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Texas rides go-ahead HR from Adrian Rodriguez to complete sweep of Texas A&M
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Texas and Texas A&M met this weekend for the first time since Jim Schlossnagle jumped from the Aggies to the Longhorns this past offseason. In spite of the Aggies entering the season as the No. 1 team in the country, it was Schlossnagle and the Longhorns who held the No. 1 spot entering this weekend’s series in Austin.
What transpired was a particularly intense and dramatic weekend series between the two rivals. Every game was decided by 1 run, but it would be Texas coming out on top each time, including a dramatic finish on Sunday to complete the rivalry sweep.
The Longhorns opened the series with a 2-1 win on Friday and took Saturday’s game by a score of 3-2. That left the Aggies trying to salvage Sunday’s finale, where Texas A&M held a 4-2 lead through 5 innings.
Things finally shifted in the bottom of the 6th with Texas delivering a 3-run frame for the 5-4 lead. A&M’s Caden Sorrell quickly tied things up with a solo home run in the top of the 7th, and that’s where the game stood until Adrian Rodriguez stepped to bat in the bottom of the 8th.
Leading off the frame, Rodriguez was able to lift a fly ball deep toward the left field corner foul pole and just enough to clear the fence. The pivotal go-ahead blast traveled just 345 feet but counts just the same for the 6-5 lead.
Texas would lock things down in the top of the 9th, giving the Longhorns a clean 3-game sweep with the slimmest of margins, with a +3 run differential for the weekend. The Longhorns run their winning streak to 9 games with back-to-back SEC sweeps over Auburn and A&M.
On the flip side, it’s a tough blow for A&M, which had found momentum with 3 straight series wins in conference play. Now, the Aggies will turn to face LSU at home in search of a late-season rebound.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
