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Updated 6:58 AM on Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Aggies win Regional title

Strong pitching, big second inning help Texas A&M advance

By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Staff Writer

It took a pitcher with a Cajun name to take down Louisiana-Lafayette and put the Texas A&M Aggies into the Super Regional.

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Buy this photo Eagle Photo/Butch Ireland Texas A&M pitcher Kyle Thebeau is tackled by his teammates after pitching a complete game with 13 strikeouts in the Aggies' 5-2 win over Louisiana-Lafayette to clinch a regional title on Monday.

With nearly 5,672 fans chanting "TEE-BOW, TEE-BOW" in unison, Kyle Thebeau struck out the side in the ninth inning, preserving a 5-2 victory in the championship of the College Station regional Monday night at Olsen Field.

By going through the losers' bracket and claiming the title, the Aggies (48-17) will meet the Rice Owls this weekend in the Super Regional in Houston.

Thebeau struck out a career-high 13, including the last five batters he faced, in pitching a complete-game seven-hitter and picking up his third win against five losses.

"They were chanting my name but for the most part I was trying to focus on the hitter," Thebeau said. "I was in awe of that [the chanting]. I couldn't believe it was happening.

"I tried to ignore it, but it pumped me up a bit. But if attracts my attention too much it keeps my focus off the hitter and I didn't want to do that."

Thebeau had to focus most in the eighth when the Ragin' Cajuns started the inning with singles by Devon Bourque and Xavier Alexander. Both advanced when shortstop Brandon Hicks charged a slow bouncer to get Nolan Gisclair for the first out.

COLLEGE STATION REGIONAL MONDAY'S GAME: Texas A&M 5, Louisiana-Lafayette 2 NEXT: Super Regional, Texas A&M at Rice, Friday-Sunday

Thebeau took care of the rest, striking out the Cajuns' best hitter, Jonathan Lucroy, and then striking out cleanup hitter Scott Hawkins looking.

Two pitches (both balls) into the inning, A&M coach Rob Childress came out to talk to Thebeau.

"He was coming out to settle me down, but what was running through my mind was [Scott] Migl got pulled in the seventh after he pitched a gem, and I'm thinking I'm going for a complete game," Thebeau said. "After the two singles, I felt fortunate that he left me in because usually when he gets on the phone he comes down."

Childress joked later that he was calling his wife at the time Thebeau looked into the dugout on the first-base side.

"When he throws strikes, he probably has the best stuff on the team," Childress said. "He's had some good outings and some bad innings, but he kept his head up the entire time and kept showing up for work."

Thebeau's last start had been on March 31 against Nebraska, when he went 1/3 of an inning. On Monday he threw 108 pitches, 79 for strikes, and didn't walk a batter.

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Buy this photo Butch Ireland Texas A&M dogpiles on the pitching mound after defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 5-2 Monday, June 4, 2007 in the College Station Regional. Texas A&M advances to play Rice University in the Super Regional. (AP Photo/Bryan College Station Eagle/Butch Ireland)

"My family does have Cajun relatives," said Thebeau, who believes the spelling of his surname may have been changed somewhere along the line. "And yes, it would be fair to say it's a Cajun name."

Louisiana-Lafayette coach Tony Robichaux had said all tournament his team's M.O. was defense and pitching, but it failed the Cajuns early.

A&M got to Louisiana-Lafayette starting pitcher Buddy Glass in the second inning, scoring four runs by hitting for the cycle as a team and taking advantage of an error.

Craig Stinson led it off with a home run over the left-field fence. It was his team-leading 12th homer of the year.

Brian Ruggiano tripled with one out and was brought home on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Feltner.

Parker Dalton reached on third baseman Devery Van De Keere's error, and the Aggies made the Cajuns pay when Dane Carter doubled home Dalton. Kyle Colligan then singled up the middle, scoring Carter.

The Aggies thought they should have extended the lead in the third. Blake Stouffer doubled, advanced on Stinson's sacrifice and darted home on Luke Anders' grounder to second.

The Cajuns' Xavier Alexander threw home, and home plate umpire Tony Maners called Stouffer out.

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Buy this photo Eagle Photo/Butch Ireland Texas A&M's Dane Carter (47) is congratulated by teammates after scoring in the second inning against Louisiana-Lafayette on Monday.

A&M third base coach Matt Deggs came charging down the line to argue the call and before Childress could get to Maners, Deggs was tossed from the game.

The Aggies failed to score in the inning and the Cajuns followed with their two runs.

A two-out error by opened the door on Bourque's grounder and Alexander, Gisclair and Lucroy followed with singles to score the runs.

Thebeau got Hawkins to fly out to right to get out of the jam.

"Just like that, we lost the momentum with a three-run swing," Childress said. "We don't get the call at home and then we go back out and give them two unearned runs.

"We were able to keep it together strictly because of what Thebeau was doing on the mound."

In the seventh, the Aggies tacked on an insurance run.

Colligan tripled with one out. Louisiana-Lafayette's Matt Pilgreen then walked Hicks, and Blake Stouffer hit a one hopper that caromed off Pilgreen's glove to second baseman Xavier Alexander. Stouffer beat the throw and Colligan scored on the play.

Pilgreen kept the No. 2 seed Cajuns (45-17) in the game by pitching six innings in relief and giving up just one run.

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NOTES - A&M beat Rice twice during the regular season. ... Kyle Stouffer tied Jason Tyner for third on the single-season hit list with his 100th in the seventh inning. ... All-Big 12 pitcher Kyle Nicholson appeared as if he tried to go warm up in the eighth inning but then flipped the ball to Gary Campfield, who was in the bullpen with Travis Starling. ... The team had a dogpile at the mound for the second time in eight days. A&M coach Rob Childress said he had some blood on his uniform afterward and Kyle Colligan said it was from his cut lip. ... Cajun third baseman Matt Hicks, who was hit in the head with a pitch in the first game of the tournament was in the hospital with a headache on Sunday night and did not play. He had played on Saturday and Sunday. The ULL center fielder was only available for pinch-hitting duty after fouling a ball off his foot the night before. ... Aggies that made the all-tournament team were Craig Stinson at catcher, Colligan in the outfield, pitcher Kyle Thebeau and MVP Blake Stouffer at first base.