No. 4 A&M falls at No. 8 Florida in Friday slugfest to end unbeaten start

Game #18: No. 8 Florida 8, No. 4 Texas A&M 6
Records: Texas A&M (17-1, 0-1), Florida (11-6, 1-0)
WP: Cade Fisher (2-1)
LP: Chris Cortez (2-1)
Save: Brandon Neely (1)
Box Score

The first one in Gainesville offered many necessary firsts.

On Friday night at Condron Family Ballpark, No. 4 Texas A&M suffered its first loss, falling to No. 8 Florida in the SEC opener, 8-6.

For the Aggies, it was their first test against an elite offense.

It was also their first taste of adversity for an A&M starting pitcher as the Maroon & White found themselves locked in their first slugfest of 2024.

Making his fifth start, Ryan Prager was far from the left-hander who has posted a sterling 0.00 ERA in 23.2 innings.

Lacking command of his fastball and off-speed pitches, Prager allowed six runs while registering just seven outs. He struck out just one Gator while allowing seven hits.

In the first inning, All-American Jac Caglianone offered a glimpse at what was to come by hitting a home run to center field.

It was the first of a combined seven long balls on the night. Unfortunately for A&M, the Gators had the lion's share of them with five.

In fact, Florida's only "manufactured" run came on a Ty Evans single in the bottom of the first that staked the home nine to an early 2-0 lead.

Kelii Horvath, TexAgs

Jackson Appel’s home run in the fourth inning was his third of the season. 

Caglianone homered again in the third -- another solo shot. Later in the inning, Tyler Shelnut launched a three-run blast to take a 6-5 lead.

A four-run Florida third followed a five-run Aggie outburst in the top of the second, punctuated by a three-run Gavin Grahovac home run to take a short-lived 5-2 edge.

Jackson Appel's leadoff homer in the fourth tied the contest at 6-6.

However, it was the last Aggie run of the night as Florida starter Cade Fisher battled through six innings before handing the ball to Brandon Neely for a three-inning save.

In relief of Prager, Chris Cortez was highly effective.

The hard-throwing righty ate four innings out of the bullpen while punching out eight.

Yet a pair of long balls provided the difference as Cade Kurland and Colby Shelton's homers in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, were the only runs Cortez allowed.

A&M looks to bounce back as the series continues on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. CT.