No. 9 Baseball Splits Saturday Twin Bill at No. 20 Ole Miss

OXFORD – No. 9 Texas A&M combined for 24 hits and nine home runs in a split of Saturday's doubleheader with No. 20 Ole Miss at Swayze Field.
 
The Aggies (37-12, 16-10) matched a program record with seven homers to secure an 18-5 run-rule victory in the first game, but fell to Ole Miss (34-18, 14-13), 6-5, in the finale.
 
Ben Royo paced the offense in the twin bill, registering a combined 7-for-7 performance at the plate with three homers, five RBI and five runs across both contests.
 
Game One: Aggies 18, Rebels 5 (7 innings)
The Maroon & White administered a lethal offensive attack as each hitter in the starting lineup scored at least one run. Eight Aggies recorded a hit and five had multiple RBI to slug past Ole Miss in game one. Royo and Chris Hacopian led the charge, each logging three hits, two homers and four RBI.
 
The Aggies mashed three long balls in the third inning to claim a 5-0 advantage. Blake Binderup and Royo led off the frame with back-to-back round-trippers to left field. Gavin Grahovac walked and Caden Sorrell reached on error, followed by a Hacopian three-run shot to the opposite field.
 
Ole Miss responded with a three-spot in the bottom half of the frame behind three hits and a walk.
 
Texas A&M kept the bats alive in the fourth inning with a pair of no-doubt homers. Royo mauled his second dinger of the game 415 feet to left field to bring two runs across. Sawyer Farr lined a sharp single to center field, followed by a 419-foot blast from Sorrell to extend the Aggie edge to 9-3. Both long balls in the inning left the bat at 109 miles-per-hour.
 
Ole Miss continued to apply pressure in the bottom half, scratching a pair of runs on three base knocks and a pair of walks, cutting the deficit to 9-5.
 
The Aggie lineup added three more runs to the slugfest in the fifth inning with three hits and a walk. Ol' Sarge's charges loaded the bases behind consecutive singles from Bear Harrison and Wilson and a free pass issued to Royo. Each runner advanced a base on a wild pitch, bringing Harrison home. Grahovac cleared the bases with a two-out double down the left field line, plating two runs to put the Aggies in front, 12-5.
 
In the sixth inning, Bear Harrison crushed a mammoth two-run homer to left field. His eleventh jack of the year traveled 435 feet and left the bat with an 111 mile-per-hour exit velocity. Wilson drew a walk and moved two bases to third on a wild pitch. Royo lined a single to bring home a run. Following a walk by Farr, Grahovac sent his second double of the afternoon down the right field line to drive in a pair of runs.
 
Hacopian launched his second long ball of the game and the seventh of the contest for the Maroon & White to cap the final tally at 18-5.  

Aiden Sims worked 3.0 innings as the starter, suffering three runs on four hits with five punchouts. Gavin Lyons (9-0) earned his seventh win in conference play after tossing 2.0 innings of relief. The right-hander allowed two runs on five hits, recording one strikeout. Hunter Bond closed the final 2.0 innings in scoreless fashion, fanning a trio of Rebels without allowing a hit.
 
TOP PLAYERS
Ben Royo – 3-for-3, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, 1 BB
Chris Hacopian – 3-for-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR
Gavin Grahovac – 2-for-4, 1 R, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 1 BB
Bear Harrison – 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
Jorian Wilson – 2-for-3, 3 R, 1 BB
Hunter Bond – 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
 
SCORING SUMMARY
T3 | Binderup and Royo launched back-to-back jacks to begin the frame. Grahovac walked and Sorrell reached on a fielding error. Hacopian mauled an opposite-field home run to bring three across. A&M 5, Ole Miss 0.
 
B3| Daniel Pacella was hit by a pitch and Will Furniss dropped a single into left field. Judd Utermark lined a double to right-center field, plating both runners. With two outs, Hayden Federico singled to bring Utermark home. A&M 5, Ole Miss 3.
 
T4 | Wilson led off with a single up the middle and Royo deposited his second home run of the game to left field. Sawyer Farr shot a single to center field and Sorrell crushed a two-run shot to right field. A&M 9, Ole Miss 3.
 
