Coming off a walk-off win on Tuesday, the Aggies continued to show their clutch ability with a 6-5 win in their series opener at Tennessee on Friday night.
A&M (39-7, 14-7 SEC) was first to break the scoring seal, and it did so in its first opportunity in the game. RBIs from Logan Taylor, Mitchell Nau and Hunter Melton helped A&M jump put to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
Tennessee (18-22, 7-15 SEC), however, would not fade into the night so easy. The Volunteers responded quickly with two runs in the bottom of the first inning, and A&M hung on to that 3-2 lead until the fifth inning, when Tennessee tied the game 3-3.
It was a see-saw affair all game. A&M regained the lead with an RBI single from JB Moss in the sixth inning. However, that lead was short lived, as the Volunteers tied the game with a home run in the seventh to make it a 4-4 game.
Later in the contest, the Aggies gained the lead yet again. Ryne Birk came on to pinch-hit in the eighth, and an RBI single from him gave A&M the 5-4 lead.
Sticking with the theme of the night, Tennessee responded with a run of its own again in the bottom half of the eighth. A big RBI double with a man on third tied the game 5-5 after eight innings of play.
In the ninth inning, Blake Allemand hit a lead off double, and after a sacrifice bunt from Nick Banks to move him to third base, Nau drove him in with his second RBI of the evening. It gave the Aggies the 6-5 lead in the ninth, and was ultimately the final blow for Tennessee.
Grayson Long had a solid outing on the mound for A&M. He fought through some control issues early, and worked himself out of a few sticky situations to keep the Aggies within striking distance. Long worked 5 1/3 innings, scattering nine hits, while allowing two earned runs. He also fanned six Tennessee batters on the night.
Winning the series opener sets the tone for the rest of the weekend. The Aggies will look to take the series tomorrow night in game two of the weekend affair. Game time is set for 6:03 pm from Knoxville.