COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 19 Texas A&M Aggies claimed the rubber match from the No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks, 6-1, with a stellar pitching performance and timely hitting in the late innings Saturday afternoon on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
Christian Roa (3-2) was lights out on the mound after giving up a solo jack in the top of the first. He earned the win, working six frames, yielding a lone run on five hits and one walk, while tying a career-high with seven strikeouts.
Joseph Menefee and Kasey Kalich were perfect in relief. Menefee fanned a pair in 2.1 innings, while Kalich struck out the last two batters, to close out the game.
The Aggie pitching staff retired the last 15 batters they faced, and held their Razorbacks to a .125 (1-for-8) batting average with runners were in scoring position. With 11 strikeouts on the afternoon, Aggie pitchers ended the game with 602 Ks on the season. It marks just the second time in school history the Maroon & White have logged 600 strikeouts in a season and they now sit just 10 behind the school record set in 2010.
Offensively, Texas A&M had some key hits and took advantage of three errors in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to tally their six runs. The Aggies were paced by Jonathan Ducoff, Logan Foster and Mikey Hoehner. On senior day, Ducoff was 2-for-3 with two runs, one double and one RBI, while Foster and Hoehner added two hits and one run apiece.
The Aggies improved to 36-19-1 on the season and 16-13-1 in SEC play. The Razorbacks fell to 40-15 overall and 20-10 in league action.
The Aggies will play in the first game of the 2019 SEC Tournament with a 9:30 a.m. CT contest against the Florida Gators at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
SCORING SUMMARY
T1 | Casey Martin hit a one-out, solo shot over the leftfield wall. ARK 1, A&M 0.
B5 | Hoehner lined a leadoff single to rightfield and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cam Blake. Foster put runners on the corners with a single through the left side of the infield, before Ducoff singled up the middle to knock in Hoehner. The Razorbacks made a call to the pen, and Ty Coleman took advantage, knocking in Foster with a grounder misplayed by Arkansas’s shortstop. With runner at the corners once again, Braden Shewmake scored Ducoff with a sacrifice fly to rightfield. A&M 3, ARK 1.
B6 | Zack DeLoach led off with single through the left side of the infield and moved to second when Hunter Coleman reached first on a fielding error by the Razorbacks’ third baseman. Hoehner’s sacrifice bunt pushed both runners into scoring position and Blake knocked in DeLoach with a sacrifice fly. A&M 4, ARK 1.
B7| Ducoff started another rally, gapping a double to left-center, and advanced to third on a passed ball. Ty Coleman roped a single to rightfield to drive in Ducoff. With two outs, DeLoach was struck by a pitch and awarded first. Arkansas’s pitcher spiked a pitch in the dirt for a wild pitch, advancing both runners and Ty Coleman came in to score when the catcher’s throw sailed wide of second in an attempt to retire DeLoach. A&M 6, ARK 1.
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