Junior infielder Braden Shewmake led No. 18 Texas A&M baseball to a dominating win over Kentucky with five hits to top the Wildcats 17-5 in a three-game series sweep.
A&M found consistent success at the plate on Sunday, getting 19 hits off of the Wildcats’ pitching rotation. However, Kentucky was not nearly as successful, with only eight hits in 35 plate appearances.
The Aggies move their overall record to 21-5 and 5-1 in SEC play, while the Wildcats fall to 14-10 overall and moved their conference losing streak to six.
A&M’s defense didn’t start off strong due to a home run from Kentucky outfielder Ryan Shinn, followed by a single RBI to right field from infielder Elliott Curtis to make it 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning.
A&M head coach Rob Childress made the decision to replace starting right-hand pitcher Christian Roa after just 0.2 innings with left-hand pitcher Joseph Menefee.
After a pair of single RBIs from junior infielder Bryce Blaum and senior outfielder Jonathan Ducoff at the top of the third, the Aggies exploded with eight runs in the fifth inning.
Freshman infielder Ty Coleman hit a single RBI through right field to advance Ducoff across home plate, followed by a double RBI from junior catcher Mikey Hoehner. Junior designated hitter Logan Foster hit a sacrifice fly ball at the next at-bat for another RBI, while Blaum got three RBIs off a triple with the bases loaded. Shewmake topped off the scoring in the fifth with a double RBI hit into right-center field to make the score 10-2.
“It was an absolutely relentless show today in every facet,” Childress said. “For us to have to go to the bullpen in the first inning, [Menefee] comes in and gives us a hold and allows us to get our big inning. From an offensive standpoint, this is what we felt that we were capable of all year long.”
The Wildcats attempted a comeback in the fifth with three runs, but kept scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
In the top of the sixth, a double RBI from Hoehner extended the lead to nine, followed by a closing appearance from closing sophomore pitcher Bryce Miller in the seventh inning.
Miller threw seven strikeouts, two hits and just one walk in the final three innings of the game, sealing the sweep for the Aggies.
In the ninth, A&M caught fire from the plate once more, adding six runs from five different batters. Junior catcher Hunter Coleman hit his third home run of the season, followed by Blaum scoring off of a wild pitch. Ducoff hit another RBI with a double down the left field line and Hoehner closing it out with a double down left-center field.
A&M clinched its first conference sweep of the season after winning on 5-3 on Friday and 9-5 on Saturday against Kentucky.
“Can’t tell you how proud I am of our team all weekend long,” Childress said. “The first SEC series in this beautiful $50 million stadium, and for us to play the way we did from the first inning on Friday night through the weekend. To seal the weekend with an exclamation point in every facet of the game on Sunday is a pretty special performance.”
The Aggies face off against Lamar on Tuesday at Blue Bell Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network Plus.