On April 1, NASA made history, launching the Artemis II rocket into outer space and sending the first humans to the moon in over 50 years. 

On April 3, No. 20 Texas A&M baseball launched rockets of its own.

Five different Aggie batters left the park in Friday’s doubleheader, securing 20 runs for a pair of back-to-back victories. A&M evened its weekend series against Vanderbilt at one apiece with an 8-4 win in Game 1, followed by a 12-0 run-rule victory on the back of sophomore right-handed pitcher Aiden Sims in Game 2.

Solo-shot showdown

With a lead-off single to center field, junior first baseman Gavin Grahovac proved why he belongs at the top of A&M’s hitting rotation. The Orange, California native made his way into scoring position, thanks to a groundout from junior second baseman Chris Hacopian. 

When freshman RHP Wyatt Nadeau got shaky, the Aggies’ offense made him pay. The Vanderbilt starter let a pair of pitches sail behind home plate, giving Grahovac a clear path to get A&M on the board, 1-0. 

“If the other team makes mistakes, we want to capitalize on them,” head coach Michael Earley said. “We can’t control their mistakes to an extent, but when they make them, we need to be there to take advantage of them, and we did that well.”

As if early momentum was not already in the Aggies’ favor, freshman third baseman Nico Partida stepped into the batter’s box. The five-hole hitter launched his third offering past the left field wall for his eighth home run of the year, giving A&M a quick 3-0 lead. 

“We have a really good game plan,” Hacopian said. “Coach Earley is big on the process of our at-bats. All weekend, you saw guys passing the baton to the next guy, and I think you saw that today.”

Starting on the mound for the Aggies, junior RHP Weston Moss seemed to have the Commodores under control. The Spring native stumbled early, serving a walk to Vanderbilt’s lead-off man, followed by a single to center field. With runners on the corners and no outs, Moss answered the bell, striking down three-straight batters to escape the first frame with no score. 

Otherwise sailing through four innings, Moss fell victim to Vanderbilt’s solo-homer brigade. With the combined firepower of freshman catcher Korbin Reynolds, senior 2B Mike Mancini and sophomore 3B Brodie Johnston, the Commodores knocked three long balls over the heads of the Aggie outfield to keep the tying-run within firing distance. 

After six defensive frames, A&M couldn’t seem to get Vanderbilt off its tail. The Southeastern Conference foes exchanged one-run shots in five-straight frames, with hits ranging from a simple solo-homer to a head-scratching first-base throwing error. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Grahovac stepped up to the plate with bad intentions.

The reigning SEC Player of the Week crushed his third offering 396 feet into the Section 12 stands. With the right field bomb, Grahovac tied Partida for second among the Maroon and White in homers with eight, behind only junior center fielder Caden Sorrell with 16.

In the innings that followed, the RHP duo of sophomore Gavin Lyons and junior Clayton Freshcorn closed the door on the Commodores. Lyons dished back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth to set up Freshcorn’s ninth-inning finish. 

Although Vanderbilt’s bats recorded twice as many hits as A&M’s, the Fightin’ Farmers’ base running made the difference. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Sorrell and Partida occupied opposite corners of the diamond. In an effort to bring Sorrell home, Partida stole second, bringing attention away from third-base line and tacking on another Aggie run.

“It’s something that we work on a lot,” Earley said. “The opportunity has to present itself, and Sorrell did a nice job of reading the throw. I can’t remember the last time that that was a really big play and a big run to get us to four, heading into the ninth.”

With the 8-4 win, A&M tied the series at one apiece and turned its attention to the impending Friday night finale. 

Deep ball domination

Despite a 40-minute intermission, the Aggies picked up right where they left off with an offensive explosion in Game 3’s opening frames. 

Freshman left-handed pitcher Aiden Stillman made the wise choice of not pitching to Sorrell, giving him a free ride to first base, but with a lineup as deep as A&M’s, any batter can send a ball past the outfield wall. Three pitches later, the Aggies’ three-hole hitter did just that.

Hacopian smashed his third offering 414 feet into left field, clearing the bases and giving the Maroon and White an early two-run advantage. 

“I’m just happy to be back on the field, playing with the guys, getting my uniform dirty and just playing baseball,” Hacopian said. “This weekend, before today, I was not playing well. I wasn’t producing at the plate, yet we were still putting up a lot of runs. It just shows the depth of this offense.”

Freshman right fielder Jorian Wilson kicked things off in the second, driving a ball down the first-base line into the right field corner. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Week cruised to third base for A&M’s second triple of the season. Junior C Bear Harrison joined the home-run party, smoking sophomore RHP Nate Taylor’s heave 419 feet and doubling the Aggies’ lead. 

Before the 12th Man had a chance to take their seats, junior designated hitter Blake Binderup kept them on their feet. The College Station native knocked yet another Aggie home run, outslugging both Hacopian and Harrison by over 30 feet. Partida and senior left fielder Jake Duer joined Binderup on his trip around the bases, giving the Maroon and White a seven-run upper hand. 

“We did a really good job of controlling the strike zone,” Earley said. “In Game 1, those guys had some good stuff. They threw 172 pitches, 112 out of the zone, and we only swung at 17 pitches out of the zone.”

In the bottom of the fourth, the heart of A&M’s batting lineup struck again. After a five-pitch walk to Duer, Partida smashed his second long ball of the day and ninth of the season. With a 9-0 lead, the Aggie faithful could begin to taste the looming run-rule victory. 

They say the best defense is a good offense, but so is a really good defense. 

Sims took the mound for the entirety of Game 2, pitching seven innings, securing eight strikeouts and allowing only three hits in the shutout victory. 

“I just go out there and pitch like every game is every game,” Sims said. “It doesn’t matter what the series is. It could be 2-0 or 0-0, I just have to go out there and pitch strike one.”

The Aggies started their SEC schedule with a pair of series losses, but with back-to-back wins over the Commodores, Earley’s squad has turned the tide. The Maroon and White secured their second series win of SEC play, pushing their conference record to 7-5. 

“I think it speaks to the character of the guys in the locker room,” Earley said. “They’re good players and I think they understand that baseball’s hard. You’re going to have some tough games, you’re going to get whipped every now and then, you’re not going to be good on the mound, but you’ve got to continue to show up.” 

A&M will turn its attention to a familiar foe as it heads to San Marcos for a rematch against Texas State on Tuesday, April 7, at 6 p.m. The Aggies secured a 9-6 victory over the Bobcats on March 17, and will aim to remain undefeated in midweek action.