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No. 19 Texas A&M (10-7, 0-1 SEC) opened SEC play with one of the most disappointing losses of the season after falling to visiting No. 19 Alabama (17-1, 1-0 SEC) 6-4 in the first game of the series on Friday night. After tying the game 4-4 off Hayden Schott's home run in the bottom of the eighth, a highly questionable pitching decision completely changed the game.
Wasting another start from ace pitcher Ryan Prager, who lasted seven innings, giving up four earned runs off five hits while recording four strikeouts, head coach Michael Earley and pitching coach Jason Kelly went with redshirt sophomore Luke Jackson, who immediately looked the part on the mound in relief.
However, even though Jackson was throwing 96-97 MPH while striking out consecutive batters, Earliey and Kelly decided to pull him suddenly. This led to a clean half-inning from Kaeden Wilson before disaster struck after veteran Brad Rudis entered the frame.
To preface, Texas A&M's offense showed vast improvement amid early adversity after trailing 2-0 after the second inning, recording 11 hits on the night led by freshman Terrence Kiel's three hits while Hayden Schott drove in two RBI, including his solo homer.
Tied 4-4 with two outs in the inning, all Rudis needed was a simple fly ball to get out of the inning unscathed and give the Aggie a chance to win in the 9th, but Alabama's Brennan Norton and Kade Snell had other plans, knocking out back-to-back home runs to take back the lead and dramatic fashion, silencing every Aggie fan in Blue Bell Park.
In the bottom of the ninth, Kaeden Kent (hit by pitch) and Jace LaViolette (walk) put the Aggie in great position for a walk-off victory with Wyatt Henseler coming to the plate. Still, after going hitless in four at bats, the former Penn star hit a line drive to the pitcher, who threw to first for two quick outs before Terrence Kiel's grounder ended the game.
Michael Earley's decision to pull Luke Jackson late will go down as his worst decision so far this season, placing the Aggies in an 0-1 hole going into Game 2 on Saturday.
Texas A&M will take on Alabama in Game 2 of the SEC opening series on Saturday, March 15, at 2:00 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M loses to Alabama 6-4 after questionable coaching decison
Continue reading...
Wasting another start from ace pitcher Ryan Prager, who lasted seven innings, giving up four earned runs off five hits while recording four strikeouts, head coach Michael Earley and pitching coach Jason Kelly went with redshirt sophomore Luke Jackson, who immediately looked the part on the mound in relief.
However, even though Jackson was throwing 96-97 MPH while striking out consecutive batters, Earliey and Kelly decided to pull him suddenly. This led to a clean half-inning from Kaeden Wilson before disaster struck after veteran Brad Rudis entered the frame.
To preface, Texas A&M's offense showed vast improvement amid early adversity after trailing 2-0 after the second inning, recording 11 hits on the night led by freshman Terrence Kiel's three hits while Hayden Schott drove in two RBI, including his solo homer.
Tied 4-4 with two outs in the inning, all Rudis needed was a simple fly ball to get out of the inning unscathed and give the Aggie a chance to win in the 9th, but Alabama's Brennan Norton and Kade Snell had other plans, knocking out back-to-back home runs to take back the lead and dramatic fashion, silencing every Aggie fan in Blue Bell Park.
In the bottom of the ninth, Kaeden Kent (hit by pitch) and Jace LaViolette (walk) put the Aggie in great position for a walk-off victory with Wyatt Henseler coming to the plate. Still, after going hitless in four at bats, the former Penn star hit a line drive to the pitcher, who threw to first for two quick outs before Terrence Kiel's grounder ended the game.
Michael Earley's decision to pull Luke Jackson late will go down as his worst decision so far this season, placing the Aggies in an 0-1 hole going into Game 2 on Saturday.
Texas A&M will take on Alabama in Game 2 of the SEC opening series on Saturday, March 15, at 2:00 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M loses to Alabama 6-4 after questionable coaching decison
Continue reading...
