STARKVILLE, Mississippi – No. 18 Texas A&M won a hard-fought, 7-4, decision in the series rubber match Sunday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field.
Zach DeLoach led Texas A&M’s 14-hit barrage at the plate. The freshman batted 4-for-5 with one stolen base, one run and one RBI. Braden Shewmake hit 2-for-4 with one walk and one run and Will Frizzell batted 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI.
Aggie starter Stephen Kolek (4-4) battled through 5.0 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits and two walks while striking out one. Kaylor Chafin worked 3.1 innings of relief, yielding one run on five hits and one walk while striking out three. Nolan Hoffman retired the last two batters for his ninth save of the season.
Texas A&M improved to 32-12 overall and 11-10 in the SEC. Mississippi State dropped to 24-21 overall and 9-21 in league play.
NEXT UP
The Aggies return to action Tuesday when the Maroon & White host the Prairie View A&M Panthers in a 6:32 p.m. contest on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
SCORING SUMMARY
T1 | The Aggies drew first blood with a two-out rally. Shewmake, the third batter in the inning, singled through the left side and moved to third on a stolen base and throwing error by the catcher. Hunter Coleman drew a walk to put runners on the corners and Frizzell drove a single up the middle to knock in Shewmake. A&M 1, MSU 0.
B2 | Mississippi State wrangled the lead away in the home half of the second. Hunter Stovall started the inning by hitting a 2-1 pitch over the rightfield wall for his first home run of the season. With two outs, Marcus Gilbert singled down the rightfield line and came around to score when leftfielder Aaron Walters dropped a fly ball by Josh Hatcher. MSU 2, A&M 1.
T3 | Texas A&M offered up an immediate response in the next half inning. With two outs, Coleman drew a walk and Frizzell roped a single to leftfield. Cole Bedford singled to leftfield to knock in Coleman and Frizzell scored when DeLoach tight-roped a single down the rightfield line. Bedford capped off the scoring in the inning, coming home on a passed ball. A&M 4, MSU 2.
B3 | Rowdey Jordan started the left with a ground-rule double to leftfield and he came home to score when Justin Foscue snaked a single through the right side of the infield. A&M 4, MSU 3.
T7 | Allonte Wingate started the inning by hitting a slow roller off third base. With one out, Coleman singled up the middle to put runners on the corners and Wingate came home to score on a balk. A&M 5, MSU 3.
T8 | DeLoach gapped a single to left-center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by George Janca. DeLoach moved to third on a wild pitch and scored when Chandler Morris hit a bloop-and-hustle double over the drawn-in Bulldogs’ infield. Morris came around to score on a single by Michael Helman. A&M 7, MSU 3.
B9 | Mississippi State scored an inconsequential run in the ninth. Jake Mangum and Jordan singled to start the frame and they both moved into scoring position on a groundout by Tanner Allen. With Hoffman on to pitch, Luke Alexander grounded to second to plate Mangum. Hoffman got Stovall to fly out for the final out. A&M 7, MSU 4.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics