Rattlin' Bog in Omaha

In 2004, Jeff Kent hit a walk-off two-run homer to win Game 5 of the National League Championship Series for the Houston Astros. Tonight, Kaeden Kent -- Jeff's son -- hit a decisive grand slam in a 15-9 Texas A&M win that clinched the Bryan-College Station Super Regional. With the win, the Aggies have clinched a spot in the College World Series for the second time in three years.

Kent's slam capped an amazing nine-run inning top of the seventh inning for the Aggies (49-13) as the Oregon Ducks bullpen completely imploded. The Ducks (40-20) entered the inning with an 8-4 lead, but trouble began immediately for reliever Brock Moore (4-1). He walked shortstop Ali Camarillo, then gave up a single to Kent, playing second base after Saturday's season-ending injury to Braden Montgomery forced a shuffling of the A&M lineup. Moore struck out centerfielder Travis Chestnut, but walked catcher and new leadoff hitter Jackson Appel on four pitches.

It only took Moore five pitches to walk right fielder Jace LaViolette and force home a run, but he was able to strike out third baseman Gavin Grahovac for the second out. Moore then completely fell apart, walking designated hitter Hayden Schott and hitting first baseman Ted Burton with a pitch, forcing in two more runs.

Inexplicably, Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski stuck with Moore, who repaid his coach by walking left fielder Caden Sorrell to tie the game at 8. Wasikowski finally removed Moore in favor of little-used Jaxon Jordan, who promptly walked in another run by walking Camarillo for a second time in the inning.

With the Aggies now up 9-8 and the Olsen Field crowd at a fever pitch, Jordan found the strike zone -- and the Oregon quickly wished he hadn't. Kent turned on a two ball, two strike inside fastball and put it well over the wall in right center, sending the crowd of more than 7,000 into an utter frenzy. Kent put up four fingers as he rounded first, then gave the Michael Jordan/Jeremy Pena shoulder shrug as he rounded third.

By the end of the inning, the Aggies had just two hits -- both by Kent -- but had benefitted from seven walks and a hit batter. It was a vicious turnaround from the first six innings of the game, which Oregon led at one point 7-2.

After the Aggies took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Schott, disaster struck almost immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Starter Shane Sdao got just one out and gave up a two-run homer to Ducks catcher Chase Meggers before leaving with an apparent elbow injury after just three batters. Reliever Brad Rudis entered and promptly gave up homers to the first two batters he faced, putting the Aggies down 4-1 at the end of a single inning.

The Aggies turned to former Saturday starter Tanner Jones in the bottom of the second, and he worked two innings, giving up 3 runs -- 2 earned -- on 5 hits. A&M scratched out two runs in the top of the fourth to make the score 7-4, but Oregon had an opportunity to put the game away in the bottom half of the inning.

After Brock Peery walked the only two batters he faced in the bottom of the fourth, A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle turned to seldom-used left-hander Kaiden Wilson. Wilson walked the first batter he faced, then got a strikeout and a double play to end the threat.

Wilson would give up an unearned run in the sixth after an errant pickoff throw put right fielder Mason Neville in scoring position, and was then knocked in by DH Dominic Hellman. Hellman was Wilson's last hitter faced, and A&M brought in Zane Badmaev, (3-0), who halted the damage and kept Oregon's lead at 8-4.

And then the top of the seventh came..

After the avalanche, the Aggies added two more insurance runs on an opposite field blast by Schott in the top of the eighth to put A&M up 15-8. Oregon would add a solo shot by Hellman in the bottom half of the frame, but that would be all stopper Evan Aschenbeck would give up in three innings of work to earn his ninth save.

The final out, appropriately, was handled by Kent, who struggled with a pop-up from centerfielder Bryce Boettcher before putting it away. It wasn't easy, it wasn't pretty, but it went A&M's way -- much like the series itself.