Baton Rouge takeover continues as Ags cruise in series-clincher

Game #37: No. 10 Texas A&M 7, Louisiana State 2
Records: Texas A&M (30-7, 11-5), Louisiana State (23-17, 6-11)
WP: Aiden Sims (7-0)
LP: William Schmidt (4-4)
Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. — Just across Nicholson Drive from Alex Box Stadium sits a dormant Death Valley.

Six months ago, an Aggie quarterback silenced Tiger Stadium.

On back-to-back days, a former quarterback has picked up where Marcel Reed left off.

“Jorian (Wilson) is super talented, and he should not worry about any environment or anyone else. He should take a backseat to nobody,” said A&M head coach Michael Earley. “That guy is uber talented, and I think he’s really starting to believe it. I think he has shown some growth.

“He’s a good hitter. We don’t ever want our guys to be shifted because we want them to be complete, so when we do it, we can hit it through the hole like that and get an RBI. It was two outs. It was big.”

In No. 10 Texas A&M’s 7-2 series-clinching victory over LSU, the Hallettsville Howitzer again jumpstarted another Aggie offensive shelling that pushed the Bayou Bengals ever closer to the grave in 2026.

Wilson, a true freshman who played QB in high school, ripped a second-inning two-out single against the shift to plate the game’s first run on his fifth RBI of the weekend.

He later scored on Bear Harrison’s two-run laser of a home run into the Left Field Landing.

“I think we’ve got really good players that stick to the plan,” Earley said. “I think we got some punchouts, but we’ve had some really good at-bats, and I think the biggest thing is, when we’ve had opportunities to score, we score, and not everything’s about home runs. Sometimes you just gotta put balls in play and get guys across the plate.”

Like that 49-25 triumph across the street, when the Aggies scored, they scored at will.

They scored three in the second and two more in the third as Gavin Grahovac’s second home run in as many days was followed by loud base hits from Caden Sorrell and Chris Hacopian, who missed zero time after Friday’s hit-by-pitch to the face.

A&M led 6-1 at the midway point, and the early offense allowed Aiden Sims to cruise to a quality start.

“I’m glad they’re not on the other team, and I’m glad I’m playing on the same team as them,” the Forney native quipped about his run support.

Perhaps the best the Aggies have, the sophomore right-hander remained unbeaten and completed seven frames, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while punching six Tigers.

Behind Sims, Clayton Freshcorn needed just 34 pitches to record the final six outs.

“Throwing strike one was the biggest thing for me,” Sims said. “The cutter was working really well today, and then I threw a lot of curveballs that I didn’t expect to throw, and I didn’t throw as many heaters as I thought I would.”

Ethan Mito/Texas A&M Athletics

The Aggie offense put up another double-digit hit outing, their seventh in SEC play.

The only damage LSU managed was on Steven Milam’s leadoff home run in the second and Mason Braun’s leadoff walk that came around in the fifth.

Other than that, the Aggies cruised.

They’ve been cruising a lot lately.

It’s now four straight series victories for A&M. It’s four of six.

“It’s never house money,” Earley said. “You want to win the series, but it’s a 30-game slate, and you want to try to get every one that you can. You don’t get any less or any more for winning or losing on Friday. It’s the same thing as Sunday, so we’re attacking tomorrow. It’s one of those 30.”

The Aggies have won 10 of their last 11 SEC games. They’ve already equaled last year’s overall and conference win totals. They remain a game back of Georgia for first place in the league.

They’ve also claimed the series from LSU in consecutive seasons.

Further, the purple and gold have turned black and blue against Maroon & White a lot recently.

On the gridiron, the hardwood, diamond, volleyball court, softball field and tennis courts, A&M has tormented LSU.

Specifically in the “big three” sports, Mike Elko blitzed them in October. Bucky McMillan double-dipped them. Earley’s consecutive victories in Baton Rouge make it five straight wins for the Aggies over the Tigers in football, basketball and baseball.

Like Reed, Wilson & Co. will look for six on Sunday.