Sophomore Aaron Walters stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with the bases loaded and hit a high popup that stayed in the infield. The Tigers couldn’t communicate as the ball was dropped, allowing two runs for the Aggies.
Those runs would be the difference in a game that ended in a 2-2 tie after the 10th inning due to travel restrictions. The tie is the first for both teams, as A&M now sits at 23-6-1 (6-2-1 SEC) while Missouri goes to 18-10-1 (3-5-1 SEC).
The pitching for both teams was the difference as Missouri junior starter TJ Sikkema went seven innings, giving up no earned runs on just five hits. Sophomore Konnor Ash replaced Sikkema on the mound, throwing three shutout innings and giving up one hit.
“Sikkema’s one of my favorite pitchers in the league,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “He’s very competitive … He’s fearless and did a really nice job. We were very fortunate to score.”
At the plate, Missouri was led by junior Chris Cornelius and senior Paul Gomez. Cornelius went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Gomez went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
A&M started freshman left-handed pitcher Joseph Menefee, who has been a reliever all year. Menefee threw 3.1 innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits and striking out four Tigers.
The Aggie bullpen was lights out as sophomore Bryce Miller, freshman Chris Weber and sophomore Kasey Kalich combined for 6.2 shutout innings, giving up just six hits and striking out nine.
“We’re not satisfied,” Weber said. “Kasey did a great job of keeping them at two runs at the end of the game, but we’re hungry for more and we’re ready for next week.”
At the plate, A&M was led by Jonathan Ducoff, who went 2-for-4. The Aggies had six hits from five players and drew two walks.
“I’ll take it over a loss,” Ducoff said. “It doesn’t feel good. We wanted to close that game out and we weren’t able to do it. Pitching and defense was great again today, and that’s always going to keep us in games. We just have to execute offensively with the opportunities we get.”
A&M entered game three of the series after back-to-back nail-biters. On Saturday, the Aggies and Tigers engaged in a 15-inning affair which ended after the Aggies were unable to drive in the tying run — which was standing on third — to send the game into the 16th inning. A&M fell to the Tigers 3-2.
On Friday, A&M found itself trailing and mounted a comeback fueled by a five-run eighth inning to earn the game-one victory 7-3.
The Aggies will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Austin to take on the No. 7 Texas Longhorns. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.