Through an hour and a 45 minute rain delay during the sixth inning, Texas A&M was unable to weather the downpour from Missouri, falling to the Tigers (36-21) 12-7, as the Aggies (36-21) were eliminated in the opening round of the SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama Tuesday afternoon.
The Aggies inched back from a 10-6 deficit in the bottom of the fifth, as Austin Homan poked a slow grounder to the second baseman, Robbie Glendinning, who was only able to tag out a running Cam Blake, scoring Hunter Coleman from third.
Missouri pushed its lead back to four in the sixth though, as Trey Harris sent an RBI single past a diving Tommy Gillman at second base to bring home Brett Bond from second, who led off the inning with a double down the first base line.
On the flip side, Andy Toelken replaced Missouri ace Tanner Houck in the fifth after being pulled from a difficult start on 10 days’ rest in hopes of posting a strong start to increase the Tigers’ slim NCAA Tournament chances.
Although Houck struggled through his season-worst outing, Toelken (5-3) was lights out in relief, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings, only allowing three hits while striking out five.
The Tigers added insurance in the seventh after the restart, as Glendinning punched a single up the middle to bring home Kirby McGuire.
A&M created separation from a tie in the third, as Blake’s grounder in the hole to the right side of the infield was able to score Coleman from third. The Aggies increased their lead to 6-4 on the next at-bat after Austin Homan executed a perfect safety squeeze to plate Blake Kopetsky.
Missouri, however, would retaliate in grand fashion over the next two innings.
After reliever Kaylor Chafin sandwiched a pair of walks between an error on George Janca, Glendinning crushed a grand slam over the right field fence, putting the Tigers ahead by two.
In the fifth, the Tigers would add another pair of runs, with Chris Cornelius knocking a lead-off solo homer off the right field foul pole. The homer, followed by a four-pitch walk, ended the frustrating outing for the reliable reliever Chafin (7-2), who allowed a season-high seven runs – five earned – on just four hits.
McGuire then plated Alex Samples from third off an error on a charging Homan whose throw to first brought Coleman off the bag.
The Tigers wasted no time getting on the board in the top of the first, posting a two spot in the frame. A&M starter John Doxakis struggled with his command early, hitting Trey Harris in the elbow with the bases loaded to bring home the first run.
On the next at-bat, Kameron Misner grounded out to first, but the play forced Coleman to make a diving stop, allowing Glendinning to score from third.
A&M, however, was quick to respond to the early deficit, doubling the Tigers run total in the bottom half of the first.
After Nick Choruby drew a lead-off walk, newly crowned SEC Freshman of the Year Braden Shewmake brought home the senior centerfielder two batters later on a bloop single to left field. Shewmake came around to score two batters later after right fielder McGuire bobbled the single by Kopetsky.
Blake tacked on two more runs two batters later on a sharp hit single to left field, plating Coleman and Kopetsky.
Missouri was quick to knot the game up in the second though, as starter John Doxakis was chased after allowing a lead-off walk, being pulled in favor of Chafin. Chafin, who tossed 4.2 perfect innings in his appearance against the Tigers earlier this season, was rattled quickly, as the first batter he faced, Matt Berler, launched a two-run homer over the left centerfield fence to tie the game at four.
A&M now awaits its NCAA Tournament destination, which will be unveiled next Monday, May 29 at 11:00 a.m. on ESPNU.