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Texas A&M Baseball: Aggies drop final series vs. South Carolina

By Tim England

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 13: Gloves and balls are seen on the field before the Chicago Cubs take on the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field on April 13, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Braves defeated the Cubs 4-0. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 13: Gloves and balls are seen on the field before the Chicago Cubs take on the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field on April 13, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Braves defeated the Cubs 4-0. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Texas A&M baseball limped across the finish line, finishing 13-17 in SEC play with their postseason hopes very much in question.

On a critical final weekend of the season, Texas A&M dropped two out of three games to South Carolina to wrap up the regular season. In a season that has been very up and down for the Aggies, Texas A&M finished with a 36-19 overall record and 13-17 record in SEC Play. With the SEC Tournament approaching, a poor performance could find the Aggies on the outside of postseason play for the first time in eleven years.

Game 1: Texas A&M defeats South Carolina 6-3

Texas A&M started real fast which is exactly what they needed to do. Whammys in the bottom of the first and second by Braden Shewmake and Aaron Walters were huge and gave the Aggies a 3-0 lead to start.

South Carolina responded back with one run in the third, fourth and fifth, highlighted by two rare solo shots off of Mitchell Kilkenny. Kaylor Chafin pitched the fifth and sixth innings and walked both leadoff men to start each inning. The struggles continue for the senior who will be vital in postseason play.

Cason Sherrod was clutch in the seventh, coming in with two men on and one out and recording two straight outs to keep South Carolina off the board.

Logan Foster came in off the bench and produced a huge RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give the Aggies insurance. Allonte Wingate also followed with a clutch RBI single to stretch the Aggie lead to three late.

Nolan Hoffman picked up his 12th save of the year by continuing to whisper away on the mound. Hoffman has had an incredible year in College Station and continues to be the most consistent arm out of the bullpen.

Game 2: South Carolina defeats Texas A&M 5-3

You cannot play sloppy in the SEC. With four out of five South Carolina runs being unearned, the Aggies have only themselves to blame for this loss.

Wingate and Michael Helman were the only Aggies to record multiple hits as Texas A&M went 8-for-32 as a team at the plate. Wingate continued to build on his weekend, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances.

After scoring three runs early, Texas A&M allowed five consecutive South Carolina runs. John Doxakis was charged with four of those runs even though only one was earned. Asa Lacy and Cason Sherrod allowed only three hits in their 3.1 innings of relief.

Even with all of that, the Aggies had two men on and were trailing by only one run in the bottom of the ninth. Will Frizzell failed to deliver and struck out to end the game.

Game 3: South Carolina defeats Texas A&M 10-1

Texas A&M has had a few brutal losses this year but for me this one was a straight body blow that knocked all the air out of this team. The first three South Carolina batters went as follows: home run, walk, home run. Those who showed up slightly late to the game found the Aggies down 3-0 and it only got worse from there.

After allowing four runs in the first, Texas A&M managed to respond with a single run before allowing six more unanswered South Carolina runs.  Chris Andritsos managed to go 2-for-3 with the single RBI in the bottom of the first.

Stephen Kolek and Chandler Jozwiak were on another planet this afternoon. The two Aggie pitchers combined for three innings of work. In that time, they allowed eight runs on nine hits, three walks and hit two additional batters. Saturday was a complete meltdown on the mound for Texas A&M.

We’ve seen what happens if the top of Aggie lineup fails to get going for Texas A&M. Helman, Foster and Shewmake went a combined 1-for-12 at the plate, accounting for one of the six Aggie hits on the day.

This weekend leaves Texas A&M squarely on the bubble heading into the SEC Tournament in Hoover, AL. Regardless of a high RPI, the Aggies find themselves four games under .500 in conference play with a minimum of one game to play in the SEC Tournament.

Next: Johnny Manziel will play professional football again

All tournament games will be viewed as conference games by the committee. If Texas A&M drops their play-in game vs. Vanderbilt than the Aggies eleven year postseason streak will be very much in jeopardy.

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