Aggie Pitching Stymies Auburn in 5-1 Win

Sunday, March 18

Auburn, Ala.

1 p.m.

Texas A&M

17-4, 0

Auburn

19-2, 0

Texas A&M

Auburn

Mar 18, 2018 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score - A&M 5, Auburn 1

AUBURN, Alabama – Mitchell Kilkenny and Nolan Hoffman held the Tigers to four hits as the No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies topped No. 14 Auburn, 5-1, Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park.

Kilkenny (5-0) remained perfect on the year. He allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five in 6.1 innings. Hoffman entered the game with runners at first and second and one out in the seventh and got off the diamond with a grounder to second and a strikeout. He finished the game to earn his third save of the year. Hoffman retired eight of the nine batters he faced, hitting one batter in 2.2 innings.

Braden Shewmake led the Aggies at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI. Michael Helman logged a hit in the fifth inning to extend his hit streak to 14 games. He's reached base in all 21 games in 2018. Zach DeLoach notched his fifth triple of the season to move within one of the national leader.

The Aggies improved to 17-4 on the season and 1-2 in the SEC. Auburn dropped to 19-2 overall and 2-1 in league play.

SCORING SUMMARY
T2 | With one out, Will Frizzell blasted a 3-1 offering 406 feet over the rightfield fence for a solo home run. With two outs, Aaron Walters reached on a throwing error by Auburn shortstop Will Hollland and came home to score when Allonte Wingate gapped a triple to right-center. A&M 2, AUB 0.

T5 | With two outs, Helman reached on an infield single and came around to score when Shewmake rattled a double in the corner down the rightfield line. A&M 3, AUB 0.

B6 | With one out, Steven Williams lofted a 1-0 pitch over the rightfield wall for a solo home run. A&M 3, AUB 1.

T8 | With two outs, Logan Foster drove a 1-2 pitch 359 feet with an exit velocity of 106 to hit his sixth dinger of the season, a solo home run. A&M 4, AUB 1.

T9 | With two outs, Wingate drew a four-pitch walk and scored when Zach DeLoach roped a triple to the gap in left-center. A&M 5, AUB 1.

NEXT UP
The Aggies head to Houston Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. contest against the Rice Owls.

TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress

On the response today...
"I'm really proud of the team. It's been a long tough week for us and things haven't gone our way, but the team showed a lot of toughness and it started on the mound with Mitchell (Kilkenny). He had a great start and we played great defense behind him. We got a lot of big two-out hits to grab the lead and extend the lead. Nolan Hoffman came in and was outstanding the last five or six outs of the game.

Junior RHP Mitchell Kilkenny
On his outing...
"We lost two hard ones this weekend, so it was important we came out and attacked them. We also used a lot of pitching, so I tried to be as efficient as possible and give our hitters a chance to win it."

On improving to 5-0...
"It's early in the season. I'm not thinking about that. It's about trying to give the team a chance to win every start."

Junior RHP Nolan Hoffman
On working out of a seventh inning jam...
"Killer (Mitchell Kilkenny) got in a little spot there and I wanted to get him out of it. Just located my pitches and made sure the ball didn't leave the infield."