Game #18: No. 22 Texas A&M 9, No. 9 Oklahoma 5
Records: Texas A&M (16-2, 1-1), Oklahoma (16-3, 1-1)
WP: Weston Moss (3-1)
LP: LJ Mercurius (4-1)
Save: Clayton Freshcorn (3)
Box Score
The first two rounds of a three-game SEC-opening series has seen haymaker after haymaker.
Like a pair of heavyweights, No. 22 Texas A&M and No. 9 Oklahoma have landed blow after blow.
After the Sooners took the opener, the Aggies answered back to win a 9-5 decision in front of 5,072 at Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman on Saturday afternoon.
Momentum swings have been huge throughout the weekend, but in the second ballgame, A&M benefitted from the biggest swings.
The Aggies hit four home runs to account for eight of their nine runs.
In his second game back, Chris Hacopian hit a two-run blast in the third. Two innings later, Boston Kellner led off with a solo shot before Wesley Jordan launched a three-run round-tripper. During a three-run eighth, Caden Sorrell provided such much-needed insurance with an opposite-field two-run homer.
By out-slugging the Sooners, A&M pulled even in the series, even though the Aggies appeared to be on the ropes early.
Except Brendan Brock’s second home run of the weekend — a two-run job in the first — didn’t fully back Weston Moss into a corner.
Instead, the Aggie starter bounced back to pitch deep into the contest. By reaching the seventh, Moss provided much-needed length following Friday’s carousel of relievers.
Oklahoma threatened to erase Moss’ impact after Ethan Darden ineffectively loaded the bases behind him.
With A&M clinging to a 6-5 lead and nobody out, Clayton Freshcorn escaped the treacherous jam with a force out at home, a strikeout and an inning-ending groundout.
After Sorrell & Co. pushed the lead back to four, Freshcorn finished the job, retiring nine of the 10 total Sooners he faced to nail down a three-inning save.
The cliche of “pitching, defense and timely hitting” usually rings true, and the Aggies checked all three boxes on Saturday.
Behind Moss and Freshcorn, A&M made the critical plays, including Sorrell’s home run robbery of Deiten Lachance in the sixth. Meanwhile, an early error on Jason Walk led to a pair of unearned runs against LJ Mercurius.
After going 2-for-24 with men on base in Friday’s opener, A&M was 4-for-15 in that category on Saturday. Three of those hits left the ballpark.
As is usually the case in SEC battles, the Aggies took their fair share of punches but ultimately landed more than their opponent.
The Maroon & White will feel good about winning this round, but the Sooners are far from knocked out.
The Aggies must be ready for when the bell rings again on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.
