Aggies had runners on first and second with no outs in the first two innings and were unable to move any of them to third. "We tried to bunt them over in the first inning and popped it up and don't execute," Childress said. "The next time we fake the bunt and steal and the third baseman didn't bite, and they threw [Kyle Colligan] out at third base. I really think the difference was the first two innings. That's what we've done all year long, get the lead early. We weren't able to do that today." Failing to get runs across early also allowed Nebraska starter Tony Watson, who had struggled in his last three outings, to gain confidence and work into the fifth inning. He gave up seven hits and two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings while picking up his sixth win in 10 decisions. "We had talked about it before the game, getting off to a good start because Tony isn't at 100 percent right now," Childress said. "He's out there pitching on guts and just competed his tail off and did a great job for them." Said Nebraska coach Mike Anderson: "We could have mixed things up and done different things because Tony hadn't thrown real well his last three outings. But when you've got a guy out there giving his heart and soul and leaving it all on the field, then you owe them." A&M finally chased Watson after Craig Stinson and Colligan opened the sixth with singles and Brodie Greene moved them up with a sacrifice bunt. Foust, the Huskers' top reliever, came in and induced pinch-hitter Josh Stinson to ground out to second. Craig Stinson scored the Aggies' second run on the groundout. Foust then struck out Dalton with Colligan on third. Nebraska catcher Mitch Albeita saved a run during Dalton's at-bat by diving on a Foust pitch outside and in the dirt. Even when A&M scored, it seemed the Aggies could have had more. Stouffer knocked in the Aggies' first run in the fifth but was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double. With one out in the seventh, the Aggies had the bases loaded but were only able to get a sacrifice fly from Craig Stinson for their final run. Pinch-hitter Kirkland Rivers struck out looking to end the threat. A&M, which has now lost four straight, must face Texas at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Texas, which swept a three-game series against A&M last weekend, beat Kansas State 19-10 in the second game of Pool 1 play Wednesday. "I think our players have something to prove to them tomorrow," Childress said. Rivers is slated to start for the Aggies. He has just one start in his 26 appearances this season. Kyle Nicholson, the Aggies' first-team all-Big 12 pitcher, would be used only in short relief and with a lead late. Texas' Friday night starter James Russell is expected to start for Texas. A&M must beat Texas and Kansas State on Saturday and have every other game in its pool fall right to make the tournament's championship game Sunday.
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NOTES - Nebraska has won its last 84 games when leading going into the ninth. ... The Cornhuskers' 19 saves is fourth nationally. .. Nebraska is 24-5 all-time at Bricktown Ballpark. ... A&M has yet to be shutout this season and has at least 10 hits in 26 of its last 37 games. ... The 13 runners left on base by A&M was the most for the Aggies against a Big 12 opponent this season.
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