Texas A&M Splits Doubleheader To Win Series Against No. 2 Arkansas

Here is a stat that you probably wouldn't have expected to hear about the Texas A&M Aggies around this time last month: they have won seven of their last nine conference games.

Due to inclement weather expected in Fayetteville, the Aggies and the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks had their weekend series pushed backed to a single game on Thursday and then a doubleheader on Friday, playing three full games over the span of a little over 24 hours.

But based off how Michael Earley's team was performing, you wouldn't have noticed really any signs of fatigue or burnout.

Jun 24, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M Aggies starting pitcher Justin Lamkin (33) pitches against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

After a 7-4 victory Thursday night, the Aggies would drop game one of the doubleheader against Arkansas 11-5, ending their eight-game winning streak, but would pick right back up the second game with a 9-2 win, winning their first series against the Hogs in Fayetteville since 2016.

Game one of Friday's contests starting off strong for the Maroon and White, as a two-run home run by Jace LaViolette and an RBI single by Kaeden Kent would quickly run off Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood after just one-third of an inning pitched.

Runs scored from the bats of Carson Boles and Brent Iredale would put Arkansas back in the game in the bottom of the first, the Aggies ahead 3-2 after one.

Wyatt Henseler's solo home run in the top of the second would extend the Aggie lead to 4-2, but the Razorbacks would then embark on an eight-run scoring spree from the third through the fifth innings, which was kickstarted by solo home runs by Wehiwa Aloy and Justin Thomas Jr., his first of two long balls on the day.

The Razorbacks would score six runs in the fifth inning alone, giving the Razorbacks a commanding 10-4 lead after the fifth inning, where Justin Thomas Jr. would launch his second home run, this one a two-run shot, of the day.

Relief pitcher Gabe Gaeckle was a prime reason for the sudden halt of the Aggie offense, allowing only four hits in 5.2 inning pitched with eight strikeouts.

Blake Binderup would add a run for the Aggies with a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning, but Arkansas would score another run in the bottom of the inning to bring the score to 11-5 in favor of the Razorbacks, which would end up being the final score, putting an end to the eight-game winning streak that the Aggies brought into the game.

Like Ryan Prager before him, Justin Lamkin was lit up by the Arkansas bats during his start, allowing seven runs on nine hits through only four innings of work.

The second game started the same way the first one did for the Aggies, as Jace LaViolette would vault a solo home run off the right center field scoreboard to put the Ags on the board first, the fourth consecutive game with a home run for "Lord Tubbington."

Four straight games with a homer for Lord Tubbington 💥#GigEm | @JaceLaViolette2 pic.twitter.com/m4QhAkH4Es
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 18, 2025

Kuhio Aloy would tie the game with a sacrifice fly, scoring his brother Wehiwa, to tie the game at one apiece, where it remained before Jace LaViolette took his turn of having a multi-homer game with a two-run bomb in the fifth inning, scoring himself and Terrence Kiel II and giving the Aggies a 3-1 lead and LaViolette his fourth homer of the series.

LORD TUBBINGTON STRIKES AGAIN 💥#GigEm | @JaceLaViolette2 pic.twitter.com/BKAR8kydwA
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 19, 2025

A sacrifice fly by right fielder Logan Maxwell would bring the Razorbacks within one, but Texas A&M's offense came alive in the late innings.

Starting with a Ben Royo home run in the seventh inning, Wyatt Henseler would score Jamal George on a sacrifice fly, and Bear Harrison plated Jace LaViolette as a part of a three-run seventh inning.

Already ahead 6-2, the Aggies would add some insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning with a two-run double by Caden Sorrell and an RBI single from Kaeden Kent that brought Sorrell in to score, capping off a 9-2 victory that gave the Aggies the series, their second consecutive series win against the Hogs, and first series win in Fayetteville in nearly a decade.

Now winners of three consecutive SEC series, the Aggies will host the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Blue Bell Park for their midweek matchup, before heading to Austin to combat their most notable rivals, the Texas Longhorns in the first Lone Star Showdown between the two teams on the diamond since the Longhorns joined the SEC last year.

A battle between what most would consider the two best teams in the Southeastern Conference right now.