FINAL
Texas A&M - 5
Texas - 6
BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Grayson Saunier (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Caden McCoy (3-2)
Save: Max Grubbs (5)
RECAP
Top 1st - Freshman RHP Jason Flores got the start on the mound for the Horns today against the Aggies and it did not quite go the way he had planned. After striking out lead off man Terrence Kiel II, he walked the next two batters. He then gave up an RBI double to right CF and then an RBI single to CF to give the Aggies an early 2-0 lead. To his credit, Flores bounced back to strike out the next two batters to limit any further damage, but it did put the Horns in an early hole.
Bottom 1st - LHP Myles Patton, who many thought would be pitching at Texas this season before the Aggies made a big NIL splash offer retired the side in order using an effective fastball, breaking ball, and changeup mix.
Top 2nd - Flores was back out in the Top 2nd but not for long as he walked the first two batters he faced, which were the 8 and 9 hole hitters. That prompted Jim Schlossnagle to make a call to the bullpen and turn to 6th year senior RHP Andre Duplantier II. Unc as he is affectionately known due to his age, retired the three batters he faced to put up a zero, which just happened to be the top three in the lineup.
Bottom 2nd - Myles Patton again retired the side with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to keep the Aggies ahead 2-0.
Top 3rd - Andre Duplantier retired the side in order, which included a robbery in LF as Adrian Rodriguez make an outstanding catch for the third out.
Bottom 3rd - RF Tommy Farmer IV led off the inning with a double hit down the LF line to get things started. Freshman LF Adrian Rodriguez then hit a double to LF after a lengthy at-bat to make it a 2-1 ballgame. 2B Jayden Duplantier then dropped down a bunt single to the right side as there was no defender covering 1B to put runners on 1B and 3B. DH Ethan Mendoza then hit a deep sac fly to CF to bring home Rodriguez to make it a 2-2 ballgame. C Rylan Galvan then hit a seeing eye single through the left side, but the Horns were not able to capitalize as the next two batters were put out.
In the Top 4th - Andre Duplantier was back on the mound for the Horns. Against the first batter, he gave up a single to CF on the first pitch. A sac bunt then moved the runner over to 2B with 1 out. The 9 hole hitter then hit a double to RF to give the Aggies runners on 2B and 3B with just 1 out. Dre bounced back to strike out the lead off man for the second out, leading to Texas intentionally walking star hitter Jace LaViolette, which loaded the bases. The next batter JUST missed a grand slam to LF, giving every fan at the Disch a mini-heart attack. Unfortunately, he hit the next pitch into LF for for a two run RBI double to give the Aggies a 4-2 lead.
In the Bottom 4th - Myles Patton was back on the mound and got the first out via a fly out, but then gave up a walk to 3B Casey Borba. He battled back to get Tommy Farmer out, but then gave up a single to Adrian Rodriguez putting runners on 1B and 3B. Adrian Rodriguez then stole 2B without a throw down to put two runners in scoring position for the Horns, but then Jayden Duplantier flied out to CF to end the threat.
In the Top 5th - Andre Duplantier was back out for the top of frame and got two quick outs, but then hit the third batter he faced. That brought the literal 12th man, Hayden Schott to the plate who then popped up to 3B.
In the Bottom 5th, Rylan Galvan drew a 1 out walk, but then a fielder's choice and a strike out by Gasparino ended any hopes of a scoring chance sending the game to the 6th with the Aggies leading 4-2.
In the Top 6th - Andre Duplantier had a quick 1-2-3 inning for the Horns to keep the Aggies at bay.
In the Bottom 6th - Kimble Schuessler led off with a double down the RF line as he hit a ball into no man's land that dropped in just fair inside the RF foul line. Casey Borba then flied out to deep CF, allowing Kimble to tag and move over to 3B. A wild pitch in the dirt then scored Kimble Schuessler to make it a 4-3 ballgame with the Aggies still in the lead. Tommy Farmer then flied out to CF for the second out of the inning, but that prompted the Aggies to make a call to the bullpen to bring in RHP Weston Moss. Adrian Rodriguez then worked a four pitch walk, followed by a walk for Jayden Duplantier. After Ethan Mendoza drew a walk to load the bases, the Aggies went to the bullpen again to bring in Luke Jackson. Veteran catcher Rylan Galvan then hit a fastball up the middle (104 off the bat) to bring in a pair of runs, giving the Horns their first lead of the game 5-4.
