AGGIE BASEBALL TAKES TWO OF THREE IN ARLINGTON
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Editor’s Note: This article is written by our newest contributor, George Kopf, aka “etexasgeorge.” But thanks to a hiccup in his onboarding (what a great start!), it’s being published by Robert. Welcome, George!
A pair of run-rule results concluded February, while March started with a win as the Aggies took two of three in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas. Playing at Globe Life Field this weekend, home of the Texas Rangers, Texas A&M secured a shutout victory over Virginia Tech, got run-ruled by top-ranked UCLA, and finished strong with a 9-3 win against perennial college baseball power Arizona State.
Game 1 Friday: #23 Texas A&M 10, Virginia Tech 0 (Final/7 inn.)
An eight-run sixth inning pushed the Aggies (9-0) to a 10-0 run-rule victory over Virginia Tech (7-2) on Friday night at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The run support was more than enough for starter Shane Sdao, who posted six shutout frames and recorded his second win of the season in the first-ever meeting between both programs.
Missing the previous six games due to back stiffness, Chris Hacopian returned for the Aggies, batting third as the designated hitter. The Maryland transfer delivered in his first at-bat back, notching his first home run in Maroon and White in the bottom of the first. Hacopian later exited the ballgame prior to his third at-bat in the sixth inning due to back soreness and was labeled day-to-day postgame by head coach Michael Earley.
Twelve hitters went to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, collected four doubles, two walks, two hit-by-pitches, and forced two Virginia Tech pitching changes. Caden Sorrell and Blake Binderup each accounted for two-run doubles in the frame, while Jake Duer tallied two doubles himself in the frame. The senior’s second two-bagger drove home the 10th Aggie score of the game to put the run-rule in effect.
Freshman Cole Hubert used just nine pitches in the seventh to polish off the shutout win. After his efforts Friday, Sdao owns an active 13-inning scoreless streak and a 1.96 ERA on the season.
Game 2 Saturday: #1 UCLA 11, #23 Texas A&M 1 (Final/7 inn.)
With the roof open on Saturday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the Bruins (8-2) cruised to a 11-1 run-rule victory over No. 23 Texas A&M (9-1) in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series.
The first four Bruins reached and scored in the top-25 tussle, putting the Aggies behind quickly. Jake Duer provided the lone Aggie run in the top of the second inning, depositing his second homer of the season into the right-center bullpen.
From there, it was all UCLA. The Big Ten squad muscled 14 total hits over the shortened contest and scored multiple runs in three of their six innings at the plate. A four-run sixth enacted the run-rule, capped by a three-run blast. On the mound, the Bruins held A&M to two hits and struck out seven.
Gavin Grahovac added the only other Texas A&M hit, a sixth-inning single, in the Maroon and White’s first defeat of the 2026 campaign.
Game 3 Sunday: #23 Texas A&M 9, Arizona State 3
The Aggies closed out the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series with a 9-3 victory over Arizona State (8-4) on Sunday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Texas A&M (10-1) secured another winning weekend, taking two of three in the DFW Metroplex.
Both squads traded two-run homers, as Caden Sorrell gave A&M the early lead with his team-leading sixth dinger of the season. After the Sun Devils knotted the score, the home squad retook the lead with a three-run second. Terrence Kiel II recorded his third RBI of the weekend, before a passed ball and a Gavin Grahovac RBI single added two more runs for a 5-2 lead.
Thanks to a strange dead ball rule (see below) on a line drive, the Aggies enjoyed new life in the third, scoring their sixth run on a wild pitch with two outs.
Arizona State edged closer with a solo shot in the sixth, but the Aggies extended their lead with another three-run frame in the bottom half. Boston Kellner collected his 10th RBI of the season, before Nico Partida drove home two with a bloop single into right field to push the advantage to 9-3.
The strong offensive output complemented good pitching, especially out of the bullpen. Ethan Darden tallied 2.1 innings of one-run ball, before Clayton Freshcorn closed the weekend out with two scoreless frames and picked up his second win of the season.
Wacky Note of the Weekend: In Sunday’s contest, Blake Binderup smoked a line drive right back to the pitcher in the third inning, to which the pitcher seemingly hauled in. However, the ball went into his uniform, which was initially ruled a catch and the third out of the inning. The umpires conferred as a unit and brought out the mini rule book on the field. They ruled the ball was dead, on the basis of it entering the pitcher’s uniform. Binderup was awarded first base (officially scored as a single) by the umpiring crew and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Taking two of three against quality opponents is always a sign of progress. Before conference play begins on March 13, the Maroon and White will return home to start a five-game homestand, welcoming Incarnate Word (March 3), Oakland (March 6-8), and Stephen F. Austin (March 10) in the coming days to Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
