Ags combine Patton's strong start with powerful offense to sweep Elon

Game #3: No. 1 Texas A&M 12, Elon 6 (8 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0), Elon (0-3, 0-0)
WP: Myles Patton (1-0)
LP: Declan Lavelle (0-1)
Box Score

Lessons were learned, but there is plenty still to learn.

As the first Michael Earley-ism goes, at least Texas A&M is learning in wins rather than losses.

On a cold Sunday afternoon, the first-year skipper and his top-ranked Aggies defeated Elon 12-6 in eight innings to complete the season-opening sweep. The finale was shorted by the visitors' 4 p.m. CT travel curfew.

"We have a lot of work to do," Earley said. "We weren't coming in a finished product, and that was our message to the team. We have to continue to grow and get better throughout the season."

As it was yesterday, the offense was hot. Jace LaViolette hit his third homer of the year, and Kaeden Kent added a fifth-inning grand slam.

Behind a fantastic start from Myles Patton in his A&M debut, the Aggies led 12-1 after five, but that's where the learning began.

"They did a good job until after the end of the fifth inning," Earley explained. "It was a great reminder that baseball games are never over.

"It's a mentality. Can you stay in it? Can you stay ready? Can you stay loose? We did kind of a good job, but I think we can be better."

Through three games, the Aggie bullpen has been unreliable.

Of Sunday's four A&M relievers, only Blayne Lyne was not charged with a run, though he did issue a bases-loaded walk to one of the two batters he faced.

Ty Baker was tagged for three on three hits in 0.2 innings pitched. Making his second appearance of the weekend, Peyton Smith recorded one out in the top of the seventh but allowed a run.

Elon even scored once vs. Brad Rudis, who hadn't faced live batters for much of the preseason, in the eighth.

Yet, those different relievers can expect to keep getting chances. After all, the coaching staff is learning which arms can answer the call.

"Sometimes, you have to fight those demons a little bit," Earley said. "I still believe in Peyton Smith. I still believe in Ty Baker. We're going to get them back out there because we're going to need them, I think, in the long haul.

"They've got work to do. They know that."

But that's the negative side of the six-run victory.

The positives came when the Aggies were at the plate.

After scoring 16 on Sunday, LaViolette's two-run blast in the first jumpstarted the day. He now has 53 career homers, as Daylan Holt's 56 is officially within range.

A&M added three more in the fourth on Jacob Galloway's two-run single and Gavin Grahovac's RBI knock.

"It's fun to play in front of these people," Galloway said. "When you do something cool, they love it, and it makes it way better."

Will Huffman, TexAgs

In his debut as Aggie, freshman outfielder Terrence Kiel II went 4-for-8 with three runs and a stolen base on the weekend.

The USC transfer finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Two batters after Kent’s slam, Galloway's first home run in Maroon & White punctuated a six-run fifth.

Half of Kent's six career round-trippers have been grand slams.

"Let's keep it going," Earley said of Kent. "That was a really impressive swing, just being able to keep that ball fair. He has done a really nice job."

Other than Galloway, Terrence Kiel II was the only other Aggie to register a multi-hit afternoon. Going 2-for-2, the A&M legacy is hitting .500 through his first three college games.

Kiel, along with Blake Binderup and Kent, also scored multiple runs on Sunday.

"I was blessed with the opportunity to start on Friday night, yesterday and today," said Kiel, who started in place of an injured Caden Sorrell. "The coaches put me in a great spot, and they got me ready for this opportunity that I got, and I took full advantage of it. It has been amazing."

Needless to say, Patton received plenty of run support, though he didn't require much.

A transfer from Long Beach State, the southpaw fanned eight through five. The only run he allowed resulted from back-to-back wind-aided doubles that eluded Aggie defenders in the fifth.

"It was everything you could ask for," Patton said of his start. "It was awesome. It was everything I've been preparing for and waiting for, and I'm just excited to take in the moment and just get to work."

Sure, lessons and questions are all over the place, but the biggest positive is that the Aggies are 3-0.

With the first weekend in the books, they'll continue learning as the year goes on.

"As frustrated as I may have been at the end of the game, I'll take the win, always," Earley said. "Always want to learn in a win."