Overwhelmed in Oxford: A&M suffers biggest loss of the season, 10-2

Game #51: Ole Miss 10, No. 3 Texas A&M 2
Records: Texas A&M (41-10, 16-10), Ole Miss (27-23, 11-15)
WP: Liam Doyle (3-2)
LP: Justin Lamkin (2-2)
Box Score

Trials and tribulations.

For the first time in 2024, No. 3 Texas A&M has dropped back-to-back series as Ole Miss dominated the Maroon & White at Swayze Field in Oxford, 10-2, on Saturday.

The Aggies have now lost four of their last five conference games — all of which came on the road.

In that stretch, A&M has played a completely different brand of baseball than what it has played for two and a half months.

Quality defense and a high-powered offense kept the Aggies afloat before last weekend.

In its two defeats at LSU and Friday’s loss to Ole Miss, poor defense and quiet bats have let the road side down. 

On Saturday, it was a mix of everything. 

Justin Lamkin started the game for the Aggies but was unable to escape the second inning after retiring the first two batters. Lamkin hit a Rebel before giving up a two-run homer to Reagan Burford. 

Dustin Safranek-USA TODAY Sports

Jace LaViolette’s solo blast in the third inning marked his team-leading 27th homer of the year.

Ole Miss followed that up with three straight singles to increase its lead to 3-0. Lamkin gave way to Chris Cortez in relief, who wasn’t much better. 

The first batter Cortez faced, Andrew Fischer, doubled to finish off a five-run second inning. 

Just like Lamkin, Cortez only got through 1.2 innings. He allowed four runs on two hits and yielded four free passes. 

Walks and hit-by-pitches were a problem throughout. Lamkin and Cortez each hit a pair of batters. Isaac Morton walked all three Rebels he faced. 

In total, Ole Miss was awarded ten free passes, compared to two for the Aggie lineup. 

The lone bright spot from a poorly pitched game was Zane Badmaev, who allowed just one run on four hits without surrendering a free base. Without Badmaev’s efforts, the score could have looked much more dreadful than it already was. 

To make matters worse, the Aggie lineup is still in a funk.

A&M’s first five hitters recorded a hit each. The bottom four went 0-for-13. Of their five hits, just one went for extra bases. 

Liam Doyle dominated for the Rebels, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out seven through six innings. Josh Malltz did the same in relief, giving up one hit and striking out four in the final three frames. 

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

Hayden Schott and Braden Montgomery drew the only walks on the day for Texas A&M.

Jace LaViolette hit his 27th home run of the season in the third, and Braden Montgomery scored on a Jackson Appel sacrifice fly in the ninth. However, it was nowhere near enough to overcome the hole the Aggies’ arms dug them into. 

Sitting at 16-10 in the SEC, winning the conference regular-season title is a long shot.

However, the bigger picture still remains intact.

It seems bleak right now, but every team has to face its trials throughout a season.

A top-eight national seed is still up for the taking. 

Baseball is a game full of ups and downs, and just as easily as the Aggies have been knocked down the last two weeks, they can get up off the canvas and play to their usual standard.

Ending the season with a chance to host a super regional has to begin with a resurgence of an offense that can dominate an opposing pitching staff along with pitchers who can limit free passes. 

Texas A&M will have a chance to salvage a game as the series finale is set for 5 p.m. CT on Sunday.