The No. 19 Texas A&M baseball team battled the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday night in game two of a three game SEC series. The Aggies won game one on Thursday 12-6 and took game two and the series on Friday with a 9-6 win. With the win, the Aggies improve to 26-9 (7-7 SEC) and the Tide fall to 21-15 (5-9 SEC) with the loss.
“Well it’s nice to get to there,” Aggie head coach Rob Childress said about getting to .500 in SEC play. “We have to keep showing up everyday and giving it our best shot. Tonight’s game had a lot of stress on both sides and the game was as tight as it could possibly be and the score wasn’t indicative of that. They were one hit away from being right back in it.”
The Aggies started the scoring in the second with a five-run outburst as the Aggies had already scored two runs before junior second baseman Michael Helman launched a three run home run to left field. The Tide would quickly get on the board in the third with a run of their own before the Aggies scored a single run in innings 3-6.
Alabama put up one run in the fifth and sixth before scoreless seventh and eighth innings. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Alabama freshman catcher Sam Praytor blasted a three run home run of his own off the scoreboard to give A&M a bit of a scare, but that would end the scoring on the night as the Aggies took it 9-6.
The A&M offense was led by Helman, freshman right fielder Will Frizzell, and sophomore designated hitter Cam Blake. Helman went 1-4 with the three run blast, Frizzell went 3-3 with an RBI, and Blake went 2-4 with two RBIs.
“Having to sit out for a while kind of sucked,” Blake said. “I just tried to stay focused and being back with my teammates and being able to play the game I love is great. I’m just trying to keep everything as simple as I can and take whatever knocks they give me.”
The Alabama offense was led by Praytor, junior right fielder Chandler Taylor, and junior left fielder Joe Breaux. Praytor went 2-5 with 4 RBIs, Taylor went 3-4 with an RBI, and Breaux went 2-5 with a run scored.
Alabama starting pitcher Jake Walters came into the game 2-3 with a 4.23 ERA and the Aggies rocked him. Walters gave up seven earned runs on eight hits and walked three. Aggie starting pitcher Mitchell Kilkenny came into the game undefeated at 7-0 with a gaudy 1.49 ERA and tossed a solid game for A&M. Kilkenny went 5.2 innings, giving up just one earned run on six hits and struck out eight.
“It feels great,” Kilkenny said about the team’s five game winning streak. “We always knew we had the talent and games weren’t going away, so we had to make a mental adjustment. The team’s doing a great job, our offense is catching fire, it’s just a really fun thing to be a part of.”
The Aggies will look for the sweep in game three of the series tomorrow at Blue Bell Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.