On a windy day at Olsen Field, No. 19 Texas A&M baseball suffered its first series defeat at the hands of No. 17 Alabama in a 6-2 loss after a deadlocked pitching battle.
It took until the sixth inning for either team to break through the starter on the mound, with junior left-handed pitcher Justin Lamkin and redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher combining for 14 strikeouts and just four hits.
The bullpen has long been the Aggies’ Achilles heel, causing multiple leads to be surrendered in the game’s later innings over the course of this season. The strong presence of the weekend lefties in redshirt junior LHP Ryan Prager, Lamkin and junior LHP Myles Patton can sometimes be forgotten when those who arrive in their stead are unable to contain the opponent’s offense with the same ease.
Despite their combined experience, Lamkin’s fifth-inning conceded home run was a continuation of the same problems that had lingered over Prager’s 104-pitch night on Friday, as he gave up two 2-run home runs. A small lead was maintained by Alabama, but like in many contests before, the Aggies were unable to generate any offensive answer.
The trend of new Maroon and White pitchers in seemingly every inning after the sixth was no different in this contest. After Lamkin’s night was finished, sophomore RHP Weston Moss made an appearance to contain the damage. He would help turn a double-play to end the sixth, but when he loaded the bases in the seventh, Moss would be the second Aggie pitcher to enter the dugout.
Errors gave Alabama all the momentum to take another run into the bottom of the seventh, but thanks to A&M’s fight, the score stood at a manageable 2-0. A switch in the narrative of woes was the steadfast performance of sophomore RHP Clayton Freshcorn and junior outfielder Jace LaViolette. The duo managed to strand the bases loaded for the visitors from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sparking a little mojo for the offense.
A run off the bat of freshman infielder Sawyer Farr put the Aggies within one, but the runners left on base would be a haunting reminder of what could have been. Time and time again, the Fightin’ Farmers have found themselves on the verge of a breakthrough, only for a double play or costly strikeout to send A&M packing for another day.
Freshcorn further strived to erase the bad taste in his mouth from early season troubles and made quick down-and-up work of the eighth inning batting order. Redshirt sophomore INF Blake Binderup followed suit at the bottom of the inning, wearing a hit by a pitch and eventually turning that pain in his side into the tying run.
Like the Aggies previous contest, ninth inning heroics were engineered by miracle home runs, this time from senior INF Will Hodo, who took it upon himself to write his own movie-worthy script. His monster grand slam took the lead in the final frame for the Crimson Tide, making it three straight games that Alabama has seized victory in the last inning.
A&M would not go down without a fight, however, managing to send two runners on base with one out, looking to respond to the madness that had just ensued. But the efforts would be for naught when a double play turned two and ended the inning, giving the Aggies their first taste of series defeat this year.
The Aggies look to avoid being swept by Alabama with a 4 p.m. game on Sunday.
