The No. 18 Texas A&M Aggies used a five-run eighth inning to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, claiming the series opener against the Missouri Tigers, 7-3, on Olsen Field at Blue Park Friday evening.
Trailing 3-2 in the eighth, Braden Shewmake drew a walk and the Missouri catcher Chad McDaniel made an ill-advised throw to second base on Jonathan Ducoff’s sacrifice bunt. The throw, which was too late to retire Shewmake, sailed into centerfield, putting both runners in scoring position. With the infield drawn in, Ty Coleman smashed a ball towards second baseman Mark Vierling whom made a diving stop and held the runners in check before throwing to first. After working the count to 3-0, Mikey Hoehner was intentionally walked to fill the bags with Ags, setting up the heroics.
Logan Foster tied the game with a single to short and Hunter Coleman pushed the go-ahead run across with a single to leftfield. Texas A&M would tack on three more runs with the help of a throwing error, sacrifice fly and wild pitch.
The victory stretched the Aggies’ win streak to eight games. The Maroon & White improved to 23-5 overall and 6-1 in the SEC. Missouri dropped to 17-10 overall and 2-5 in league play.
Foster and Coleman both went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI to lead the Aggie offense. Hoehner batted 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBI.
Aggie starter John Doxakis battled through 6.2 innings, yielding three runs, two earned, on 10 hits while striking out eight. Bryce Miller (4-0) earned the win striking out three of the six batters he faced in 1.1 blank frames. Kasey Kalich pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning in a non-save situation.
The Aggies and Tigers meet for game two of the series Saturday at 2:02 p.m.