Struggles at the plate led to Texas A&M baseball dropping its second consecutive series opener, falling 5-3 against Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., on Friday night.
Left-handed pitcher Hunter Elliott had a career performance against the Aggies’ lineup, recording 11 strikeouts and allowing one earned run across six innings. Meanwhile, Michael Earley’s experiment with naming Ethan Darden the starting pitcher for the series opener fell short. The Clemson transfer gave up two hits and two earned runs, while also walking two.
Texas A&M’s two extra-base hits in the loss were doubles from Chris Hacopian and Caden Sorrell. Entering the weekend, Hacopian is among the multiple Aggies dealing with injuries. Freshman third baseman Nico Partida is expected to miss this weekend’s series due to an injury he suffered against Auburn last weekend, while Hacopian remains in the designated hitter position as he tries to get back to full health.
Shortstop Boston Kellner suffered a gruesome injury in Game 1, as he took a fastball to the face and was rushed off the field with a towel covering the area he was hit in. Kellner will likely be a game-time decision tomorrow, which marks another star infielder absent.
Aiden Sims will have the opportunity to salvage the series and force the rubber match in the first of two played on Saturday, after Sunday’s series finale was turned into a doubleheader due to inclement weather. Game 2 is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and will be followed by Game 3 an hour after Game 2 concludes.
Here are some of the best social media reactions from Texas A&M’s series opener against Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., on Friday night:
Final score from the series opener at Swayze Field
Kellner and Sawyer Farr turned a sweet double play to eliminate the Rebels’ threat
Shane Sdao kept Ole Miss at bay with an impressive outing
Jorian Wilson’s RBI kept the rally going in the eighth
Positives and negatives to take away from Texas A&M’s performance in Game 1
Scary moment for Kellner at the plate, who was struck in the face by a pitch
Texas A&M and Texas losses pave the way for Georgia to claim regular season title
Statistics from the series-opening loss
Despite early struggles on the mound, the lack of rhythm offensively led to the loss against Ole Miss
Sdao impressed on Friday night
RPI update following the loss
Aggies face a doubleheader on Saturday due to inclement weather
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Best social media reactions from Texas A&M’s 5-3 loss to Ole Miss
Reporting by Dylan Flippo, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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