Texas A&M Baseball: Ags Get Swept by Kentucky

No matter how you slice it, this was a bad weekend for the Aggie Baseball team. Sure, they put up some decent run totals on Saturday and Sunday, but even then the pitching staff couldn’t keep from stepping on their own toes. The seniors went a combined 5-43 at the plate, Logan Foster and Hunter Coleman hit a combined 2-16, and Brigham Hill didn’t look like Brigham Hill. Plus, the bullpen continued to struggle.

Kentucky was relentless all weekend. The Wildcats had not swept an SEC opponent since 2012, but this weekend, you would have thought they were the ranked team. We knew there would be some growing pains for the Ags this year, and their issues have been exposed. While there are still 27 games left in conference play, and it’s not exactly time to hit the panic button, the Aggies need to straighten out their issues quickly. With trips to Nashville and Baton Rouge the next two weekends, starting the season 0-9 in conference play is a very real possibility now.

The big highlight from the weekend was Braden Shewmake (surprise, surprise). In total, he went 4-12, with three RBIs, a walk, one strikeout, and his third home run of the season.

Friday: Kentucky 6, Texas A&M 0

• Brigham Hill was off his game for the second consecutive start. He gave up five earned runs over his 5.1 innings, while striking out 6 Kentucky hitters. He also allowed six hits and hit four batters.
• Kentucky starter Sean Hjelle, who came into the game with an ERA north of seven, was dazzling. He threw a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits and striking out nine.

Saturday: Kentucky 7, Texas A&M 6

• Saturday’s game was on pace to finish in about two-and-a-half hours until the seventh inning rolled around. From there, the pace slowed to a crawl. Each team scored four runs in the frame to push a 2-0 contest to a 6-4 affair. Kentucky tied the game up with a two-run single in the eighth, and then squeezed home the winning seventh run in the top of the ninth.
• Stephen Kolek was very good in his first six innings of work, but he unraveled in the seventh. In that inning alone, Kolek allowed three of the five total hits he gave up, as well as all three runs he allowed.

Sunday: Kentucky 11, Texas A&M 7

• Kentucky controlled this one from the first inning. By the time the seventh rolled around, it was 11-1 ‘Cats. It’s hard to do anything positive when the team digs their deepest hole of the year so far.
• The Ags showed some life in the seventh and eighth. A couple of singles cut the Kentucky lead to 11-4, and a three-run bomb off the bat of George Janca in the eighth made it 11-7. But that was too little, too late.

What’s Next?

The Rice Owls will come to College Station tomorrow night at 6:00 pm. Wayne Graham will probably be smelling RPI blood, and throw his Friday night starter because Wayne Graham. If the Ags want to get back on track, this is an excellent opportunity to do so.