Behind good pitching and clutch hitting, the Aggies dropped their first game of the season at Olsen Field on Saturday afternoon in a 3-2 loss to the Missouri Tigers.
“Missouri played a great game today,” said A&M head coach Rob Childress. “They made all the plays they needed to make defensively and made pitches when they had to, and we just did not do that today.”
The Aggie attack got started in the second inning, as Nick Banks smashed a ball over the right field wall for his second home run of the season to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead. In the third, a Blake Allemand RBI single gave A&M a 2-0 advantage.
Missouri (20-8, 6-2 SEC) responded with a two-run inning in the fourth to tie the game up at 2-2, and the game remained tied after seven innings of play. A&M (26-2, 6-2 SEC) loaded the bases in the sixth, but a great double play turned by Missouri ended the Aggie threat.
“I thought we hit well,” said Nick Banks. “We just didn’t get the big hit when we needed to. With runners in scoring position, we have to do a better job, but we are ready to respond tomorrow.”
The eighth inning was the biggest for Missouri. The Tigers got a man on, and a double smacked down the line by Ryan Howard scored a run to give the Tigers a 3-2 advantage over the Aggies.
Tigers starting pitcher Tanner Houck went seven innings, allowing eight hits and two runs, while also striking out three. In the eighth, facing a difficult situation with runners on the corners, Missouri reliever Breckin Williams got out of the jam to help preserve the Tiger lead.
Kyle Simonds earned his first career start for the Aggies on Saturday. Simonds went five innings, allowing only three hits, and while two runs did score, they were unearned.
“It felt good to be back in a starting role and go five innings,” Simonds said. “I wish I could have gone longer, but I just made too many mistakes. I should have put guys away at times I had two strikes on them. I kind of beat myself up over giving up too many walks, but I thought we played hard.”
The Aggies and Tigers will resume their series on Sunday afternoon in a rubber match for the series win. First pitch is set for 1:05 pm.
