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Braden Montgomery (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)
In a top-five showdown Friday night at Blue Bell Park, No. 3 Texas A&M left absolutely no doubt against No. 5 Vanderbilt. The Aggies delivered a comprehensive rout, beating the Commodores, 15-0, in seven innings.
From the very start of the game, Texas A&M (30-4, 9-4) was in control. Lefthander Ryan Prager needed just 12 pitches to retire the Commodores in order in the top of the first inning, striking out two batters. In the bottom half, leadoff hitter Gavin Grahovac walked and Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery followed with back-to-back home runs off righthander Bryce Cunningham. It was off to the races from there for the Aggies.
Prager retired the first 13 batters of the game before Jayden Davis broke through in the fifth inning with Vanderbilt’s first hit. Prager finished the night with 10 strikeouts in seven innings. He walked none and scattered four hits to improve to 7-0, 1.98 with 73 strikeouts and five walks in 50 innings. A&M is 8-1 in his starts.
The Aggies’ offense was just as good as Prager. They pounded out 17 hits, including four doubles and five home runs. LaViolette (2-for-3, 6 RBI) and Montgomery (2-for-4, 4 RBI) both homered twice and first baseman Ted Burton (2-for-4) added a double and a home run.
The Aggies (second) and the Commodores (10th) both came into Friday’s game ranked in the top 10 in the nation in ERA. What might have been a pitcher’s duel instead was a rout. A&M’s 15 runs and 17 hits were the most by any team in a game against Vanderbilt since May 21, 2022, when LSU scored 21 runs on 17 hits on the final day of the regular season.
A&M has produced an impressive season to date. No team has more wins than it and only top-ranked Arkansas has a better winning percentage (.909 vs. .882). With that resume, the Aggies didn’t need to prove anything, but Friday gave them a signature win, arguably the best win any team has produced this season. They still need to win another game and clinch the series, but A&M couldn’t have asked for a better start to the weekend.
Vanderbilt (26-8, 8-5), meanwhile, will look to forget Friday as soon as possible. The Commodores are now 2-5 in road games and need to find a way to get something out of this weekend. They’ll turn to lefthander Carter Holton (5-0, 3.27) in Saturday’s game and ask their standout junior to help them get back on track.
Ace Watch
Friday night…