The No. 18 A&M baseball team (31-12, 11-10 SEC) used a three-run third inning to conquer Mississippi State (24-21, 9-12 SEC) on Sunday, 7-3 at Dudy Noble Field. The win clinched the Aggies’ third SEC win after a 6-3 game one win on Friday and a 11-6 loss on Saturday.
Junior pitcher Stephen Kolek took the mound for the Aggies and notched the win, but looked shaky, allowing eight hits, two runs and three walks in a 5.0-inning appearance.
The Aggies were the first to get on the board in the top of the first via a single by freshman infielder Will Frizzell which drove in sophomore shortstop Braden Shewmake for the lone run of the inning.
Though he allowed a single, Stephen Kolek was able to evade any run damage in the bottom of the first. The maroon and white were unable to create any momentum with their bats in the second inning and the Bulldogs took it to Kolek in the bottom of the second. Miss. St. hit a leadoff home run to right field and then utilized an A&M error to drive in their second run of the inning. The Bulldogs held a 2-1 lead at the end of the second.
Junior infielder Allonte Wingate and Braden Shewmake were retired to start the third inning, however, sophomore designated hitter Hunter Coleman and Will Frizzell then reached base, initiating a two-out rally. Junior catcher Cole Bedford then hit a scorching single, plating Frizzell and advancing Frizzell to third. Freshman outfielder Zach Deloach then singled down the right field line, scoring Frizzell and pushing Bedford to third, who later scored the third and final run of the half inning, via a passed ball.
The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the bottom of the third via a RBI single to right, narrowing the A&M lead to 4-3 after three innings.
Both teams’ bats were stalled in the fourth and fifth innings and Kolek handed the ball off to senior pitcher Kaylor Chafin to start the bottom of the sixth inning. Chafin blanked the Bulldogs, allowing just one hit.
The Aggies put men on second and third in the top of the seventh and Allonte Wingate scored the lone run of the inning after the Miss. St. pitcher balked.
The maroon and white extended their lead to 7-3 in the top of the eighth, peppering State pitcher JP France. Junior Chandler Morris doubled to right, scoring Deloach and Michael Helman drove Morris home on the next at bat.
After allowing his first run of the game, head coach Rob Childress swapped Kaylor Chafin with Nolan Hoffman. Chafin ended the day with a strong 3.1-inning outing, allowing five hits and a run. Hoffman outed the last two batters of the game in order, clinching the Aggie win.
The Aggies return to Blue Bell Park for a Tuesday matchup against Prairie View A&M. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on SEC Network+.