No. 13 Texas A&M baseball suffered its first loss of the season in game one of the Frisco College Classic, as they fell to Illinois 1-0.
A&M now has a 10-1 record on the season. This game was the first game the Aggies failed to score a run and the first game where they recorded fewer than four hits. Illinois improves to 4-3 on the season and have recorded their second win against a top-25 opponent.
As indicated by the score, the game was a defensive battle. Both starting pitchers put on clinics as Illinois only allowed three hits all game while the A&M bullpen only allowed four hits and didn’t allow a run until the eighth inning.
Junior lefthanded pitcher Asa Lacy got the start on the mound for the Aggies. In six innings, Lacy pitched a shutout, allowing only two hits. He struck out 11 batters and walked three others in 19 at-bats.
Lacy said he felt this was a good game for him and felt as if the Aggies received the best version of Illinois on Friday.
“I thought we played really well tonight, and I thought they played their best game to beat us,” Lacy told 12thman.com. “Lots of things went their way. It definitely left a bad taste in our mouth.”
Junior righthanded pitcher Bryce Miller played in relief of Lacy and pitched 1.2 innings. Miller allowed the only run of the game, but had struck out four previous batters. Because of Miller’s allowed run in relief, he was tallied with the loss.
Illinois scored on a Brandon Comia single that brought the base runner on second base, Taylor Jackson, home.
Junior righthanded pitcher Ty Weber garnered the start for the Fighting Illini. In 6.2 innings, the junior pitched a shutout and allowed only three hits. Lacy struck out three batters, but only allowed one walk in 22 at-bats.
In relief for the Fighting Illini were redshirt sophomore righthanded pitcher Ryan Kutt and senior Garrett Acton. Both pitched scoreless innings and only recorded one walk along with one strikeout in seven at-bats.
The Aggies’ usual offensive fireworks were not on display Friday night as the team logged three hits in 29 at-bats. The hits came from left fielder Cam Blake, third baseman Logan Sartori, and shortstop Trevor Werner.
On the team’s inability to drive some hits home, coach Rob Childress applauded the Illinois pitching saying, “They made pitches and played great defense, we hit some balls hard. We had a chance to drive in a run and they made all the plays. We made one mistake over the plate with two strikes and they didn’t miss it.”
The Aggies will have an opportunity to right the ship against No. 8 UCLA Saturday night in Frisco, Texas. The game will take place at Dr. Pepper Ballpark and the first pitch will be thrown at 6 p.m.