Aggies homer to game one win at Alex Box

By Hunt Palmer

THE STORY

The difference Friday was early offensive execution.

Texas A&M turned a pair of leadoff walks into runs and got a pair of huge two-out RBI hits while LSU was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Aggies played from ahead and piled on the Tiger bullpen to take game one, 10-4, at Alex Box Stadium.

As A&M played from ahead, Zac Cowan and Deven Sheerin had to sit while Jay Johnson went to the bottom of his staff. The bottom of LSU’s staff isn’t going to get A&M out.

The offense had to do more to match the league’s best lineup. Shane Sdao and Gavin Lyons have been battered all over ballparks by SEC opponents. Sdao’s SEC ERA was over nine, and league foes hit .333 off Lyons, and LSU mustered just four runs. Two came after it was 8-2 in the eighth.

With two on and two out in the first, Steven Milam popped up. With a runner on second and one out in the fourth, LSU came up empty aside from Milam’s solo shot earlier in the inning. In the fifth down 4-2 after Cade Arrambide’s RBI single, Milam struck out.

From that point, Johnson’s hands were tied a little bit. The Aggies pounced

Casan Evans was better than his line indicates. The Aggies, as the best offense in the SEC does, made him pay for every chink in the armor.

Bear Harrison walked to lead off the third and scored on a bloop hit and a ground ball to first. Harrison walked again to lead off the fifth. Caden Sorrell singled with two outs to keep the inning alive, and Chris Hacopian stayed on a really good 3-2 changeup from Evans to poke it into center. Good pitch, better hitter. Hacopian will be a first round pick in two months.

Evans again worked to two strikes against Jake Duer who then rolled a ground ball up the middle to plate two more.

The Aggies just execute.

Evans’s pitch count elevated to 94 after five innings in a 4-2 game, and Jay Johnson elected to send him back out. Terrence Keil singled sharply, and Jorian Wilson launched a hanging curveball into the trees beyond the left field wall to chase Evans on the first extra base hit he’d allowed in the game.

Wilson’s second titanic blast of the game came off Reagan Ricken to make it 10-4 in the ninth and send what was left of the crowd to the exits. Gavin Grahovic also hit a solo homer for Texas A&M.

The Tigers have lost four straight league games, and the pressure is starting to mount in a big way.

THE SCORECARD

Casan Evans: 5+ IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 103 pitches, 63 strikes.

A&M created 21 baserunners.

A&M outhit LSU 12-to-10.

LSU struck out 15 A&M hitters, their second highest total for the Aggies this year.

With RISP: LSU 1-for-8 (.125); A&M 3-for-10 (.300)

Jorian Wilson: 2-for-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI

Cade Arrambide: 3-for-4, RBI, R

WHAT’S NEXT

The Tigers and Aggies play game two Saturday night at 4:30. The game has been moved up from the scheduled 7:00 first pitch due to the forecast.

A couple of talented right-handers will toe the rubber. LSU calls on sophomore William Schmidt. A&M counters with Aiden Sims who is 3-0 in SEC play with a 5.33 ERA.