Texas A&M
26-9, 7-7
Alabama
21-15, 5-9
Aggies Clinch Series versus Alabama with 9-6 Victory
Apr 13, 2018 | Baseball
The victory clinched the best-of-three series for the Aggies, their second consecutive series triumph. With their current five-game win streak, Texas A&M improved to 26-9 overall and 7-7 in the SEC. Alabama dropped to 21-15 overall and 5-9 in league action.
Will Frizzell paced the Aggies at the plate, going 3-for-3 with one run, one double and one RBI. Cam Blake continued his recent tear, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Hunter Coleman scored three runs and Michael Helman drove in three with a home run.
Mitchell Kilkenny joined Grayson Long (2015) and Michael Wacha (2012) as recent Aggies to start the season 8-0. He bobbed and weaved for 5.2 innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on six hits and four walks while striking out eight. Asa Lacy picked up his first career save with 3.1 innings of relief. He yielded three runs, all unearned, on five hits while striking out five.
NEXT UP
The Aggies go for the series sweep Saturday with a 1:02 p.m. contest.
SCORING SUMMARY
B2 | The Maroon & White pounced for five runs in the bottom of the second. Coleman drew a leadoff walk and Frizzell followed with a single through the left side. Coleman moved to third when Cole Bedford flied out to the rightfield wall and came around to score on a grounder to second by Zach DeLoach. After George Janca was hit by a pitch, Cam Blake laced a single through the right side to knock in Frizzell. Michael Helman capped off the scoring in the inning with a three-run dinger to leftfield. A&M 5, UA 0.
T3 | Alabama shaved a run off the lead in the top of the third. With two outs, Chandler Avant and Chandler Taylor drew seven-pitch walks and Hunter Alexander roped a double to leftfield to push Avant across. A&M 5, UA 1.
B3 | The Aggies responded with a run in the home half. Coleman drew a seven-pitch walk and Frizzell threaded a single through the right side of the infield to put runners on the corners. Bedford knocked in Coleman with a sacrifice fly. A&M 6, UA 1.
B4 | Blake singled through the left side to start the inning and moved to second on an errant pickoff attempt. With one out, Logan Foster plated Blake, slapping a single to leftfield. A&M 7, UA 1.
T5 | With one out, Taylor singled to centerfield and Alexander followed with a seven-pitch walk. An error by Foster in leftfield on a fly ball by Joe Breaux loaded the bases for Alabama. The Tide tacked on an unearned run when Sam Praytor trickled a grounder to third, sending Taylor home. A&M 7, UA 2.
B5 | Coleman bounced a single up the middle to start the inning and Frizzell followed with a double to the base of the wall in left-center to push Coleman across. A&M 8, UA 2.
T6 | With one out, Walker McCleney reached on a fielding error by Helman at second base. With two outs, Avant, the last batter Kilkenny faced, drew an eight-pitch walk. Taylor greeted Lacy with a single through the right side to knock in McCleney. A&M 8, UA 3.
B6 | With one out, Helman drew a five-pitch walk and was replaced at first base by Foster who grounded to shortstop for a fielder's choice. Shewmake stroked a double to rightfield and Foster came around to score when the Alabama second baseman misplayed a sky ball down the rightfield line. A&M 9, UA 3.
T9 | With one out, Taylor poked a Texas Leaguer to centerfield. The game was extended when Breaux reached on a fielding error by Coleman at first base with two outs. Praytor tattooed the next offering over the fence in left-center for a three-run home run. A&M 9, UA 6.
Series clincher!
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 14, 2018
Go for the sweep tomorrow at 1 p.m.#FamilyF1rst #12thMan pic.twitter.com/DFcprzWmba
"It was a great team win." @Rob_Childress, @mr_mitches, @Will_Frizzell & @camblake15 talk about the 9-6 victory, as the Aggies moved to 26-9 (7-7 SEC). #FamilyF1rst #12thMan pic.twitter.com/fBnYwhxZNy
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 14, 2018
E2 | A&M 5-0@theHELM_ adds to the A&M lead with his homer to left!
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 14, 2018
?? - https://t.co/kSWKcw331w#FamilyF1rst #12thMan pic.twitter.com/RHEBbdmEsU
E4 | 7-1 A&M @Lilfost05 singles home a run in the fourth.
