Texas A&M (20-12, 5-7 SEC) jumped out to an early lead in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader against Auburn (19-12-1, 4-8 SEC) and never looked back. The Aggies take game three and win the series over Auburn for their second straight SEC series win and have now won four of their last six SEC games.
The game started with a based loaded walk by Auburn to give Texas A&M a free run to start the game. Ryan Targac has found his bat again and hit a single into right-center field to take a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the first inning. Auburn not wanting to be left behind add two of their runs to cut the lead to 3-2.
Auburn’s pitching struggled in the second inning and the Aggies took full advantage. After a walk from Max Kaufer and a single by Hunter Haas Whataburger player of the month, Jack Moss hit a single scoring Kaufer. An Austin Bost single loaded the bases and that was followed by back-to-back walks of Jace LaViolette and Targac for two more free runs. The final run of the inning was an RBI single by Jordan Thompson for a 7-3 lead.
Goooooooooood‼️
Couple of bases loaded walks force a pitching change.
T2 | 6-2 A&M pic.twitter.com/2y4LVKnmsU
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 7, 2023
A led extending single by Brett Minnich put the Aggies up 8-2, but the Auburn followed up with a four-run inning to pull within two runs in the bottom of the third cutting the lead to 8-6. Minnich was not going to let that slide and hit an RBI single scoring Moss then Trevor Werner hit a double putting Minnich across the plate. The last run of the inning came on a wild pitch allowing Werner to score pushing the lead to 11-6.
Aggie’s pitching and some good defense kept the Tigers from being able to mount a comeback keeping them scoreless after the third inning. With the game coming to an end Texas A&M added one more insurance run in the top of the eighth by an error on the pitcher that let Travis Chestnut get home in what ended up being the final run of the game for a 12-6 lead.
Final Score: Aggies 12, Tigers 6 – W: Rudis, Brad (4-0); L: Sheehan, Tommy (0-1)
Game, Series: Aggies 👍@BrookshireBros x #GigEm pic.twitter.com/abM8mfhAvw
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 8, 2023
The Aggies’ pitching still has a few issues closing out innings, but the offense has now found its groove, especially with Minnich back in the lineup. They are now back in the top three in SEC West standings after hovering in the bottom during the first few weeks of league play.
Texas A&M will be back in action on April 11th to host USTA in a midweek matchup at Blue Bell Park
Check out some highlights from the series courtesy of the Official Texas A&M Twitter account.