The Texas A&M baseball team came into their penultimate regular season SEC series on a roll. With five consecutive series wins under their belts, and the #10 slot in the national rankings, the Aggies had already announced their presence to the nation as a contender on the diamond.
But they saved their best performance for their home conference finale, a weekend tilt at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park with the defending national champion Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The weekend started with what has become the Aggies’ specialty of late, a comeback win capped off by a Troy Claunch bases loaded double in the bottom of the 7th inning to put A&M out in front 8-7, a lead they wouldn’t squander.
On Saturday, the story was similar, A&M fell behind 4-0 in the top of the third, but Dylan Rock homered in the bottom half of the inning, and Trevor Warner hit a bob of his own in the 5th to bring the Aggies to within a run. A 7th inning double by Jack Moss put the Aggies up 6-5, and after the Bulldogs tied the game in the top of the 8th, Ryan Targac knocked a two-bagger of his own to give the home team a 7-6 lead, and the Aggies clinched the series with a 9-6 come from behind win.
And on Sunday, with a chance to clinch their first SEC series sweep since 2019, the Aggies put together the most complete performance of the weekend. Offensively, it was the usual suspects who put the Aggies out in front, as Claunch, Targac, and Werner, with some help from right fielder Brett Minnich, put together a 4th inning rally to put A&M ahead 3-1. By the 7th inning, it was 6-1 Aggies, but the Bulldogs strung together two hits, and a walk to make it 6-2 with two men on base with cleanup hitter Hunter Hines at the plate.
That was when coach Jim Schlossnagle called on sophomore Will Johnston out of the bullpen, and Johnston slammed the door shut on any hopes the Bulldogs had, striking out 5 of the 7 batters he faced without allowing a single baserunner to close the game out, and clinch the sweep.
The sweep moves the Aggies to 33-16 on the year, and 17-10 in conference play, and they will finish their regular season schedule with a three-game series against Ole Miss as the attempt to win the SEC West, and position themselves for a deep post-season run.
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