No. 4 seed Texas A&M drops elimination game to No. 1 Tennessee, 7-4
Game #57: #1 Tennessee 7, #4 Texas A&M 4
Records: Texas A&M (44-13, 19-11), Tennessee (47-11, 22-8)
WP: AJ Causey (11-3)
LP: Brock Peery (2-1)
Box Score
Two and out in Hoover.
No. 4 seed Texas A&M’s stint in the Southeastern Conference Tournament ended on Thursday afternoon as it fell 7-4 to No. 1 seed Tennessee in the third-round elimination game.
Nothing really went the Aggies' way.
With three errors, eight free passes and a disappointing eight runners left on base, their performance was far from a winning formula
The lone bright spot was Gavin Grahovac’s two home runs, increasing his total to 21 on the year and joining Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery to reach the 20-homer mark.
His first homer gave the Maroon & White the lead, but that would be their only lead, and it didn’t last very long.
The Vols tied the game at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly in the third. This came after starting pitcher Ryan Prager allowed a pair of singles and a walk.
Following the sac fly, Prager exited the game with 53 pitches in order to preserve him for next weekend's regionals.
In the fourth, Tennessee took the lead on an RBI groundout. An inning later, Kavares Tears laced a double to right field to plate Dylan Dreiling and give the Volunteers a 3-1 lead.
Jackson Appel shortened that lead in the sixth inning with a solo blast.
However, in the next inning, Tennessee delivered the knockout blow.
Tears crushed a three-run homer to left, giving the Vols a 6-2 lead. The sophomore outfielder finished 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs.
A&M attempted a comeback in the eighth as Ted Burton doubled home LaViolette.
The Aggies had runners on the corners with the tying run with Ali Camarillo up to bat.
Unfortunately for the Maroon & White, Camarillo flew out to right field and the minor threat fizzled out.
To top things off, the Vols catcher and nine-hole hitter Cal Stark hit a solo shot, providing insurance for Tennessee and increasing its lead to 7-3.
Grahovac’s ninth-inning homer wouldn’t be enough to continue the Aggies’ ride in the conference tournament.
Instead, A&M will now hop on a plane back home and begin preparation for hosting a regional at Blue Bell Park.
There’s no doubt the Aggies would have loved to win some games in Hoover.
However, the free passes, errors and timely hitting will need to be straightened out in order to make a run to Omaha.
The NCAA Tournament begins next week, and the Aggies will tune in to Monday’s selection show at 11 a.m. to find out who will be making their way to Olsen Field.
