No. 19 Texas A&M Aggies Drop SEC Opener To No. 17 Alabama

A comeback effort did no good later in the game for the Texas A&M Aggies.

Jun 24, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M Aggies right fielder Jace Laviolette (17) looks over the field after the loss against the Tennessee Volunteers at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Well, this is not the start Michael Earley probably imagined.

The No. 19 Texas A&M Aggies start the 2025 SEC season 0-1 after a late loss to the No. 17 Alabama Crimson Tide Friday night in front of the home crowd in College Station, 6-4.

The Aggies seemed to have gotten back in the fight in the bottom of the eighth inning with a Hayden Schott homer off the right field foul pole, but the Crimson Tide came right back in the top of the ninth inning, with back-to-back homers off of Brad Rudis to take the first game of the series, despite the Aggies outhitting the Crimson Tide 11-8 in the ballgame.

Jun 24, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M Aggies designated hitter Hayden Schott (5) walks off after striking out against the Tennessee Volunteers during the ninth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Alabama struck first in the game with a two-run home run in the second inning off of Ryan Prager, which was matched with RBIs by Jace LaViolette and Hayden Schott to tie the game at two.

Another two-run homer from the Tide bats again put the Aggies down two, but Sawyer Farr and Hayden Schott would again tie up the contest late in the game until the top of the ninth came around.

Ryan Prager lasted seven innings in his first conference start of the year and struck out four, but struggled as opposed to his normal performances, walking three hitters, allowing four earned runs and five hits, including two home runs.

The Dallas lefty had only allowed a single extra-base hit up to this point the entire season, but with the competition getting tougher as conference play comes around, a dull performance may happen occasionally, even for a pitcher of Prager's caliber.

A crucial part of the game came right before the two back-to-back Tide homers, when head coach Michael Earley pulled relief pitcher Luke Jackson after just four batters, despite Jackson mowing right through the Tide batters with two quick strikeouts.

Earley would put in lefty Kaiden Wilson to combat power-hitting lefty Will Hodo, who smashed the two-run home run to put the Tide on the board in the second inning. After Hodo was retired, Brad Rudis was put in, and that is where the back-to-back jacks sealed the deal for the Crimson Tide.

Wyatt Henseler struggled in his first SEC matchup, going 0-5 at the plate Friday night, but on the contrary, Terrence Kiel II continued his hot start, going 3-5 and continuing to boost his already team-leading batting average.

The Aggies will look to right their late wrong from tonight tomorrow afternoon in game two of their opening SEC series against the Tide.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

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