Texas A&M baseball continued its hot streak Tuesday with a 13-3 run-rule victory over the Sam Houston Bearkats.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Gavin Lyons received his fourth start of the season and showed out. His day came to an end in the fourth inning after he recorded four strikeouts and one hit on 11 batters faced.
Prior to joining the Aggies, Lyons was ranked as the No. 1 high school player in Connecticut after posting a 30-0 career record on the mound as a starting pitcher. In his six appearances for the Maroon and White, Lyons has remained undefeated with a 3-0 record and has an ERA of 1.62.
When he entered in relief for Lyons, freshman RHP Aiden Sims could not have performed much better. In two innings, he allowed zero hits and boasted four strikeouts, allowing the A&M bats to do their thing and build a lead.
“We’ve pitched them like typical freshmen,” coach Michael Earley said. “Their opportunities are going to continue to grow … I think we’ve managed them correctly and given them opportunities, and their opportunities have grown, and they’ve taken advantage of them.”
Redshirt sophomore first baseman Blake Binderup started his campaign for the Aggies’ third-straight SEC Player of the Week honor and his second in three weeks.
“He’s the type of kid that if I asked him to hit left-handed, he would do it,” Earley said. “He’s real receptive, and he works really, really hard, so yeah, that’s good. He’s had some struggles this year, but credit to him. He’s never stopped working, and his attitude and his effort every single day are the reason he’s having the success he’s had.”
In the midweek matchup, Binderup sparked the Fightin’ Farmers’ offense with a home run that landed beyond the 44 Farms logo in left-center field.
The College Station native was not done.
With two runners on, Binderup sent a shot into Aggie Alley to increase the lead to 9-0.
When Binderup was named SEC Player of the Week earlier this season, he recorded a two-RBI double in the team’s midweek road matchup against Sam Houston. His performance on Tuesday eclipsed his road showing and set him up to keep the weekly honor here in Aggieland.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence going up to the plate right now,” Binderup said. “I’ve had a lot of good at-bats recently, but it’s still continuing to put the head down and go to work every day.”
Standout freshman right fielder Terrence Kiel II has done almost everything for the Aggies this season. The reliable leadoff man has hit .336 with 34 runs, 47 hits, eight doubles, a triple and 22 RBIs in his freshman campaign. The Atlanta product has already shown he can do everything — except hit home runs.
Kiel’s 39-game homerless streak came to an end on Tuesday when he sent a two-run knock just left of the Olsen Field scoreboard for his first of his collegiate career.
“I got an up-and-in fastball and, off the bat, I thought it was a pop-up to left field, and then the ball just kept going,” Kiel said. “I just got my first collegiate home run, and that felt amazing. I’ve been waiting to take a nice trip around the bases and also get my putt shot with the green jacket on.”
The Maroon and White’s dominance wavered in the seventh inning when Sam Houston capitalized on a scoreless sixth out of the Aggies, which carried the momentum into the next frame.
The Bearkats were able to plate three off a nightmare of an outing from junior RHP Peyton Smith. The Dallas Baptist transfer allowed three hits and three runs on five batters faced.
However, the Aggies were able to recover in the bottom of the frame and ended the match early via run-rule.
A&M will head to Austin this weekend when it faces former coach Jim Schlossnagle and the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.
“Now that the game’s over from today, I’m sure there’s a little bit of thoughts creeping in to people’s minds about where we’re going, who we’re playing, who our former coach used to be, but at the end of the day, it’s just baseball,” Binderup said. “It’s a business trip. We’re going to have fun, but also, the goal is to win.”
