Texas A&M and Davidson played the longest super regional Game 1 in NCAA baseball tournament history

Texas A&M and Davidson just polished of a gem of a baseball game in their opening bout of the College Station super regional tilt, and in the process they set an NCAA baseball tournament record. THEY PLAYED 15 INNINGS, THE LONGEST OPENING SUPER REGIONAL GAME EVER.

Texas A&M beat Davidson, 7-6, but that’s of only secondary concern here.

Davidson danced around the Aggies’ pitching staff in the early proceedings, going scoreless through the first five innings before exploding for five runs in the sixth and seventh. A&M couldn’t find the plate through the rest of regulation and the Wildcats scored a run in the top of the ninth to tie it up at six-all, before holding on through the bottom of the frame to send the game to extras.

And then the marathon was on. The Aggies’ vaunted pitching staff threw as everyone expected, but that Davidson could keep pace so deep into its pen was remarkable. In the end, though, third baseman George Janca shot a single through to right, and Braden Shewmake scored from a bases-loaded third to seal the deal. The Aggies stand one win away from a trip to Omaha for the College World Series proper.

The Wildcats and Aggies’ feat here of course pales in comparison to when Texas topped Boston College, 3-2, in the opening regional of 2009’s tournament. That bonkers outing lasted 25 DAMN INNINGS, and it remains the longest college baseball game in history. It began at 7:02 p.m. ET on a Saturday and ended at 2:05 a.m. Sunday. Seven hours, three minutes, all told.

The longest super regional game ever played was in 2015, when TCU beat Texas A&M in the rubber match of the Fort Worth super in 16 innings, 5-4.

Davidson and A&M didn’t require two calendar days to end the argument, but let’s at least appreciate that these two teams tangoed for over five hours, and they have to do it again on Saturday.