Hello SEC: Ags open conference play with win over Auburn, 6-2

GAME #19: Texas A&M 6, Auburn 2
RECORDS: Texas A&M 19-0 (1-0); Auburn 13-5 (0-1)
WP:  Grayson Long (4-0)
LP:  Keegan Thompson (3-2)
Box score: Link

---

Heading into their first SEC match up of the season, A&M had the pressure of carrying the only perfect start left and now having to endure the loss of two Friday starters.

Neither of those factors seemed to impact the Aggies in their conference opening 6-2 victory over the Auburn Tigers in front of 5,364 at Olsen Field.

Grayson Long threw six innings and fired 110 pitches along the way in his victorious Friday debut. The majority of his support came from one source, Hunter Melton. The third baseman had all six of A&M’s RBI’s, four of them coming on one swing in the second inning.

A&M outscored Auburn, but the Tigers pounced first.

Auburn got two men on board in the first when Grayson Long plunked the Tiger second baseman in the back and proceeded to walk the next man. They scored soon after with a single to left and A&M found themselves in an early 1-0 hole.

In the bottom of the second, the Aggies brought the type of hitting we saw at the start of the year and it paid off in a big way.

Nick Banks, coming off a stellar performance on Wednesday, led off the inning with a single up the middle. Logan Taylor slapped one to the left side of the infield and although the shortstop got a glove on it, Banks was able to beat the throw to second. Blake Kopetsky followed and tried giving Auburn an out with a sac bunt. That worked to perfection, as Keegan Thompson was unable to get the ball out of his glove cleanly.

The bases were loaded for the newly minted 21-year-old Hunter Melton. He gave himself and his teammates a late birthday present when he took a full count offering over the wall in right center.

“He kept pounding fast balls away and fast balls away. I was being too long with my swing and told myself to shorten up and try to make something happen.” Melton said of his second inning at bat. “Luckily, I was able to get a barrel on it and that’s what happened.”

Down by three runs, Auburn struck quick in the fourth inning.

After an error by Hunter Melton allowed the lead off man to reach first, a double down the left field line scored the second Tigers run. After the runner advanced to third on a ground out, Long was able to battle his way out of the inning and limit the damage to a single run. The Saturday starter, up until this point, talked about working his way through those early innings.

“I made some mistakes. My mechanics were getting out of hand early, but I fixed it over time.” He said. “I just had to rely on the defense and of course the offense.”

That offense ensured Long would collect his fourth win of the season when they tacked on two runs in the eighth.

The Aggies loaded the bases in the fifth inning with no outs, but came away with nothing to show for it. They loaded them up again in the eighth. This time, Hunter Melton made it count.

Melton took a 1-0 pitch down the left field line for a stand up double, scoring Nick Choruby and Nick Banks to give the maroon and white a little more breathing room.

Melton committed a few errors early on, one of them leading to a run, but driving in six runs and giving up one is a combination that head coach Rob Childress is absolutely fine with as long as he keeps hitting.

“ I’ll take the giving up one and driving in six every day of the week.” Said Childress. “He just hung in there and fought every time he was up. When he finally got a pitch he could handle, he made them pay.”

The Aggies now have a chance to clinch the series against Auburn tomorrow at 4:00.