No. 4 Arkansas rides early lead past Texas A&M to level series, 3-1

Game #38: No. 4 Arkansas 3, Texas A&M 1
Records: Texas A&M (24-14, 9-8), Arkansas (31-8, 12-5)
WP: Zack Morris (3-0)
LP: Micah Dallas (4-2)
Save: Brady Tygart (6)
Box Score

As Skip Bertman once said: The Aggies just ran out of innings.

In yet another well-pitched affair, Texas A&M fell to No. 4 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon, 3-1, as the Razorbacks evened the three-game series. Timely hitting eluded the Aggies once again as Arkansas pitching stranded 12 A&M runners.

"Today was a great ball game that we didn't get that extra hit or that big hit," Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "That's part of it. It's way more about how we respond tomorrow."

According to Schlossnagle, the last two ballgames have mirrored super-regional action.

"When you play in this conference in these environments against these great teams, it feels like a super-regional every weekend," Schlossnagle said. "All this is great preparation for hopefully what is some level of the postseason."

These Aggies currently appear destined for that postseason, sitting at 9-8 in conference and 8-3 against top-25 foes.

"You punch, and you get punched back," Schlossnagle said. "We put ourselves in a good position to win the ballgame today. We didn't either get the big hit or they made a good pitch or they made a good play."

Arkansas took control early, scoring once in each of the first three frames as DH Brady Slavens homered twice — once in the first and again in the third.

"We offered (Slavens) the world at TCU and thought we had him up there," Schlossnagle recalled. "He hung around and waited on the Razorbacks, so I sure wish he would have gone there and we wouldn't have had to face him. He's a really good player."

The visitors' only other run scored via a wild pitch in the second.

Aggie starter Micah Dallas was hit hard in his four innings of work as he struggled to command his low-90s fastball, allowing all three runs on six hits.

"He's got to throw his offspeed pitches for strikes, and he has to throw his fastball where he wants to throw it," Schlossnagle said of Dallas. "He doesn't have to throw as hard as Nathan Dettmer; he just has to command his fastball. When he doesn't do that, the ball is up. With the wind blowing out, it doesn't help him."

The brightest spot for the Maroon & White was the 4.2 innings of brilliant relief work by Joseph Menefee, who notched a career-high seven strikeouts.

"Doing whatever I can to help the team is all that boils down to," Menefee said.

Menefee's outing kept his club in the game and also saved the bullpen for Sunday's finale as only Wyatt Tucker was called upon for the final out of the top of the ninth.

"(Menefee) saved the bullpen and gave us a chance to compete tomorrow," Schlossnagle said.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

The Aggies were unable to provide any run support behind Joseph Menefee’s career-best seven strikeouts. 

The big hit escaped A&M as the Aggies failed to cash in on the six free base runners Hagen Smith awarded them in a short three-inning start. 

"We had plenty of chances," Schlossnagle said. "We left 12 guys on base, and that's baseball."

A&M's lone run came in the fourth against Zack Morris as Kole Kaler's sacrifice fly plated Brett Minnich, a run manufactured without the luxury of a base hit.

Arkansas pitching worked around traffic all afternoon as the Aggies left at least one man aboard in every frame except the fifth. A night after mustering just two base hits, A&M recorded seven knocks on Saturday with Jack Moss accounting for three of them.

Late in the game, Dave Van Horn utilized his talented bullpen. Evan Taylor — pitching on back-to-back days — got the Hogs out of a seventh-inning jam and tossed a scoreless eighth. Brady Tygart slammed the door in the ninth to earn his sixth save of the season.

"They just mix and match," Schlossnagle said. "They brought in a guy throwing 98 mph, and we swung the bat great against him. That freshman closer is really good. He's super talented."

With the series tied at a game apiece, Sunday's contest is of great importance for a Texas A&M team making a convincing case to crack the top-25.

"Every single game has tremendous value, and every single game has value in us getting better as a club," Schlossnagle said. "Experience is all a part of getting better."

The rubber match is set for 1:02 p.m. CT.