The last four weekends have been very kind to the Aggie Baseball team. After taking down two consecutive top 15 opponents (LSU and Auburn) with a pair of 2-1 series victories, A&M’s conference schedule lightened up a bit. The next two teams on the docket had a combined six SEC wins when they stepped on the field against the Aggies, and the boys in maroon and white needed to take advantage. They then swept Alabama in Tuscaloosa, before returning home to take on Tennessee.

During A&M’s recent run of success, the pitching staff has been the star of the show. In their last 17 games, the team has a record of 13-4. During this stretch, the pitching staff has an ERA of 2.39, a K/9 of 8.14, and a WHIP of 1.120. Basically, they’ve been really, really good. We knew going into the season that the pitching staff was going to need to be good if A&M was going to have success; the offense just lost too many pieces. Well, the pitching staff is holding up their end of the bargain.

Friday: Texas A&M 2, Tennessee 1

• Brigham Hill was masterful once again. In seven scoreless innings, he allowed just five hits and a walk, while striking out six. Great bounce-back start after his struggles last weekend in Tuscaloosa.
• The game was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning, with Brigham and Tennessee starter Hunter Martin trading zeroes. That is, until Braden Shewmake smacked a 1-2 offering over the wall in right-center for the first run of the game. Shewmake is something special.
• Tennessee would tie up the game with an RBI single off of Mitchell Kilkenny in the eighth. And in the bottom of the ninth, George Janca stepped to the plate with bases loaded and one out. He promptly drove a ball deep to the gap in left-center, a walk-off RBI single.

Saturday: Texas A&M 3, Tennessee 1

• Corbin Martin was dealing in this game. In eight innings, he allowed just one run on six hits and a walk, while striking out three. It is so awesome to see everything finally start to come together for the junior right-hander.
• The scoring started for the Aggies in the first inning, with a Joel Davis RBI groundout. They tacked on another run in the third, thanks to a Shewmake RBI groundout. Finally, Austin Homan capped off the scoring with an RBI single to centerfield.
• Mitchell Kilkenny came on in the ninth for the save, facing the minimum to close out the game and clinch A&M’s fourth consecutive SEC series. Kilkenny has become one of the SEC’s dominant closers since his move to the bullpen, just like we all expected.

Sunday: Tennessee 5, Texas A&M 3 (F/14)

• Sunday’s tilt was a bit of a heart-breaker. The Ags held a 3-1 lead going into the eighth, looking like they were about to post their second straight SEC sweep. But then Tennessee tied the game with a two-run double. The game remained 3-3 into the 14th, when Tennessee added two more runs.
• The good: Stephen Kolek was phenomenal, going seven innings, allowing two runs on just three hits and two walks, while striking out 11. The Aggies also posted 12 hits, including seven hits from the top third of the lineup.
• The bad: A&M loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh, and got nothing out of it. They had a chance to put the game away, already up 3-1. They only managed five more hits in next seven innings. It’s funny how stuff like that comes back to bite you.

What’s Next?

The Aggies will take on the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders tomorrow at Olsen. The Islanders are having a rough go of it this season, sitting at 14-26 on the year. This should be a good opportunity for the Ags to get back on track. First pitch is at 6:30 pm.