Game #40: No. 13 Kentucky 8, Texas A&M 1
Records: Texas A&M (25-15, 9-9), Kentucky (30-9, 11-7)
WP: Evan Byers (1-0)
LP: Matt Dillard (1-3)
Box Score
For the second weekend in a row, the Aggies failed to notch a sweep in Game 3.
In Saturday’s doubleheader Texas A&M, claimed its fourth conference series in a row, but the Aggies found themselves unable to take all three, falling to No. 13 Kentucky on Sunday, 8-1.
A&M dropped back down to .500 in conference play at 9-9, while Kentucky managed to improve to 11-7 after the hit to its record on Saturday.
Since A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle has taken over the helm, the Aggies have only swept a conference opponent once, the victim being Mississippi State last year.
Nothing seemed to go right for the Aggies on either side of the ball on Sunday.
Despite a sufficient start on the mound for senior Matt Dillard, the relief pitching failed the Maroon & White once more.
Dillard went 3.2 innings, yielding two runs on seven hits and one walk, but when he left the game with his team trailing 2-1, it was up to the bullpen to keep the Aggies within striking distance.
However, those arms were unable to get the job done.
In the fifth inning, a combination of relievers Shane Sdao, Josh Stewart and Justin Lamkin walked four batters, hit one and threw two wild pitches which led to a pair of runs as Kentucky extended its lead to 4-1 in the inning without recording a hit.
The Wildcats broke the game open in the seventh inning with Josh Gray’s three-run triple. The four-run frame put the game out of reach.
While the relievers struggled mightily, A&M’s offense floundered.
A&M recorded six hits and seven walks but scored only one run. The Aggies left 11 on base as they struggled to come up with a timely hit.
That trend became apparent early when the Aggies loaded the bases in the first but failed to score.
A&M’s lone run came in the third inning when Jack Moss scored on Jace LaViolette’s sacrifice fly. In that inning, the Aggies stranded a pair.
In the fourth, the bases were full of Aggies for the third time in the contest, but after a Trevor Werner strikeout, the runners were stranded again.
From then, the Aggie bats fell silent as the pitching woes gave no hope to the players coming up to hit.
Despite the underwhelming series finale, the Aggies will be glad to come back home with a series victory against a Kentucky team ranked No. 1 in the RPI coming into the weekend.
However, given their schedule ahead, a sweep would have been helpful in A&M’s quest to climb the SEC standings.
A&M faces Sam Houston on Tuesday at Blue Bell Park before hitting the road to face Arkansas.
