In what was a roller coaster of a series, the Olsen Field scoreboard was lit up with run after run. After splitting the first two games of the series, A&M could not overcome a first-inning mistake and fell to South Carolina 8-7 Sunday.
This is the third series loss in the last four SEC series for A&M. Over the weekend, the two teams combined for 17 home runs, 60 runs and 79 total hits.
The Aggies will travel to Huntsville on Tuesday night to take on the Sam Houston State Bearkats for the second time this season.
Here are some takeaways from the South Carolina series:
1. A&M must do better defensively.
A&M was plagued all weekend by defensive lapses and spotty fielding. The Aggies managed six errors over the weekend, which is six more than you want in any SEC weekend series. A&M has to do a better job at controlling the game when the bats are not in their hands. The blunders allowed for free base runners all weekend, and ultimately set up runs for South Carolina in big situations. While A&M has the bats to overcome these types of mistakes, the Aggies cannot rely on the bats all year. The defense will have to limit the lapses in order to lock up a national seed next weekend at Ole Miss.
2. The bullpen is exhausted…
The Aggie bullpen has been nails for A&M this season. Over the weekend, however, pitching was virtually non-existent for both teams. Seventeen combined home runs left the yard. The Aggie pitching staff allowed three of them to Kyle Martin, and Sunday his home run in the first inning essentially doomed A&M from the start. Even Mark Ecker, who has been one of the best relievers for A&M in 2015, had a rough go in his only appearance this weekend. He faced only three batters, and allowed the three run home run in the ninth inning that sealed the game for the Gamecocks on Friday night. The bullpen this weekend allowed a combined 20 runs, 16 earned, in 15 innings of work. There was a bright spot in Andrew Vinson. He was the most solid on Sunday, coming in to retire all 11 Gamecock hitters he faced to give A&M a chance at the win in the ninth inning.
3…and that’s on the starting pitching.
A&M has lost two starters to injury this season in Tyler Stubblefield and A.J. Minter. With those two gone, Grayson Long has stepped into the ace role and performed like the star of the rotation. Over the weekend, the starting rotation had a rough time. Long had his usual solid performance, but on Saturday and Sunday, neither of the Aggie starting pitchers lasted more than four innings, causing head coach Rob Childress to go to the bullpen early. Saturday and Sunday, the Aggie starting pitchers gave up eight runs, seven earned, on 12 hits in only 4 1/3 innings combined.
4. The Aggies are resilient.
If the Aggies showed anything this weekend, they showed that they can hit with anyone in the country, and that no matter the score they are never out of a game. A&M fought out of big deficits in all three games this series to at least give themselves an opportunity to win the game.. Friday night, the Aggies trailed 6-3 and tied the game 6-6 in the seventh inning, eventually losing in the ninth. In Saturday’s win, they overcame Gamecock leads of 5-0, 9-6, 13-9, and 14-12 to win the game on a walk-off. Sunday, the Aggies trailed 8-2, but came roaring back to make it an 8-7 game in the ninth inning to give themselves an opportunity to tie it in their last at-bat.
5. Seniors will be key for an Omaha run.
On senior weekend at Olsen Field, the upperclassmen did not disappoint. Seniors Blake Allemand, Logan Nottebrok and Mitchell Nau had big weekends in their final SEC home series of their careers. The three combined to hit .428 (15-for-35) with 14 RBIs and three home runs. While the defense was spotty at times, Nottebrok flashed his glove with some great diving stops at third base. Allemand is now on an 11-game hit streak after the weekend, hitting .489 (24-for-49) with two home runs and eight RBIs during that stretch. If A&M is to make a run to the College World Series, these three senior leaders will need to step up like they did over the weekend.
