As the famous Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

Although being down 7-1 midway through the game, Texas A&M baseball never lost their fight, grit and determination, rallying for a classic come-from-behind win to beat the Wildcats, 9-7.

Starting out Southeastern Conference play 0-6, Texas A&M baseball yearned for its first conference win against Kentucky in front of the 12th Man at Blue Bell Park. The last time these two teams met up was last year in the Super Regionals, where Texas A&M came out on top 5-1, crushing the Wildcats’ dreams of a national championship.

The Aggies gave the nod to redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Ryan Prager to get the series started against Kentucky. 

The Wildcats worked Prager on the mound, staying alive through foul balls while down in the count, until they found the right pitch to swing on. Kentucky loaded the bases almost immediately with no outs, allowing them to put three runs up in the first inning, forcing the Aggies to play from behind once again. 

Kentucky kept the bats swinging in the second inning as senior left fielder Cole Hage went over the left field fence for a two-run homerun, extending the lead to 5-0. Prager was able to record his first strikeout of the game to end the inning.

When it was all Kentucky, sophomore catcher Bear Harrison lit up the 12th Man with a solo home run to left field, putting the Aggies on the board. Harrison, a transfer from Saint Mary’s, had big shoes to fill this season behind the plate after sixth-round MLB Draft pick Jackson Appel graduated.

“I had a feeling it could’ve gone,” Harrison said. “It was on a line drive, so I kind of thought maybe a double or something, but it carried over the fence which is huge.”

With Kentucky taking batting practice off the left-handed Prager, it was time for coach Michael Earley to switch up the narrative with a call to sophomore right-handed pitcher Weston Moss from the bullpen.“Outstanding,” Earley said about Moss’ performance. “That guy is nothing but heart. … It was his game.”

The 12th Man became involved in the bottom of the fourth, due to a lead off double from none other than the outstanding freshman right fielder Terrence Kiel II. Kentucky senior RHP Scott Rouse, who had been phenomenal, went off the tracks a bit by walking senior first baseman Gavin Kash, then quickly throwing a wild pitch, sending Kiel and Kash to advance a base.

Desperate to lessen the deficit, Harrison sent both runners home with a deep shot down the left field line, making it a 7-3 ballgame.

“He’s proved himself and he’s earned it,” Earley said. “He’s just worked really really hard. He’s put in a lot of time, he made some adjustments over the past couple weeks.”

Moss and the A&M defense was able to hold Kentucky to its first scoreless inning in the fifth, with a strikeout followed by two quick groundouts. And then, the magic happened.

With some teasing chants from the 12th Man and a spark in the Aggie offense, things got rolling for the better in Aggieland. A leadoff base hit from junior 2B Ben Royo got the crowd on its feet, followed by a walk from junior shortstop Kaeden Kent, who reached base for the first time. To cap off Rouse’s outing, a base hit from senior third baseman Wyatt Henseler sent Royo home and Rouse to the bench.

The Wildcats shuffled through four different pitchers, none of whom could get the job done. A single from junior center fielder Jace LaViolette loaded the bases, sending Kiel to the box. Once again, Kiel answered with a double down the left field line, putting the Aggies within one.

Before you knew it, the game was tied after a deep sacrifice fly from Kash, making it a whole new ballgame. And just when the 12th Man couldn’t get any louder, an error from the Wildcats sent Kiel home and Blue Bell Park erupted. There’s nothing the Aggies needed more than some insurance runs, which they got late in the sixth after LaViolette sent Royo home for his second run of the evening, giving the Aggies a two-run cushion.

The rest of the way was smooth sailing for the Aggies, although the Wildcats got base runners late in the ninth. The Aggies took deep breath once freshman LF Sawyer Farr got the last out deep on the warning track. 

“I knew it was an out,” Moss said. “I feel like, as a pitcher, you can tell.”

The Aggies won their first SEC game against the Wildcats, but the job’s not done as they face them again Saturday, March 29 with the first pitch set at 2:00 p.m.