Luke Jackson's relief dominance clinches series victory in Fayetteville

Game #38: No. 2 Arkansas 11, Texas A&M 5
Records: Texas A&M (22-16, 7-10), Arkansas (34-6, 13-4)
WP: Gabe Gaeckle (3-1)
LP: Justin Lamkin (3-4)
Box Score

Game #39: Texas A&M 9, No. 2 Arkansas 2
Records: Texas A&M (23-16, 8-10), Arkansas (34-7, 13-5)
WP: Luke Jackson (1-0)
LP: Aiden Jimenez (4-1)
Box Score

One of two will do.

Following a series-opening victory on Thursday night, Texas A&M claimed its second top-two road series victory in a matter of three weeks, splitting the doubleheader with No. 2 Arkansas on Friday.

The Ags dropped the first game of the day 11-5 but battled back in the nightcap to win 9-2.

With the win in the second game, the Maroon & White have now won their last three conference series and seven of their last eight conference games.

The stories of each of the games share similarities. The winners compounded high-powered offense with dominant relief efforts out of the bullpen.

In Game 1, A&M appeared to continue its momentum from the past two weeks in the first inning, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead. Following a lead-off walk from Terrence Kiel II, Jace LaViolette launched a two-run shot to right field.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

With a home run in each game and four total in the series, Jace LaViolette now has 15 homers this season and 65 in his career.

Later in the inning, Kaeden Kent singled home Caden Sorrell, who laced a one-out double to left-center.

Arkansas struck back in the bottom of the frame with a pair of sacrifice flies, shrinking the Aggie lead to 3-2.

Wyatt Henseler hit a solo shot in the second, and Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy followed it up with a blast in the third.

The Aggies were primed to strike again in the fourth with a pair of runners in scoring position and Sorrell coming to the plate. However, Kiel got picked off after getting an aggressive lead at third base.

It wouldn’t take long for the Razorbacks to even it up following the base running error, as Justin Thomas Jr. launched a homer to left-center in the bottom of the frame.

The Hogs broke the tie in the fifth, posting a six-run inning that included an RBI single from Kuhio Aloy, a two-run scoring double from Brent Iredale and a three-run blast that capped it off from Thomas Jr., his second of the day.

From then on out, Gabe Gaeckle controlled the game in relief for the Razorbacks. Gaeckle tossed 5.2 innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and striking out eight.

The Aggies had no answer, and the Hogs evened the series on Friday afternoon.

However, A&M had the chance to respond quickly in Game 2.

Similarly to the opener, LaViolette launched a home run in the first frame of the nightcap to put the Aggies ahead 1-0.

However, this time, the Ags' early lead was backed up with solid work on the mound. In his first four innings of work, Myles Patton allowed just one run on five hits.

Knotted up 1-1 with two outs in the fifth, Kiel laced a single up the middle, then LaViolette launched his fourth home run of the weekend over the left-center wall to give A&M a 3-1 advantage.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

With a 3.2-inning relief appearance, redshirt sophomore Luke Jackson earned the first victory of his collegiate career.

Patton got into some trouble later in the inning, as the Hogs led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and a double, respectively, before Logan Maxwell drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

With one out and a runner on second, A&M head coach Michael Earley turned to sophomore Luke Jackson out of the bullpen.

Jackson worked out of the jam, then, much like Gaeckle, displayed a dominant performance on the mound.

He faced the minimum in the sixth, and immediately afterward, the teams entered a lightning delay at 8:35 p.m. CT.

By 9:05, play resumed, and suddenly Ben Royo turned the lighting delay into a lighting display, launching a solo shot to left-center and stretching the Ags’ lead to 4-2.

The display wouldn’t stop there, as later in the frame, Henseler scored Jamal George on a sacrifice fly, and Bear Harrison scored LaViolette and Sorrell with a single to right-center.

Jackson, working with a 6-2 lead, came back from the break in action and faced the minimum in the seventh and stranded two in the eighth. He ended the night allowing no runs on two hits, no free passes, and five punchouts through 3.2 innings of work.

The righty was nails.

A&M tacked on three more in the ninth with Sorrell’s two-run double and Kent’s run-scoring single.

After surrendering a hit to the first batter he faced in the ninth, Earley gave way to Jackson and brought on Kaiden Wilson, who recorded the final three outs of the ballgame.

Needing at least one win on the weekend to continue a push for an NCAA Tournament bid, the Aggies got that and then some, coming home to College Station with another series victory under their belt.

The Ags have fully dug themselves out of the hole they fell into in the first half of the season.

However, the road ahead remains a significant challenge.

Sam Houston rolls into town on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT, before the Maroon & White visit top-ranked Texas next weekend.

That task seems daunting.

However, these last two road trips have proven that A&M can take care of the nation’s best on their turf.