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 14, 2018
?? - https://t.co/kSWKcw331w#FamilyF1rst #12thMan pic.twitter.com/HyXH20wSW8
E5 | 8-2 A&M @Will_Frizzell is a perfect 3-for-3 on the night, & he plates @coleman_hunter with a double in the fifth.
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 14, 2018
?? - https://t.co/kSWKcw331w#FamilyF1rst #12thMan pic.twitter.com/oH7frrCuCA
M7 | 9-3 A&M@GeorgeJanca ?? @theHELM_ ?? @coleman_hunter for the inning-ending double play in the top of the seventh.
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 14, 2018
?? - https://t.co/kSWKcw331w#FamilyF1rst #12thMan pic.twitter.com/PNn1rSSuaW
M8 | 9-3 A&M
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 14, 2018
Asa Lacy strikes out the side in the top of the eighth.
?? - https://t.co/kSWKcw331w#FamilyF1rst #12thMan pic.twitter.com/RAaoq5jfYM
.@GeorgeJanca with a tremendous play to open the top of the ninth
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 14, 2018
?? - https://t.co/kSWKcw331w#FamilyF1rst #12thMan pic.twitter.com/eRG5pMdJkt
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On how it feels to grind their way back to .500 in league play…
"Well, it's nice to get there. But we've got to keep showing up every day and giving our very best shot. The game was just a lot of stress on both sides and the game was as tight as it could possibly be. The score wasn't indicative of that through the course of the game. They were one hit away from being right back in it and we kept minimizing the damage, keeping it at one, keeping it at one. We would come back and answer when they would score and I'm just really proud of our offense against [Jake] Walters. He was as hot as anybody in the Southeastern Conference. Coming off an unbelievable performance against Missouri, I just felt like we took a lot of pitches from him and we were able to lay off the slider and grab the lead. We just kept tacking on and forcing them into the bullpen."
On Texas A&M pitchers…
"[Mitchell] Kilkenny, again on short rest, was just real competitive. He minimized damage and we made some unbelievable plays to allow that to happen behind him. [Asa] Lacy came in and was really, really good when they had some opportunities."
Freshman OF Will Frizzell
On how much fun he's having with the group, especially with the five-game winning streak…
"It's great. Offense is firing on all cylinders, defense. Pitching's just putting it in, making pitches when they need to, competing and letting the defense work."
On key to him hitting well...
"It's just slowing down the game, not making it bigger than it is. The at bats before mine usually just set it up. Hunter [Coleman] getting walked twice and the single up the middle tonight, just put me in a good place to hit every time."
Junior RHP Mitchell Kilkenny
On the feeling of fighting and earning wins…
"It feels great. We always knew we had the talent and then games weren't going our way so we had to make a mental adjustment. The team's doing a great job. Our offense is catching fire. It's just a really fun thing to be a part of."
On his outing…
"They're not all pretty. But our offense, they came out hot. As hot as I've seen them this year. Every time they scored, we scored. It was a great team win. They really picked me up when I needed to."
Sophomore OF Cam Blake
On how much fun he's having back out on the field…
"It's great. Having to sit out for a while kind of sucked, but I just tried to stay focused. Being back with my teammates and being out there, being able to play the game I love, it's great.
On how watching benefitted him…
"I got to do a lot of stuff just watching the nuances of the game and just trying to develop that mental side which I was lacking before. The coaches and my teammates did a great job of helping me through all of this."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kilkenny, Mitchell (8-0)
L: Walters, Jake (2-4)
S: Lacy, Asa (1)
Batting:
2B: Alexander, Hunter 1 ; Praytor,Sam 1
HR: Praytor,Sam 1
RBI: Taylor, Chandler 1 ; Alexander, Hunter 1 ; Praytor,Sam 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Avant, Chandler 1 ; Taylor, Chandler 2 ; Breaux, Joe 1 ; Praytor,Sam 1 ; McCleney, Walker 1
Batting:
2B: Frizzell, Will 1
HR: Helman, Michael 1
RBI: Helman, Michael 3 ; Foster, Logan 1 ; Frizzell, Will 1 ; Bedford, Cole 1 ; DeLoach, Zach 1 ; Blake, Cam 1
SF: Bedford, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Helman, Michael 1 ; Foster, Logan 1 ; Coleman, Hunter 3 ; Frizzell, Will 1 ; Janca, George 1 ; Blake, Cam 2
HBP: Janca, George 1