B4 | Collin Reuter singled, followed by an Austin Fawley walk. Pacella reached on a fielder's choice that put Fawley out at second but advanced Reuter to third. Dom Decker lined a single to center field to bring a run across. A fielder's choice off the bat of Furniss moved Pacella to third, who later scored on a Utermark double. A&M 9, Ole Miss 5.
 
T5 | Harrison and Wilson drove consecutive singles to begin the frame. Royo walked to load the bases, and each runner advanced on a wild pitch, plating Harrison. Grahovac cleared the bases with a two-RBI double down the left field line. A&M 12, Ole Miss 5.
 
T6 | Duer walked, followed by a no-doubt homer from Harrison to left field. Wilson walked, and later advanced two bases on a wild pitch. Royo lined a single through the left side to bring the run across. Farr walked, and Grahovac poked a double down the right field line to plate a pair of runs. A&M 17, Ole Miss 5.
 
T7 | Hacopian drilled his second homer of the game to lead off the inning. A&M 18, Ole Miss 5.
 
Game Two: Rebels 6, Aggies 5
Ole Miss claimed an early 3-0 advantage behind back-to-back homers from Fawley and Topher Jones in the second inning. In the third, Reuter drove a two-run jack to put the Rebels in front, 5-0.
 
The Aggies knotted things up with a five spot in the top of the fourth on five hits. After three consecutive singles to load the bases, Ole Miss pitcher Taylor Rabe balked in the Maroon & White's first score. With two outs, Binderup launched a three-run jack followed by Royo's third homer of the doubleheader to even the ledger.
 
Weston Moss was tabbed the starter, suffering five runs on six hits in 3.0 innings pitched. Clayton Freshcorn (2-2) took over in the fourth inning, tossing a season-long 5.0 innings of one-run relief while punching out a career-best five hitters. The right-hander would be charged with the loss, as his lone run allowed would end up being the difference in the contest.
 
Texas A&M put runners on base in each of its last three offensive frames but were unable to muster a score to claim an advantage.
 
TOP PLAYERS
Ben Royo – 4-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR
Blake Binderup – 1-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
Clayton Freshcorn – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K
 
SCORING SUMMARY
B2 | Federico led off with a double to left-center field. Fawley drove a home run to center field. Three pitches later, Topher Jones shot a home run to center field. A&M 0, Ole Miss 3.
 
B3 | With two outs, Federico walked and Reuter homered to left field. A&M 0, Ole Miss 5.
 
T4 | Sorrell, Hacopian and Duer singled consecutively to load the bases. The Aggies scored their first run of the game on a balk with the bases juiced. With two outs, Binderup drove a three-run shot to left-center field. Royo launched his third homer of the doubleheader to even the tally. A&M 5, Ole Miss 5.
 
B7 | Decker walked and stole second. Utermark lined a single through the left side to put the Rebels ahead. A&M 5, Ole Miss 6.
 
GAME NOTES

• Binderup's home run in the third inning of game one was the Aggies' 100th long ball as a team this season, marking the third time Texas A&M has achieved the feat in program history.
• Texas A&M matched a program record with seven home runs in the first contest.
• Royo mashed his first two homers of the season in game one, marking his third career multi-homer performance. His four hits in game two matched a career high.
• Sorrell launched his 22nd homer of the season in the first game, the sixth-most in a single season at Texas A&M.
• The junior logged his 18^th multi-RBI performance.
• Grahovac notched his team-best 19^th multi-RBI game of the season and 11th in conference play. He also leads the club with 23 multi-hit games and 14 in SEC games.
• Hacopian logged the third multi-homer performance of his career in game one. He matched a season high in game one with four RBI and has reached base safely in 14 straight games.
• Texas A&M has scored 10 or more runs in 20 games this season and accomplished the feat seven times in SEC play.
• The Aggie lineup stroked 15 hits in game one, marking the 24th game this season with double-digit hits.
• Harrison extended his on-base streak to 24 games and has reached safely in 21 consecutive SEC games.
• Freshcorn worked a career-high 5.0 innings and matched a career best with five strikeouts.

UP NEXT
No. 9 Texas A&M returns home for its final conference series of the season with Mississippi State. The opener of the series is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Thursday from Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
 
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