In the Top 7th - Andre Duplantier was back on the mound for the Horns. Against the first batter he faced, Jalin Flores caught a liner to the left side for the first out. Unfortunately, he then gave up a single HR to Caden Sorrell to LF that got out in a hurry to tie the game up 5-5. After the next batter hit a deep fly to RF, Jim Schlossnagle made a call to the bullpen, going to LHP Ethan Walker who induced a fly out from Kaeden Kent.
In the Bottom 7th, Will Gasparino grounded out for the first out as Kaeden Kent made another outstanding play at SS. Kimble Schuessler then drew a walk, prompting the Aggies to go to the pen again and bring in Caden McCoy. The freshman LHP got the next two outs in quick fashion to send it to the 8th inning with the game still tied 5-5.
In the Top 8th, the Horns turned to RHP Grayson Saunier. He gave up back to back soft flares to put the first two runners on. Kimble played outstanding defense on a bunt as he charged in and fired to 3B to get the lead runner for the first out. Saunier then got Terrence Kiel to fly out to LF, which advanced the runner from 2B to 3B on the tag with 2 outs. That brought Jace LaViolette to the plate with 2 outs and runners on 1B and 3B. Grayson Saunier was able to get him to pop up to Jalin Flores to end the scoring threat.
In the Bottom 8th, freshman Adrian Rodriguez came to the plate and on the first pitch he saw, a fastball, he hit it up into the air stream to LF that saw it land in the bullpen for a solo shot, giving the Horns a 6-5 lead.
In the Top 9th, Grayson Saunier got the first batter out via the strikeout swinging. He then gave up a single to RF and walked the next batter he faced. That prompted Max Weiner to tell Jim Schlossnagle that RHP Max Grubbs felt good and was available to go and wanted to help, so Jim went to the mound and brought in the Junior RHP. On a 1-2 count to Kaeden Kent, Grubbs induced a ground ball to the right side which Kimble Schuessler fielded and fired to Jalin Flores at 2B. Flores then fired to Max Grubbs covering 1B to complete the double play and send the Horns into celebration.
Game WON. Series SWEPT!
BIG MOMENT(S)
In the Bottom 8th, freshman LF Adrian Rodriguez came to the plate 2-2 on the day and having made an web gem catch in LF already, but his biggest contribution was hitting a first pitch fastball up in the air to LF that had enough back spin and wind aid to send it into the bullpen to give the Horns a 6-5 lead.
In the Top 9th, with 1 out and runners on 1B and 2B, pitching coach Max Weiner turned to Jim Schlossnagle and said Max [Grubbs] feels good and wants to help. This is after having thrown, albeit only 25 total pitches on Friday and Saturday. Lake Travis native Kaeden Kent who was 0-4 at the plate, but had made some outstanding defensive plays on the day hit a ball to the right side on a 1-2 count. Kimble Schuessler fielded it and fired to Jalin Flores at 2B, who then relayed it to Max Grubbs covering 1B for the double play to end the game. Big time stuff from the veteran trio!
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
LF Adrian Rodriguez - have yourself a day. The one-time Texas A&M signee went 3-3 on the day with 3 runs, 2 RBI, and a 1 walk. His 8th inning solo shot to LF was the game winning run
Honorable Mention - RHP Andre Duplantier II. The 6th year senior threw a season high pitches and innings as he went 5.2 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 BB, 1 K. That stat line isn't glamorous but he gave the Horns length and helped keep them in the game after a short start from Jason Flores.
TAKEAWAYS
What a series! I will have a full breakdown in tomorrow's article Rounding the Bases, but the Horns got their first series sweep over the Aggies since 2010 and are not just 5 games away from an SEC title.
In addition, Texas is just the 3rd ever team to start 19-2 since the conference went to a 30 game conference schedule in 1996. The other two were Vandy in 2013 and Tennessee in 2022.
Let the good times roll!
NEXT UP
Horns (37-5, 19-2 SEC) will take on Prairie View A&M (11-31, 7-11 SWAC) on Tuesday at 630pm
