With outstanding pitching from Ryan Prager and Evan Aschenbeck (6-1) holding the Texas offense at bay for most of the night, the Aggies (46-13) scratched and clawed their way to a 4-2 victory and a spot in the Bryan-College Station Regional final. Texas (36-23) will face Louisiana Sunday afternoon in the loser's bracket in an effort to avoid elimination.

Playing from behind all night, A&M finally caught a pair of breaks in the top of the 11th. The Aggies loaded the bases with 2 out against Texas reliever Chase Lummus, but it looked like the Longhorns were about to get out of the inning when A&M first baseman Ted Burton hit a soft grounder right down the third base line.

Appearing to be confused on whether to charge the ball or stay back, Texas third baseman stumbled and let the ball go through his legs and hit the third base bag. Second baseman Kaden Kent, who had started the inning with a single off of Andre Duplantier II (2-2), scooted home with A&M's first lead of the night.

Lummus, who appeared to be rattled by the sudden change of events, proceeded to spike a breaking pitch to Aggie designated hitter Hayden Schott, which catcher Rylan Galvan had no chance of fielding as it went to the backstop. That allowed centerfielder Jace LaViolette to score, putting the Aggies up 4-2.

The Aggies truly found themselves behind from the first pitch Prager threw in the bottom of the first, which Texas first baseman Jared Thomas hit over the left field wall. On the other side, Longhorns starter Lebarron Johnson Jr. was effectively wild, not giving up a hit until the fourth inning while striking out 8 and featuring a fastball that frequently hit 97 mph.

While Prager wasn't throwing as hard, he was more efficient. Pounding the strike zone, the Aggie ace had an immaculate inning in the bottom of the fourth, striking out the side in nine pitches.

A&M finally broke through in the top of the fifth, when freshman left fielder Caden Sorrell crushed a Johnson pitch well over the left field wall and sending the Olsen Field crowd into a frenzy. Johnson, who threw 103 pitches, was done after 5 innings.

Texas took the lead back in the bottom of the sixth, when former A&M first baseman Kendall Schussler, now the DH at Texas, homered off of Prager to put the third-seeded Longhorns up 2-1. With the Aggies struggling to get good swings off of reliever Gage Boehm, it looked like that homer might be decisive.

But the Aggies were able to rally again in the top of the eighth, thanks to a pair of blunders by Texas shortstop Jalin Flores. Right fielder Braden Montgomery started the inning with a rocket up the middle that Flores fielded with a spectacular dive, but then threw the ball away allowing Montgomery to reach. Catcher Jackson Appel then walked on four pitches before Burton flew out, advancing Montgomery to third.

Schott then struck out after taking too long to get back in the batter's box on an 0-2 count, leaving the Aggies with runners on the corners with two out. Shortstop Ali Camarillo then hit a sharp grounder to Flores, who pulled Thomas off the first base bag with his throw, allowing Montgomery to score.

The game may have been tied at 2, but Texas' bats had gone completely silent since the entrance of Aschenbeck with one out in the seventh. A&M's stopper held Texas hitless for the remaining 4 2/3 innings, giving up 1 walk in the process. That one baserunner, in the bottom of the 10th, made it to third with two out before Flores flew out harmlessly to right, setting up Texas' collapse in the top of the 11th.

After the Aggies finally took the lead, Aschenbeck made it stand up. He dispatched the middle of the Texas lineup in order, getting Schussler to ground out to third on his 62nd and final pitch, just as the clock struck midnight.

By moving to 2-0 in the regional, A&M will wait and play the winner of the Louisana-Texas rematch at 7 p.m. Sunday night. The Longhorns and Ragin' Cajuns will play their elimination game starting at 2 p.m.