The bats woke up in game three of the top-25 showdown in Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park this weekend, as Texas A&M avoided getting swept by seventh-ranked Georgia. A run-rule capped off the series and helped the Aggies move to 2-4 in SEC play, which feels way better than a 1-5 start in conference play.
GAME 1: #7 Georgia 9, #23 A&M 4
The visiting Georgia Bulldogs handed Texas A&M (17-4, 1-3) its first home loss of the season, taking the series opener 9-4 on Friday night at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park
in College Station, Texas. Georgia (19-4, 3-1) blasted three longballs and 15 hits to take the victory, despite a career-high 11 strikeouts from Aggie starter Shane Sdao.
Sdao nearly escaped the first inning without damage, but the Bulldogs made the southpaw pay. A two-out, three-run blast with a 47-degree launch angle gave the visitors a 3-0 lead. Georgia manufactured a run in the second for a 4-0 advantage. Texas A&M cut the deficit in half on Gavin Grahovac’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom half, who scored after reaching on walks.
Georgia’s second dinger of the night came in the third, on a solo blast to the bullpen in right to get one run back at 5-2. Across the middle frames, the Aggies only managed four baserunners, three of those coming with two outs.
A&M’s best chance came in the seventh after Caden Sorrell’s two-out double. A wild pitch and walk put runners on the corners for Wesley Jordan. The designated hitter came up empty on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat.
Georgia added insurance in the final two innings, scoring twice in each. A bases-loaded single made it 7-2 in the eighth, before the Bulldogs blasted a two-run shot to take a 9-2 lead into the final half inning. Grahovac drove home his third run of the game for a 9-3 score before Chris Hacopian added an RBI single of his own to make it 9-4. After a pitching change, Georgia sealed the win with a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.
GAME 2: #7 Georgia 8, #23 Texas A&M 2
The country’s top power offense flexed its muscle Saturday, as No. 7 Georgia (20-4, 4-1) blasted six homers in a series-clinching 8-2 win over No. 23 Texas A&M (17-5, 1-4) at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas.
Weston Moss punched out three in the first inning, securing the first scoreless opening frame in SEC play this season for the Aggies. One inning later, Georgia’s power emerged. A second-inning solo shot made it 1-0, before back-to-back homers in the third expanded the lead to 3-0.
As he’s done the entire season, Caden Sorrell delivered A&M’s first response, an RBI double to right center field to get the hosts within two at 3-1.
The fourth Georgia homer, a fourth-inning solo shot, got the run right back and marked the end of the line for Moss. In the fifth, Chris Hacopian drove home the other Aggie run with a groundout to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Georgia broke the game open in the sixth with a four-run frame. The fifth and sixth Georgia longballs highlighted the frame, while an run-scoring single added the eighth run of the day. In just 15 innings against Aggie pitching, the Bulldogs notched nine round-trippers.
The Aggie offense remained quiet the rest of the game and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position (RISP) with six strikeouts. The last such punchout, with two runners on, secured the ballgame for Georgia and their second straight conference series.
As for Texas A&M, this is the fourth straight SEC series defeat, dating back to last season. Saturday’s loss also marked the first time the Aggies fell in consecutive contests.
It’s worth mentioning Grant Cunningham’s outing. The senior was the final Aggie pitcher used and threw 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, saving length to salvage the Sunday finale.
GAME 3: #22 A&M 18, #7 Georgia 5 (Final/7 inn.)
A 16-hit output paired with a strong outing from Aidan Sims propelled Texas A&M to an 18-5 run-rule victory on Sunday against No. 7 Georgia in Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas. The seven-inning beatdown helped the Aggies avoid a series sweep at home.
Texas A&M (18-5, 2-4) got off to a great start thanks to their Sunday starter. Sims set down the Bulldogs (20-5, 4-2) in order, the first Aggie arm to do so this weekend. He cruised through five innings and notched eight strikeouts.
The offensive explosion came early and often, as A&M scored in all six innings they came to the plate. The leadoff man reached in five of the six frames, and the Aggies posted a 10-for-22 (.455) clip with runners in scoring position (RISP) on Sunday, compared to a 3-for-21 showing in the first two games.
Jake Duer and Blake Binderup gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead after one, their lead of the series and one they wouldn’t relinquish. Georgia got one back with Jordy Oriach’s third homer of the weekend, a solo shot to make it 2-1.
From there, Texas A&M scored 15 unanswered runs across the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings. Bear Harrison tallied his first hit with RISP this season in the third with a two-run double to center that nearly left the ballpark. With the bases loaded in the fourth, Nico Partida teed off. The freshman deposited the first pitch he saw into the visiting bullpen to collect his first career grand slam and put A&M in front 10-1.
A seven-run fifth inning created separation and brought the run rule into reach. Thirteen Aggies went to the plate and used five hits, one error, and four of Georgia’s 11 total walks to stretch the lead to 17-1. Duer snuck a two-run double inside the left field line, while Partida added his sixth RBI and fourth hit on a single to left.
Sims struggled in the sixth. A walk, a hit batter and a two-run double opened the frame and cut the A&M lead to 17-3. The sophomore recorded two outs in the inning, completing his outing and doing more than enough to earn his fourth win of the campaign.
Clayton Freshcorn came in to get the final out of the sixth and pitch the seventh. Despite giving up a two-out, two-run homer, Georgia’s 11th of the weekend, the junior got the final out to complete the run-rule victory and collect an important SEC victory.
Texas A&M will host Houston Christian on Tuesday, Mar. 24, before hitting the road to Columbia, Mo., to face the Missouri Tigers in a wildly important conference series.
