Coming into the weekend, A&M needed one more solid win to assure a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Thursday afternoon, the Aggies got the win they needed in a 6-1 victory over Vanderbilt. Matt Kent was the Aggie star, throwing a clutch, complete game on the mound for A&M.
Hunter Melton and Nick Banks went to work on Vanderbilt starter Carson Fulmer quickly. Two RBI singles from each of them would give A&M (45-10) an early 2-0 lead.
The offense was not done yet as Blake Allemand and Ryne Birk lit up the scoreboard in the second inning with back-to-back home runs. Allemand had a two run blast off of a 95 mile per hour fastball, then Birk cracked a solo shot to give A&M a 5-0 lead after two frames.
Allemand came back in the fourth inning with another crack, this time only a solo homer, to give A&M a 6-0 lead. Vanderbilt’s Dansby Swanson would homer in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Aggie lead to 6-1.
The star of the Aggie offense was Allemand, as he went 2-for-4 and took Fulmer yard two times for three RBI’s on the day.
Matt Kent pitched a complete game masterpiece. He finished off Vanderbilt (40-18) allowing one earned run on only four hits while fanning six batters. He threw 116 pitches total. The Commodores could not figure out Kent all game, batting 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and 0-for-11 with runners on base.
Carson Fulmer was named SEC Pitcher of the Year this past week, and coming into the game, had allowed four home runs all 95 innings he pitched this year. A&M had quality at bats all day, and blasted three home runs off Fulmer, while managing six runs total.
The win moves A&M into the semi-finals of the SEC Tournament. They will have the day off on Friday, then will return to the diamond in a single-elimination game. A&M will take on the winner of the elimination game between Vanderbilt and Alabama at 12 pm Saturday afternoon for the chance to move into the SEC Championship game.