No. 19 Texas A&M capped off its fifth-straight SEC series win Sunday, beating Missouri 7-0 to complete a three-game sweep.
The Aggies (32-13, 13-8 SEC) cruised to an easy 11-1 win in the series opener on Friday behind seven shutout innings from Brigham Hill. They jumped out to an early lead with a three-run first inning and never looked back as the offense churned out 14 hits and eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit.
Braden Shewmake went 4-for-6 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI, George Janca connected on his fifth home run of the season and Nick Choruby reached base four times and drove in two runs.
Because of a possibility of inclement weather on Saturday, the teams played the second game of the series on Friday as well. Missouri (27-18, 8-13 SEC) sent its ace Tanner Houck to the mound in the back-half of the doubleheader, and the junior right-hander kept A&M off balance for the first six innings of play.
The Tigers got on the board first in the third inning when Chris Cornelius scampered home on a passed ball, and the score remained 1-0 until the fifth. Hunter Coleman reached base with a walk, advanced to third on a one-out double by Blake Kopetsky and then scored on an Austin Homan sacrifice fly.
A&M starter Corbin Martin ran into trouble in the fifth by issuing a walk and then hitting a batter, but Kaylor Chafin came on in relief to shut the door. Chafin not only got out of the fifth unscathed, but then he proceeded to produce a masterful outing in which he retired all 14 batters he faced. In all, he tossed 4.2 flawless innings with a career-high eight strikeouts.
The offense finally broke through against Houck in the eighth. Logan Foster got the scoring started in the eighth by driving in George Janca with an opposite-field RBI single and then Shewmake gave the Aggies a 4-1 lead by blasting a double to deep left-center field that plated Walker Pennington and Choruby.
Sunday’s game three was another low-scoring pitcher’s duel before the Aggies offense came alive late. A&M starter Stephen Kolek was stellar for his fourth consecutive start. He did not allow a baserunner until the fifth inning and the Tigers did not get their first hit until Kirby McGuire singled in the sixth.
The Aggies came through with some run support for Kolek in the fifth. Janca led off the frame by reaching on a hit-by-pitch and Homan followed with a walk. After Pennington reached on a fielder’s choice, Choruby scored Janca on a groundout to first.
Kolek got two outs in the seventh before A&M head coach Rob Childress called on freshman lefty John Doxakis out of the bullpen with two men on an two outs. Doxakis promptly struck out pinch-hitter Alex Samples on three pitches to escape the jam and protect the Aggies’ 1-0 lead.
Kolek gave up only one hit in 6.2 innings, striking out nine and walking none to improve his season record to 3-2.
After a 75-minute rain delay between the seventh and eighth innings, closer Mitchell Kilkenny came into the game for the Aggies. He loaded the bases with two outs but came back to strike out McGuire on a 3-2 pitch to squash the Tigers’ scoring hopes.
Similar to their outburst in game two, the A&M offense broke through in the ninth to give Kilkenny some breathing room. Kopetsky and Janca reached base to start the ninth and, after a strikeout by Homan, came around to score on a triple to right field by Pennington.
That was only the beginning of the scoring, though, as Choruby followed with an RBI single, Foster then drove him in with an RBI double and Shewmake delivered the knockout punch with a long home run to right that came with two strikes on him.
Kilkenny allowed two runs in the ninth on a homer by Robbie Glendinning, but rebounded to get a strikeout to end the game and complete the Aggies’ 7-2 victory.
The Aggies have now won 10 of their last 11 SEC contests and sit one game behind Mississippi State and Auburn in the SEC West standings. They return to the diamond Tuesday at Olsen Field for a midweek home game against Houston Baptist University.
