Party Like It’s 1978: Aggies sweep LSU in Baton Rouge

From that point, it was mostly Maroon and White. A three-run fifth gave A&M the 4-1 lead off Chris Hacopian’s run-scoring single and a Jake Duer two-run base hit up the middle. The Tigers did respond with an RBI single in the bottom half, but the bats went quiet for the hosts until the eighth.

The longball power was on display in the sixth, as Wilson launched his first homer of the night to left center. Gavin Grahovac piled on with a solo shot to right center to really extend the Aggie advantage to 7-2.

While the offense was hard at work, the pitching was also solid. Shane Sdao worked into the fifth, allowed two earned runs, and struck out four across 4.2 innings of work. Gavin Lyons took the baton from the lefty and also punched out four in his 2.1 innings.

A wild pitch in the eighth scored another A&M run before LSU grabbed two runs in the bottom half on an error and a sacrifice fly to close the gap to 8-4. Wilson called game with his second longball of the night in the ninth, while Ethan Darden closed out his second scoreless inning of work to finish the victory for A&M.

Something of note: Hacopian took a 93-mph fastball to the face in the eighth inning on Friday. He did play in both remaining games this weekend, showing off his power on Sunday.

GAME 2: #10 A&M 7, LSU 2

A seven-inning outing from Aidan Sims paced Texas A&M (30-7, 11-5) to a 7-2 road victory over LSU at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. The 30th Aggie win of the season also secured a fourth straight conference series win and their first in Louisiana in four years.

Five runs between the second and third innings provided more than enough run support for Sims. In his second start since being moved off Sundays, the sophomore shoved. He struck out the side to start the contest and punched out six across his first three frames.

As for the Aggie offense, they went back to work. They made Tiger (23-17, 6-11) pitching work overtime. A wild pitch gave Jorian Wilson another RBI opportunity, driving home the game’s first run with a single. Bear Harrison cashed in three pitches later, launching his sixth homer of the year to left to give A&M a 3-0 lead.

Steven Milam hit his second homer in as many days, another solo shot, to put LSU on the board and provide an immediate response. That was Sims’ only true blemish on an otherwise stellar outing. Gavin Grahovac got the run back in the next half inning, punishing the second pitch of the third to left for a 4-1 advantage. Jake Duer later brought home the fifth Aggie run on a sacrifice fly.

Teams traded single scores in the fifth, as Chris Hacopian picked up an RBI after getting plunked in the face in game one. LSU used a fielder’s choice in the bottom half to get the score to 6-2.

Grahovac collected another RBI in the sixth, which proved to be enough offense on Saturday night. Sims (7-0) took held the Tigers off the board in his final two innings of work, completing seven frames of two-run baseball. The sophomore retired nine of the final 10 Tigers he faced, paving the way for Clayton Freshcorn.

Freshcorn got some help from his defense in the eighth and worked around a ninth-inning single, posting two zeros to secure the Saturday win for the Maroon and White.

GAME 3: #10 A&M 5, LSU 2

No. 10 Texas A&M’s early offensive attack was enough to hold off LSU’s bats as the Aggies took the series finale 5-2 at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. The visitors only scored in the first four frames but held the Tigers scoreless in eight of the nine innings to polish off a second consecutive SEC sweep.

It didn’t take long for the Aggies (31-7, 12-5) to get going, as Caden Sorrell sliced the eighth pitch of the day through the north wind into the right field stands to go up 1-0.

Bear Harrison’s sacrifice fly in the second doubled the lead going to the third. Chris Hacopian provided the big blow, depositing a two-run laser into left field to grow the advantage to 4-0. The Maryland transfer last homered in the second game on April 3 vs. Vanderbilt, nearly 16 days ago.

Speaking of 16 days ago, starter Weston Moss finally got to take the bump again. The junior struck out three over his first three scoreless innings of work, allowing two baserunners via the walk.

Gavin Grahovac picked up an RBI in the fourth with his single into left to push the lead to 5-0. After 3.2 innings of no-hit baseball, Moss gave up his first knock, a single, in the fourth. Consecutive singles, followed by a strikeout, ended his outing in the fifth, as he finished with 4.2 shutout frames and five punchouts.

The focus for the Aggies shifted to the mound, as Gavin Lyons and Clayton Freshcorn took over. Lyons posted 2.2 innings of scoreless ball, working around three baserunners without giving up a hit.

Freshcorn allowed a solo shot to Cade Arrambide on the first pitch of his afternoon outing but settled in. The junior struck out three, sandwiched around two singles and a passed ball that scored a second Tiger run in the eighth. Up 5-2 in the ninth, Freshcorn got two quick outs. A first-pitch single proved to be no issue, as the right-hander punched out Arrambide to complete the three-game sweep and push the Aggies’ win streak to six games.

This weekend’s efforts helped A&M to their fourth ever sweep of LSU (1910, 1916, 1978) and third away from College Station (1910, 1978). This is Texas A&M’s third SEC series win at Alex Box Stadium out of six total played between the two schools.

Up next for Aggie baseball is an afternoon midweek game against UTSA (27-13, 10-5 American) on Aggie Muster (Tuesday, Apr. 21) at 3:00 p.m. in Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. Then, the SEC gauntlet continues away from home with a three-game set versus Florida in Gainesville, Fla., next weekend (Friday, Apr. 24 – Sunday, Apr. 26).