With 20 total runs scored in nine innings, Texas A&M baseball pulled past Auburn in the eighth inning to win 11-9 on Saturday, May 15, in Plainsman Park and improve to 28-24 on the season and 8-18 in SEC play.
The Aggies struck first in the game, loading the bases with two outs and bringing two runs across the plate in the top of the first. Auburn quickly fired back and established the scoring precedent for the matchup, hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs in its first three at bats.
Of Auburn’s nine runs, seven came from six home runs. Meanwhile, A&M reached base 10 times on walks and four times on batters hit by pitches.
“Today was definitely an SEC grind like I’ve been hearing about all season,” junior outfielder Jordan Thompson said. “We did what we needed to do, we got our jobs done and we didn’t fold whenever we got hit in the mouth and we punched back.”
Junior pitcher Chris Weber started the game for A&M, only working through the first inning after the three home runs. Senior pitcher Bryce Miller took to the mound in relief and pitched through 3.1 innings, striking out four batters and allowing six runs on five hits.
Junior pitcher Joseph Menefee took over in the bottom of the fifth, inheriting runners on first and second with one out. Getting through the inning with the score at 9-7 in Auburn’s favor, Menefee then pitched through four scoreless innings with five strikeouts and three hits allowed.
“It felt good to give the team its best chance to win,” Menefee said. “That’s what we try and do, is to give our hitters opportunities to build leads or come back from leads.”
Senior Logan Sartori hit 3-of-5 on the day with two RBIs while junior Austin Bost and Thompson also had two RBIs. Senior Will Frizzell, who is tied for third in home runs in the NCAA, came across the plate twice in the game as he was walked three times.
“[I told the team] it may take a field goal or maybe an extra-point conversion or a safety by the end of this deal,” A&M coach Rob Childress said. “Certainly [Menefee] settled things down for us. I’m just very, very proud of our hitters today.”
While A&M only played three pitchers, Auburn played seven. Menefee said it was crucial for him to give rest to the bullpen heading into Sunday’s rubber game
“I just kept going out there and we were having a good time,” Menefee said. “Time flew by when we were out there. We didn’t want to make the moment bigger than it needed to be.”
The bottom two teams of the 14 in the conference will miss the SEC Tournament that can serve as a bid to the College World Series. Auburn is one conference win below the Aggies, who currently sit in 12th place.
Vying for a spot with only one series remaining in the season, Sunday’s matchup may be a deciding factor. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on May 16. The Aggies will then face LSU, which sits at 11th in the SEC, at home on the weekend of May 21.
“[The win is] huge. Especially after last night’s disappointing loss, for us to find a way to win a tough hard fought game,” Childress said. “And it wasn’t easy, it just says alot about the heart of our team.”