COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies lost for the first time in SEC action dropping an 8-2 decision to the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels on Friday evening on Swayze Field at Oxford-University Stadium.
The Rebels drew first blood in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Aggie starter Kyle Martin hit Stuart Turner with the first pitch of the inning, A&M’s fortunes for the frame looked good when Andrew Mistone bounced into a 4-6-3 double play. But Martin hit Sikes Orvis in the foot with the first pitch of his at-bat to put a runner aboard and Will Allen pay for the free base with a double to the gap in left centerfield, knocking Orvis in. Will Jamison drove a double down the rightfield line to knock in Allen for the 2-0 lead.
Ole Miss (21-2, 3-1 SEC) took advantage of a couple of bang-bang calls at first base going in its favor to amass four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Tanner Mathis reached on a bunt single down the first base line when he edged out the throw to the bag. Auston Bousfield reached on a single to shortstop, also beating the throw by an eyelash to give the Rebels two aboard with no outs. Austin Anderson followed with an RBI single to rightfield and Turner drove an RBI single to centerfield to give Ole Miss a 4-0 lead. A sacrifice fly by Mistone and an RBI infield single by Preston Overbey inflated the Rebels’ cushion to 6-0.
Texas A&M (15-8, 3-1 SEC) got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Mikey Reynolds line a single back up the middle. The single extended Reynolds’ streak to 22 consecutive games with a hit, the fifth-longest in school history. Reynolds moved to second on a wild pitch and an error by the Rebels’ second baseman Overbey on a grounder by Krey Bratsen put runners on the corners. Blake Allemand laced a single through the right side of the infield to knock in Reynolds for the Aggies’ first run. A&M cut the lead to 6-2 when Ole Miss third baseman Mistone let a grounder by Mitchell Nau go through his wickets for an error, allowing Bratsen to score.
The Rebels responded with one run in the home half of the sixth. Auston Bousfield hit a first-pitch offering off Rafael Pineda into the home bullpen down the leftfield line to give Ole Miss a 7-2 advantage.
Ole Miss added a final run in the bottom of the sixth. Mathis and Bousfield were both hit by pitches from Aggie reliever Gandy Stubblefield to start the inning. A deep fly ball pushed pinch-runner Cameron Dishon to third base and he scored on a sacrifice fly to rightfield by Turner.
Troy Stein was the lone Aggie to register two hits. He went 2-fo-4, including a bunt single.
Martin (2-3) was saddled with the loss for Texas A&M. He allowed six runs, five earned, on eight hits and one walk while striking out two over 4.2 innings.
Bobby Wahl (6-0) remained perfect on the season for Ole Miss. He allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and nine strikeouts over 8.0 innings.
Bousfield, Anderson, Turner and Allen each had two hits for Ole Miss. Bousfield went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs and one RBI. Anderson hit 2-for-5 with one double, one run and one RBI. Turner went 2-for-3 with one double, one run and two RBI. Jamison went 2-for-4 with one double, one run and one RBI.
The Aggies and Rebels return to action at Oxford-University Stadium on Saturday with a 7:30 pm contest. The game is slated to be televised on ESPNU.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics