Sdao shines with seven scoreless as A&M salvages Sunday's finale, 6-0

Game #52: No. 3 Texas A&M 6, Ole Miss 0
Records: Texas A&M (42-10, 17-10), Ole Miss (27-24, 11-16)
WP: Shane Sdao (4-1)
LP: Mason Nichols (4-1)
Box Score

Take a bow, Shane Sdao.

When the Aggies needed it most, the sophomore left-hander delivered his best outing of the season.

Sdao’s dominance guided No. 3 Texas A&M to a 6-0 win on Sunday evening as the Aggies claimed the series finale over Ole Miss at Swayze Field in Oxford.

Truly, he was heroic on the bump.

Making just his second start of the year — and first since Feb. 18 — Sdao tossed seven scoreless innings.

Ole Miss mustered just three hits against him. Only twice did a Rebel reach scoring position. Not once did one get to third base.

Utilizing his mid-90s fastball with a filthy slider, Sdao punched out six and walked only one.

Indeed, the Rebs only had four baserunners the entire day.

Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

Shane Sdao’s season ERA now sits at 2.02. He has allowed just two runs in his last 26 innings.

The only threats against him — one in the third and another in the fourth — ended on an Andrew Fischer groundout and a Reagan Burford flyout.

Sdao even finished as strongly as he started.

His first inning required just eight pitches. Toward the end of his day, he retired the last 10 Rebels he faced.

His seven innings surpassed a previous career high of five in that opening weekend win over McNeese.

Behind him, Josh Stewart and Evan Aschenbeck finished off A&M’s nation-leading ninth shutout of the year.

And with near-perfect pitching, the Aggie bats did just enough.

Offensively, Caden Sorrell’s leadoff home run off Mason Nichols to begin the third would have been enough support for the sterling Sdao.

Even still, the Aggies added three more runs against reliever JT Quinn in the sixth on Braden Montgomery’s RBI fielder’s choice and Ted Burton’s two-run double.

An inning later, Jace LaViolette’s sacrifice fly plated Travis Chestnut.

In the ninth, Chestnut scored on a wild pitch to conclude the scoring.

Having lost five of six SEC ballgames, Sdao was the story.

And he truly played hero on Sunday.

Sunday’s successful salvage effort inched the Aggies closer to wrapping up a top-eight national seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

It also kept the Maroon & White alive in the SEC West race as A&M will enter the final week of the regular season two games behind first-place Arkansas.

The Aggies and Razorbacks begin a three-game set that will decide the division title on Thursday night.