A&M offense explodes again as Aggies clinch series over No. 2 Texas

Game #34: No. 18 Texas A&M 11, No. 2 Texas 4
Records: Texas A&M (27-7, 9-5), Texas (27-7, 9-5)
WP: Gavin Lyons (5-0)
LP: Luke Harrison (4-1)
Box Score

Come to the ballpark, they tell you.

You’ll see something you’ve never seen before, and you should always expect the unexpected.

Well, it’s fair to say almost nobody — except those inside Blue Bell Park’s third-base dugout — expected the beatdown No. 18 Texas A&M rained down on No. 2 Texas in an 11-4 series-clinching victory on Saturday afternoon.

“Winning in this league is so hard. Look at the scores every weekend. You think one team's going to beat the next, and it is a grind, and we’re not done yet,” Aggie skipper Michael Earley said. “We have a game tomorrow. Yeah, we won the series. Awesome, but you play 30 SEC games, and we got one tomorrow, and the value of each win just continues to pick up as you move through the season, so we gotta attack tomorrow with a sense of urgency.”

Danny Grant, TexAgs

Texas A&M has piled 20 runs on 16 hits and 13 walks in the first two games of the series.

Given the Longhorns’ lofty ranking, that the urgent Aggies — now 9-5 in the league by virtue of eight SEC wins in their last nine conference games — are going for a sweep on Sunday is somewhat stunning.

That they’ve ridden an elite offense to wins on back-to-back days is not.

Facing a club leading the SEC in ERA and one of the best staffs in the country, A&M has scored 20 runs in two ballgames. Eight of those came in Saturday’s first inning.

“You’ve got plate discipline and guys that can slug,” Earley said. “I think we’ve hit two homers in two days, so it’s just being able to win in many different ways. It’s either getting base hits or walks. It just starts with you got a lot of talented guys that are bought into the process of what we’re trying to do, and it’s easy when your best players do it.”

With a 98-minute rain delay mixed in the middle, the Ags blitzed Texas starter Luke Harrison, who recorded just two outs, by capitalizing on three first-inning walks and mashing four extra-base hits in the frame.

Nico Partida doubled in two. So did Bear Harrison. Gavin Grahovac’s three-run triple swelled the lead to 7-1. Caden Sorrell’s second hit of the inning plated another.

On Saturday, those who stayed tormented those who left. Grahovac was 2-for-5 with three RBI. Sorrell finished a triple shy of the cycle as his sixth-inning two-run home run seemed to force his former coach to wave the white flag.

“Obviously, we’ve been rivals for a long time, and obviously, with the stuff that happened a couple of years ago, it’s a little more personal,” Sorrell said. “It definitely feels good to go out there and get a series win.

“Trusted the process. Trusted Earley. I think Earley is the best coach there is, especially for me, especially on the hitting side. … He’s grown a lot as a coach, and it’s great to see the position he’s in now.”

The hallmarks of an Earley offense are taking the balls and swinging at strikes. They’ve done that — perfectly, and with damage — throughout the weekend.

Combined with a bullpen that has answered the bell in back-to-back games, A&M is now on the precipice of its first sweep over its greatest rival since 1991.

Behind a gutsy 4.2-inning start by Aiden Sims that featured a two-hour layover between the top of the first and the second, Gavin Lyons was all the Aggies needed to get across the finish line.

“You dream about this as a kid,” Lyons said. “I was just so excited to go out there. My emotions showed it, maybe a little too much, but it was a lot of fun.”

The reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week allowed only three runs — a leadoff double to begin the afternoon and solo home runs to Aiden Robbins and Josh Livingston — and departed with two on and two out in the fifth.

Enter Lyons.

Danny Grant, TexAgs

Gavin Lyons allowed one earned run on three hits while fanning five and walking none in 4.1 innings of work.

A big-time punchout of Anthony Pack Jr. diffused what amounted to the final Texas threat and preserved a 9-3 lead. In the eighth, Robbins’ second solo shot and fourth homer of the year was all the long-faced Longhorns could muster vs. A&M’s sidewinding long reliever.

“I know every coach in here believes in me, and that was the biggest thing for me,” Lyons said. “It’s just a great support staff, and I love every single coach.

“I was just happy to get the win for the fellas. Nothing better than a win, right?”

Right that.

Although not confirmed, Weston Moss figures to start the finale. Behind him, Earley and Jason Kelly have a fully stocked bullpen at their disposal.

A pretty loud statement has been made already this weekend.

A sweep would be even louder, so come back to the ballpark on Sunday.