Credit to Ben Rikard | Assistant Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
AUBURN, Ala. – The Texas A&M Aggies scored in six separate innings and erased a 5-2 deficit to pick up a 9-5 win over Auburn in the series opener on Thursday night at Plainsman Park.
Nathan Dettmer struck out six of the first nine batters he faced and finished with a career-best 11 punchouts in 5.2 innings. He allowed five runs, all with two outs in the third, but was otherwise brilliant in his longest outing of SEC play.
He gave way to Evan Aschenbeck who threw the final 3.1 innings and picked up the win, thanks in large part to a big night from Trevor Werner that included a pair of doubles and a go-ahead, three-run home run in the top of the seventh.
The Aggies (19-11, 4-6 SEC) scored single runs in both the second and third innings, but Auburn (18-11-1, 3-7 SEC) was able to strike for five runs with two outs in the bottom of the third inning to grab the lead. But the third inning was the only frame the Tigers were able to scratch the scoreboard and Texas A&M took full advantage.
Jace LaViolette and Ryan Targac each slugged leadoff homers in the fourth and sixth frames before Werner’s big blast in the seventh.
UP NEXT
The teams will try to avoid incoming inclement weather on Friday and have moved up the middle game of the series to a 1 p.m. start time. It will be aired on the SEC Network.
TOP AGGIE PERFORMERS
Trevor Werner – 3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 2B
Ryan Targac – 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
Nathan Dettmer – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 11 K
Evan Aschenbeck – (W, 4-0) 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
GAME SUMMARY
T2| TAMU 1, AUB 0
The Aggies were able to take advantage of an early break when Trevor Werner doubled with one out on a ball lost in the lights by Tiger shortstop Cole Foster. Ryan Targac then followed with a sure single to right field and Werner made an acrobatic slide to get home safely with the game’s first run.
T3| TAMU 2, AUB 0
Texas A&M went right back to work in the third with Hunter Haas and Austin Bost each reaching to set the table with a couple of runners on base. Brett Minnich then shot a double into the right-field corner to score Haas and up the lead to 2-0. But the Aggies could not cash in further as Auburn starter Will Cannon was able to keep the runners stranded in scoring position.
B3| AUB 5, TAMU 2
Things were cruising along for Dettmer until the third when the Tigers got to him for five scores, all with two outs. A double inside the third-base bag by Kason Howell opened the inning, but he was still at second base three batters later when Cole Foster drew a walk to extend the inning. Auburn then responded with four consecutive hits, getting run-scoring singles by Bobby Pierce, Ike Irish and Bryson Ware before Cooper McMurray delivered a two-run double.
T4| AUB 5, TAMU 3
The Aggies only needed two pitches to answer when Jace LaViolette blasted his sixth home run of the year out to right-center field to cut the lead to 5-3.
T6| AUB 5, TAMU 4
Texas A&M kept the pressure on with another leadoff homer, this one coming from Ryan Targac on a 3-1 pitch from the right side, out over the wall in left field.
T7| TAMU 8, AUB 5
The Aggies were able to manufacture their way in to a tie ballgame when Haas was hit by a pitch to open the inning and moved to third on a wild pitch and a ground ball before coming home on another Tiger wild pitch. But the big swing of the inning came from Werner when he followed a walk by Austin Bost and a single by Minnich with a no-doubt, three-run homer just to the right-field side of the batter’s eye.
T9| TAMU 9, AUB 5
A leadoff walk turned into an insurance run for the Aggies in the ninth as Minnich drew a one-out walk and after a double from Werner, pinch runner Kasen Wells came home on a sac fly from Targac to up the lead.