Game #51: No. 10 Texas A&M 11, No. 13 Mississippi State 9
Records: Texas A&M (38-13, 17-11), Mississippi State (34-15, 16-12)
WP: Shane Sdao (4-4)
LP: Duke Stone (6-2)
Save: Clayton Freshcorn (12)
Box Score
The night was simply offensive.
Both offenses were impressive, but the pitching…
Offensive.
Yet the Aggies are likely the least offended as No. 10 Texas A&M outlasted No. 13 Mississippi State to even the series, 11-9.
Even the pace of play at Blue Bell Park — three hours and 22 minutes — was upsetting, but Michael Earley isn’t too upset.
“They just kept playing. It wasn’t any different than most,” the Aggie skipper said of the rollercoaster affair. “It was definitely a back-and-forth there for a while until their guy and our guy came in.
“Just super proud of them. Responded like they’ve done all season, so I was not surprised at all, and they continued to do that throughout the course of the game.”
The two squads combined for 20 runs on 28 hits. Seven pitchers and 341 total pitches were needed to slog through it, with only Clayton Freshcorn and Ben Davis proving to be effective.
However, the number that matters most: 17.
As in 17 conference wins for A&M, which should be enough to grant them a home regional two weekends from now.
“Those implications happen all season,” Earley said. “Now the end of the year is more glaring, but I think we put ourselves in a spot. We’re trying to win the game. We’re trying to win games, period. [Seeding] takes care of itself at the end.
“Our body of work is clear and speaks for itself, especially with what we’ve done over the course of the last three weeks with guys out or banged up. We’re going to be at full-health here soon. All of that, to me, is super important, and we’ve taken care of business all year, but we got one tomorrow.”
The importance of clinching this victory showed in Earley’s aggressive managing.
When Weston Moss struggled to begin the third, he turned to Shane Sdao.
But what about a starter for tomorrow? He’ll figure it out when he gets there, but winning at all costs on Friday required going all-in. He played his cards right.
“We’re going to play to win the game but also within what we feel our guys can do,” Earley said. “No guy will be asked to do what we don’t think they can do. Period.
Earley added nobody is considered a “no-go” on Saturday, even Freshcorn, who threw 52 pitches in the win.
Moss was tagged for four runs in just over two innings. Sdao surrendered five across four, but the 12 outs he recorded were paramount to A&M’s success.
Fortunately, Freshcorn faced just 11 batters to record the final nine outs and secure his 12th save of 2026.
“We say all the time: One pitch at a time, one inning at a time. So I don’t want to think of it any differently,” the closer said. “I just wanted to go out there and compete as long as I could, and I didn’t want to get out of the game.”
A&M’s fortunes further favored Earley’s bold choices as Brian O’Connor’s first three arms — Duke Stone, Jack Bauer and Maddox Miller — were more of a sieve than what Jason Kelly had to offer.
In six of the first seven half innings, A&M and State posted crooked-number frames as the Aggies entered the bottom of the fourth with an 8-7 lead.
Caden Sorrell’s two-run double with two outs in the fifth plated the ultimate game-winning run way earlier than expected.
It represented his third hit to go along with his fifth and sixth RBI of the night. His seventh-inning pop-up meant he finished a single shy of the cycle.
“I definitely knew going up there. I tried to forget about it as best as I could, but sometimes it’s just kind of tough,” Sorrell said. “As an offense, just staying committed to our approach. I say it all the time, but regardless of the score, we’re getting blown out, if we’re up by a ton, we’re still committed to our approach, one through nine. Having relentless ABs. We’ve been doing that pretty well all year, so we just gotta keep doing it.”
The Golden Spikes Award semifinalist began the offensive barrage with a first-inning two-run home run, his 23rd of 2026 and 46th of his career. He then tripled in two an inning later.
In the third, Blake Binderup’s three-run blast put A&M up for good before Gavin Grahovac added a solo shot — his 19th of the year — later in the frame.
An all-important insurance run crossed when a masked Boston Kellner wore a fastball from Miller off his left foot with the bases loaded in the sixth.
All that offense was required as ugly bunt defense combined with four State homers — two from Noah Sullivan — kept the antacids within reach all night long.
At least until Freshcorn settled those upset stomachs, and he then made his status for the finale very, very clear.
“I’m definitely gonna be hot tomorrow, and I’m gonna make it known,” he said. “I’m not going to let 50 pitches stop me, and I want to win as much as possible, so I’m going to be available.”
There’s a rubber-match on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. In it, A&M will go for its sixth SEC series victory.
Beyond that, the SEC and NCAA tournaments loom, and the regular-season finale is important for seeding in both.
What does the pitching look like? That’s to be determined, but even if adversity arises, the Aggies can be offensive.
