In a weekend yet again delayed by inclement weather, the Aggie baseball team split their final SEC series of the season with Ole Miss. A&M took the first game 4-0, while the Rebels stole game two in a 7-4 victory for their 30th win of the year.
Both teams agreed to play two seven inning games in a doubleheader on Saturday to make up for the Friday game that was postponed due to weather. They got through game one, but with no other conference race implications remaining, the second game of the doubleheader, or game three, was canceled.
The series began Thursday evening with a gem of a performance from Aggie starting pitcher Grayson Long on the mound. He had one of his best outings this year, working seven innings, recording 12 strikeouts and scattering just two hits. Andrew Vinson came on to finish the game, striking out four of his own to bring the total to 16 fanned batters on the night.
A&M saw the offense come through with clutch hits all night with runners in scoring position. Ryne Birk, Logan Taylor, Logan Nottebrok and G.R. Hinsley each contributed with one RBI apiece in the 4-0 shutout.
Mitchell Nau got A&M on the board early with an RBI single to give the Aggies an early 1-0 lead. In the second inning, Hunter Melton hit a solo home run, his eighth one of the season to extend the Aggie advantage to 2-0.
Ole Miss (30-25, 15-14 SEC) figured out Aggie starting pitcher Ryan Hendrix in the third inning. After loading the bases with multiple infield singles, a bases loaded walk and two more RBI singles gave Ole Miss a 3-2 lead after two innings. Hendrix’s day ended during the inning, lasting just two innings in his start.
Four more runs were tacked on by the Rebels, with a sac fly and three RBIs in the third and fourth inning, Ole Miss took a 7-2 lead with them to the sixth inning.
A&M (43-10, 18-10 SEC) showed its resiliency, as Ryne Brik hit a two run home run to straight away center field to help the Aggies gain a little more momentum and cut the lead to 7-4, but A&M could not manage any more opportunities.
A good sign for the Aggies came in the appearance of Tyler Stubblefield. Before the year began, he tore his ACL in practice. After hard work and rehabilitation, Stubblefield threw his first game pitches of 2015. He worked two-thirds of the sixth inning, allowing one hit while throwing 15 total pitches. His appearance hints that he might be available for postseason play, which is big for the Aggie pitching staff.
Next up for A&M is the SEC Tournament. With a win on Friday night, the Aggies secured a first round bye in the tournament and will begin play from Hoover, Alabama Wednesday afternoon.
