Texas A&M baseball lost its series against Missouri on Saturday, April 3, in a 7-3 defeat to drop to 19-11 on the season and 3-6 in SEC play.
Leading the game 3-2 through the first five innings, the Aggies faced a scary situation in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded and only one out. After a two RBI single, Missouri hit a three-run home run to bring the score to 7-3.
“Certainly disappointment would be an understatement,” A&M coach Rob Childress said. “Today, from a pitching standpoint, [junior pitcher] Chris Weber did a nice job for us. Our bullpen, we did not get the first hitter with each guy that we went to. And that’s something you’ve got to be able to do.”
Weber received the day’s start and pitched through 5.1 innings, allowing six hits, four runs, three earned and four strikeouts. After Weber left the mound, A&M’s pitching staff went through three other pitchers, with only junior pitcher Joseph Menefee staying on the mound for more than one out.
A&M’s offensive effort was driven by freshman left fielder Ryan Targac who had back-to-back home runs with the second bomb flying 436 feet over the right field wall. Targac was substituted out during the bottom of the sixth while the Aggies still held the lead.
With A&M up 2-0 in the third, Missouri brought two runners across and left one stranded on third base. Graduate Ray Alejo’s first three at bats went for a triple and two hustle doubles, but the center fielder only scored off one of the hits.
“From an offensive standpoint, we certainly had traffic all day long,” Childress said. “I think we were 0-11 with runners in scoring position after a sac fly in the first. So we had our shots, we just didn’t get them.”
Despite losing the series 2-1, A&M outscored Missouri 21-17 due to a 16-2 score in the first game
Missouri loaded the bases yet again in the seventh inning, but Menefee struck out two and retired the third batter in a fly-out. To aid A&M’s bullpen moving forward, Childress said senior pitcher Bryce Miller will be returning from COVID-19 protocols next weekend.
“We’ve got to put our pitching staff back together,” Childress said. “We’ll get Bryce Miller back and shake some things up moving forward. When you’ve got one guy out that’s so big like Bryce Miller it changes the dynamic of everything, everybody’s got to take on a different role.”
A&M will travel to Huntsville on Tuesday, April 6 to take on Sam Houston State, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Aggies are 22-7 against the Bearkats. A&M will then host Alabama for its weekend series beginning on Friday, April 9.