The Texas A&M Aggies enter SEC play as one of two undefeated teams left and people are starting to take notice.
The Aggies moved up three spots to No. 4 in the latest D1 Baseball rankings after going 5-0 last week. The Aggies picked up wins over Texas and Texas Southern before sweeping Rhode Island over the weekend.
A&M (16-0) traveled to Austin and proved to be the top team in Texas with a 9-2 win over the Longhorns. On Wednesday, they returned to Blue Bell Park and bested the Tigers in a 7-4 bout behind a pair of three-run blasts from Hayden Schott and Braden Montgomery.
The Aggies made quick work of the Rams in the first two games behind stellar pitching. Sophomore left-hander Ryan Prager (W, 4-0) threw a career-high seven scoreless innings and surrendered only one hit in an 11-0 victory. He recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts, and of his 92 pitches, 74 of them were strikes.
Prager continues to be one of the hottest pitchers in college baseball. Through four games, the Aggies' ace has thrown 23.2 scoreless innings and 40 strikeouts while giving up only nine hits, three walks, and a hit by pitch. His 0.00 ERA is tied for the FBS lead.
In Saturday's 6-0 win, A&M struggled at the plate, hitting .179 with 12 strikeouts vs. nine walks and two hit by pitches. The Aggies jumped out to an early 3-0 thanks to back-to-back doubles from Montgomery and Schott. They'd plate two more in the fourth off a bases-loaded walk and hit by pitch.
Right-hander Tanner Jones posted a season-high eight strikeouts in four innings, allowing four hits and two walks in his scoreless outing. Saturday also marked his longest start since transferring from Jacksonville State this offseason.
Brad Rudis picked up the win in place of Jones and pitched three scoreless innings. As a pitching staff, A&M combined for 17 strikeouts against five hits.
Sunday's matchup nearly saw the undefeated streak cease. A&M jumped out to an early 7-0 lead through five frames, but the Rams responded by plating 11 unanswered runs across the next two innings combined, giving them a four-run differential.
Jace LaViolette walked to score Ali Camarillo in the seventh while Ted Burton homered to left field in the eighth. Schott scored a run on a RBI groundout in the ninth while freshman Cayden Sorrell advanced the tying run home on a bases-loaded walk.
Schott, one of A&M's top hitters, ended the game with an RBI single in extras to keep the winning streak intact.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Schott said postgame. “I kinda just blanked, I was like, ‘Stick to my approach, see a fastball.’
“It was pretty unbelievable I’ll never forget it, ever.”
A&M currently ranks third among SEC teams in the latest D1Baseball standings. Arkansas claimed the top spot after going 4-0 last week. LSU moved up one spot following its series seep over Xavier.
Tennessee (No. 5), Florida (No. 8) and Vanderbilt (No. 9) were listed in the top 10, along with Oregon State (No. 3), Duke (No. 6) and Clemson (No. 10). A&M begins conference play against the Gators on March 15.
Before heading to Gainseville, the Aggies will have one final tune-up game against Sam Houston State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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