No. 10 Texas A&M (39-13, 18-11 SEC) finished the SEC regular season with eighteen wins, while this weekend’s all-important series vs. No. 13 Mississippi State started off shaky after the Aggies allowed 13 runs in one inning, falling 18-11 on Thursday night.
However, thanks to timely offense and a solid performance from the bullpen, the Aggies pulled off back-to-back wins to secure the series and the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. This is the highest conference tournament seed for the Aggies since 2022, when they were a 2-seed, and will now reportedly play on Friday night after earning a double-bye.
Second-year coach Michael Earley should be the frontrunner for SEC Coach of the Year after leading his team to 39 wins and a potential top 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament after missing the postseason during his inaugural campaign.
While the roster is stacked with talent, Texas A&M’s shaky pitching rotation has struggled throughout SEC play, and while sophomore Aiden Sims has played like the team’s ace, his absence this weekend made Saturday’s victory even more impressive after Earley was forced to re-use Ethan Darden, Gavin Lyons, and closer Clayton Freshcorn, who allowed all six runs.
Still, Freshcorn came through in the final frame, recording two strikeouts and a pop-up to earn his 13th save heading into the postseason. Securing the No. 3 seed, Texas A&M will reportedly play on Friday at 6:30 p.m., facing the winner of Auburn vs. Oklahoma or LSU.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M secures 3-seed in SEC Tournament, will play on Friday
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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