No. 23 Texas A&M Drops Home SEC Opener To No. 7 Georgia

The No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies baseball team saw another game of struggles to start an SEC conference matchup Friday night in College Station, except this one wasn't as close as the games last week in Norman, dropping Game 1 of their series against the Georgia Bulldogs, 9-4.

The Aggies posted a seven-run inning earlier in the week against the Texas State Bobcats, but were unfortunately unable to produce that same firepower with their bats three days later.

With the loss, the Aggies drop to 17-4 on the year, and 1-3 against SEC opponents.

Texas A&M Bats Struggle in Loss to No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs

Texas A&M Aggies first baseman Gavin Grahovac (9) slides into second base | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Shane Sdao took the loss for the Aggies despite striking out 11 batters in 5.2 innings pitched while also allowing nine hits and five earned runs on 112 pitches.

With the Aggies against their second top 10-ranked SEC team in a row, the Bulldogs wasted no time making their presence felt in College Station as Henry Allen blasted a three-run home run off of Sdao in the top of the first inning.

Georgia second baseman Tre Phelps would follow up in the second inning with an RBI single to give the visiting team a 4-0 lead after two innings.

The Aggies would find a spark in the bottom half of that same inning, with first baseman Gavin Grahovac smashing a single into center to give A&M their first hit and first two runs of the contest, scoring Jake Duer and Terrence Kiel II, cutting Georgia's lead in half.

Unfortunately, that's really where the good times stopped for Texas A&M.

Bulldogs third baseman Michael O'Shaughnessy rocketed a solo home run in the top half of the third, left fielder Cole Johnson would rope a two-RBI single into the outfield in the eighth inning, and designated hitter Jordy Oriach came on to pinch hit in the ninth and smacked a towering two-run homer over the wall in right center.

Aside from RBI singles by Grahovac and Chris Hacopian in the bottom half of the frame, the Aggies were unable to duplicate their stellar offense from Tuesday in the ninth inning, and they took their second straight conference loss on the year.

Both Boston Kellner and Terrence Kiel II were able to draw walks in the contest, allowing them to extend their streak as the only two Aggies to get on base in all 21 games this year.

Game 2 between the two SEC schools is scheduled for 2:00 PM on Saturday.

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