Texas A&M is 1 win away from going to Omaha. In Friday’s Super Regional opener, the No. 5 seed Aggies knocked off No. 12 seed Louisville in thrilling fashion. Graduate catcher Troy Claunch drove in the winning run for an after-midnight 5-4 walk-off in Bryan-College Station.

“I was trying to slow myself down and trust my breathwork that we do all the time,” Claunch said after the game. “In that situation, I had already faced him, and I was pretty comfortable because I had seen every pitch that he has. When he went first pitch breaking ball hitting (Ryan) Targac I was fairly confident he wasn’t going to come back with another off-speed pitch. I was sitting in the fast ball and got one I liked.”

Texas A&M got out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning, but it didn’t last long. Louisville scored 3 in the top of the 2nd inning on a 2-run single and sac fly. The Aggies cut it to 3-2 in the 3rd inning before Louisville made it 4-2 in the 5th inning.

In the 7th, Claunch singled to lead off the inning. Jordan Thompson hit a 2-run home run to tie things up 4-4.

Thompson surprised himself a bit with his homer.

“Not going to lie, I had to do a double-take,” the junior centerfielder said after the game. “I don’t think I have hit a ball to that part of the ballpark out. I have had a couple on the wall occasionally during batting practice, but never out. It was a blast to see it go out.”

Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle was proud of the way the Aggies battled back and got the victory. He cautioned that they haven’t advanced just yet.

“Great ball game. Great atmosphere,” Schlossnagle told reporters. “Nothing surprises me from our team anymore, there is nothing else we could possibly do for the rest of the year that would surprise me. To leave 17 guys on I thought we had some good at-bats. (Jared) Poland did an awesome job and all the guys that they brought in seemed to make a pitch. Jordan Thompson’s homer was outstanding, I am super proud of him the way he has handled this year and stuck with the process of having himself ready to play when called upon. Troy Claunch always saves his best at-bats till the end of the game, and there is no one else we would’ve wanted up there more than him against (Michael) Prosecky. This was one game, and we are glad to have won it, but we have a long way to go to advance.”

Postgame quotes via Texas A&M team website