Sometimes scores don’t really tell the whole story. Texas A&M (19-11, 4-6 SEC) took a few innings to retake the lead back from Auburn (18-11, 3-7 SEC), but solid pitching and consistent hitting put them on the right side of the scoreboard.
Nathan Dettmer got the Aggies off to a good start holding the Tigers scoreless and retiring the first six batters while striking out four of them. His pitching allowed the Aggies to take a two-run lead into the bottom of the third of a Ryan Targac single scoring Trevor Werner in the second inning. Then Brett Minnich, who’s been a hitting machine lately, knocked an RBI double in the third to score Hunter Haas.
A real stand up guy! 🫧@brettminnich17 rips one to right and goes into second, standing, for our second run. pic.twitter.com/B0SUoeWRos
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 7, 2023
Dettmers’ hot start hit a tragic halt at the bottom of the third. With a runner on second base and two outs, Dettmer walked a batter, then Auburn went in a mini hitting streak. Three straight singles and a double put the Tigers up 5-2.
Fortunately, those were the only runs scored by Auburn for the rest of the game as the Aggies clawed back into the lead. A home run by Jace LaViolette in the fourth and by Targac in the sixth put the Aggies within striking distance going into the seventh 5-4.
Texas A&M tied the game in the top of the seventh inning after Haas scored on a wild pitch. Werner is also starting to find his swing again, hitting a three-run home run to center field to take the lead 5-8.
The final run came ona sac fly in the top of the ninth by Targac getting Kasen Wells across the plate to push the lead to 5-9. Evan Aschenbeck, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, struck out the last batter to close out the coin.
As a final note, even though Dettmer had a rough third inning he still pitched well and had a career high 11 strikeouts.
Final Score: Aggies 9, Tigers 5 – W: Aschenbeck, Evan (4-0); L: Bauman, Tanner (2-1)
Thursday Dub 👍@BrookshireBros x #GigEm pic.twitter.com/T4q2oGdsxg
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 7, 2023
Game two will take place on April 7th at 1pm.
Check out some highlights from the series courtesy of the Official Texas A&M Twitter account.