Aggies beat No. 4 Hogs in wild Sunday finale to clinch series victory, 11-10

Game #39: Texas A&M 11, No. 4 Arkansas 10
Records: Texas A&M (25-14, 10-8), Arkansas (31-9, 12-6)
WP: Brad Rudis (3-0)
LP: Jaxon Wiggins (5-1)
Save: Jacob Palisch (3)
Box Score

An underdog mantra continues to serve the Aggies well.

Behind a brilliant relief performance by Jacob Palisch, Texas A&M (25-14, 10-8) survived a five-run eighth inning by No. 4 Arkansas to earn their second consecutive series victory over a ranked team, 11-10.

Inheriting the bases loaded with no outs and peering out at the potential go-ahead run, the Stanford transfer dazzled under pressure and sat down the final six batters on three strikeouts to pick up his third save of the season and second of the series.

“We have this high standard for ourselves, and I think it’s fun to prove people wrong,” Palisch said. “When we come into a series like this, we play with a chip on our shoulder.

“There’s an edge and a swagger to this team, and I’m excited each day we get out here because I know we are going to bring it.”

Despite only scoring three runs in the previous two games, the Aggies took full advantage of a struggling Jaxon Wiggins and pieced together a five-run first thanks to a two-run double from Jack Moss and a massive three-run home run from Austin Bost.

Arkansas found limited stability on the mound as Kole Ramage collected his fifth strikeout to the bases loaded following a Brett Minnich run-scoring single in the second inning.

Moss drove in another run in the third ahead of Minnich and Bost adding two more in response to Arkansas cracking the board in the top of the fourth inning.

A fifth-inning two-run shot over left field kept the Razorbacks clinging to life before Arkansas’ third error of the contest allowed Dylan Rock to score.

But before they knew it, A&M’s 10-3 advantage turned to dust as the visitors pounded out seven of the game’s final eight runs, with Rock’s seventh-inning bomb capping off the scoring for the Aggies.

A once lopsided affair quickly turned into a nail-bitter until Palisch’s heroics neutralized Arkansas’ late rally.

According to Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle, the staff had no previous plans to use Palisch until the veteran pitcher himself came forward.

TexAgs

Austin Bost finished the contest 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

“He wasn’t on the list to pitch,” Schlossnagle said. “He came to me about the sixth or seventh and said, ‘Coach, if you need me for an inning, I can do it.’ Then he comes in there and does what he does in the eighth, then runs off the mound and said, ‘I’ll finish this.’

“When you look up ‘warrior’ and ‘competitor’ and ‘teammate,’ and there’s more than just him, but he’s the living, breathing example of what that looks like.”

True freshman Brad Rudis was credited with his third win of the season after pitching through a serviceable five frames, including back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in his first career start.

Though the wins keep coming and momentum continues to build, Schlossnagle plans to stay cautious of falling under the illusion of a postseason promise and keep the team grounded in a game-to-game mindset.

“I have enough respect in this conference when you look up and see in any given weekend you can get swept, and all of a sudden, you are in that conversation. Then you’re like, ‘Holy cow, how are we going to make the SEC Tournament?’” Schlossnagle said. “This program is at the point where we’re in no position to think that way. None.”

The Aggies have now outscored teams 51-23 in their last three Sunday games, with today marking their fifth win over a ranked opponent in 10 days.

The Maroon & White’s current homestand continues with a Tuesday night clash against Sam Houston. First pitch is set for 6:32 p.m. CT.