A&M's lifeless offense strikes out 16 times in 3-1 loss to No. 22 Vandy

Game #22: No. 22 Vanderbilt 3, Texas A&M 1
Records: Texas A&M (11-11, 0-5), Vanderbilt (18-5, 3-2)
WP: Tommy O’Rourke
LP: Justin Lamkin (1-2)
Save: Miller Green (5)
Box Score

Texas A&M remains without a win in SEC play as No. 22 Vanderbilt claimed the series with a 3-1 win on Friday night at Hawkins Field.

The Aggie offense remained a major weakness. Ten different hitters in Maroon & White struck out, three of them recording multiple punchouts, for a total of 16 Ks on the night.

From the fifth to the seventh inning, all nine of the Ags’ outs were via a strikeout.

A&M’s lone run came from a solo home run from Bear Harrison in the second inning — his third in the matter of a week.

Harrison’s bomb put A&M ahead 1-0, but that was short-lived.

Vanderbilt starting pitcher JD Thompson dealt the rest of the way, allowing five hits and striking out 10 through 6.1 innings of work. Seventy-four of Thompson’s 96 pitches were for strikes as he allowed zero free passes and did not allow another runner past first following Harrison’s homer.

Despite a gem of a game from starter Justin Lamkin, his three runs given up through seven innings of work was too much to overcome for A&M’s inept offense.

Braden Holcomb equalized in the bottom of the second with an RBI groundout. From there, Lamkin cruised through four more innings of scoreless ball.

The Commodores finally cracked the lefty in the seventh as Colin Barczi doubled home Riley Nelson, who led off the inning with a two-bagger. Barczi scored later in the inning on Holcomb’s two-out base hit, producing a seemingly insurmountable two-run lead.

Unfortunately for the Ags, another solid outing from a starting pitcher was overshadowed by poor at-bats.

A&M’s fifth hit was recorded in the fourth inning with a base knock from Hayden Schott. It wouldn’t be until the final frame before the Maroon & White found another with a base knock from pinch-hitter Blake Binderup.

However, Binderup was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Rather than runners on the corners with two outs and the go-ahead run coming to the plate, the game concluded in typical fashion to the Aggies’ season.

Through 18 innings this weekend, A&M has scored four runs on 11 hits while striking out 32 times and leaving 12 runners on base.

Something must be improved offensively on Saturday as the Ags attempt to salvage a game from the ‘Dores at 2 p.m. CT.