HOOVER, AL — The No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies got a pair of clutch hits from senior Jonathan Ducoff, including a walkoff single in the 10th inning, to top the Florida Gators in an SEC Tournament first round game Tuesday morning at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Ducoff delivered the final heroics with two outs in the 10th inning as he punched an 0-2 offering into left-center to drive in Cam Blake from second base.
Two innings earlier, Ducoff blasted the 10th pitch of his two-out at-bat over the leftfield fence for a three-run dinger, giving the Aggies a 7-5 lead. The Gators would claw back with two runs in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
Ducoff batted 2-for-5 on the day with one run and four RBI. Mikey Hoehner was also 2-for-5 with one home run, and two RBI. Braden Shewmake batted 2-for-3 with two walks, one double and one run.
Aggie starter Asa Lacy was left with a no-decision. He worked 5.2 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits and four walks while striking out eight. At one point Lacy retired 12 batters in a row. After missing on the save opportunity, Kasey Kalich (2-1) picked up the win. He yielded two runs on three hits while striking out two in 2.0 innings.
Texas A&M’s pitching staff racked up 12 strikeouts, establishing a single-season school record with 614 Ks on the year. The old record was 612, set in 2010.
UP NEXT
The Aggies move to the double-elimination portion of the SEC Tournament. The Maroon & White have another morning match set up, this time playing No. 6 Georgia at 9:30 a.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
B3 | Ty Coleman beat out a throw from the second baseman on a sharply hit ball up the middle for a leadoff single. Shewmake drove a single through the right side of the infield and Bryce Blaum put down a sacrifice bunt to push both runners into scoring position. After Zach DeLoach was issued an intentional walk to fill the bags with Ags, Hunter Coleman plated Ty Coleman with a sacrifice bunt and Hoehner singled to centerfield to push Shewmake home. A wild pitch moved two runners up a bag and DeLoach came home to score on a throwing error by the catcher. A&M 3, UF 0.
T5 | With one out, Kendrick Calilao drew a seven-pitch walk. He was replaced at first by Cory Acton who grounded into a fielder’s choice to the first baseman. Jacob Young hit a single misplayed by the Aggie second baseman. Florida loaded the bases with a four-pitch walk issued to Jud Fabian. Brady McConnell stroked a single to leftfield to drive in two. A&M 3, UF 2.
T6 | With one out, Brady Smith reached on a throwing error by Blaum. With two outs, a wild pitch moved Smith to second and Calilao drew an intentional walk. The last pitcher Lacy faced drew an unintentional walk. Miller issued a walk to the first batter he faced, Young, to push the tying run across. A&M 3, UF 3.
T8 | A fielding error by Blaum allowed Smith to reach first and he scored when Wil Dalton blooped a triple down the rightfield line. Dalton scored on a sacrifice fly by Calilao. UF 5, A&M 3.
B8 | With two outs, Hoehner blasted a solo home run to leftfield. Blake and Will Frizzell both singled up the middle and Ducoff fouled off four two-strike pitches before sending a rocket over the leftfield fence for a three-run job. A&M 7, UF 5.
T9 | Fabian hit a double down the leftfield line to start the inning and he scored with one out when Austin Langworthy tripled of the outstretched glove of DeLoach in the right-center gap. With the infield drawn in, Nelson Maldonado knocked a single past the second baseman to score Langworthy with the tying run. A&M 7, UF 7.
B10 | With one out, Cam Blake worked a six pitch walk and moved to second on a sac bunt by Ty Condel. Ducoff fell behind in the count 0-2 before gapping a single to left-center for the walkoff. A&M 8, UF 7.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Quotes from head coach Rob Childress and players may be found at www.twitter.com/@AggieBaseball, the official Twitter feed of Texas A&M Baseball.
