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Texas A&M outlasts Auburn, advances to SEC Baseball Tournament quarterfinals
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Texas A&M’s postseason hopes are still alive. The 14-seed Aggies are moving on to the SEC Baseball Tournament quarterfinals after defeating 6-seed Auburn 3-2 on Thursday, a second-round game delayed by weather.
Kaeden Kent’s 3-run home run in the top of the 3rd inning broke the scoring ice and proved to be the difference in the game.
THREE-RUN JACK FOR @Kaeden_Kent #GigEm pic.twitter.com/DaKPm1zKTE
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) May 22, 2025
The Aggies are trying to make a deep SEC Tournament run in hopes of snagging an NCAA Tournament bid. Those hopes, though, took a significant hit with the loss of star outfielder Jace LaViolette, who left the game in the 5th inning with a hand injury after being hit by a pitch. LaViolette is out for at least the remainder of the SEC Tournament.
On the mound, Texas A&M turned to Justin Lamkin for the start, and the veteran came through with a clutch performance. Lamkin went 5 innings for the win, allowing only 1 earned run on 3 hits, striking out 5 with 3 walks over 85 pitches (52 strikes).
Weston Moss delivered 2.1 innings of scoreless relief following Lamkin. Michael Earley then turned to Wilson for 1.1 innings and used Clayton Freshcorn for the final out, a 2-pitch save.
Auburn made things interesting late. Baserunning cost the Tigers a valuable out in the bottom of the 8th. Eric Guevara slid into a “restricted area,” causing a potential fielder’s choice to be ruled an inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the 9th, Auburn did not go quietly. Lucas Steele hit a solo home run to cut it to 3-2, the game’s final score.
Cam Tilly was the game’s losing pitcher, allowing the 3 earned runs off the Kent homer in a 59-pitch, 3-inning outing. Carson Myers and Cade Fisher provided 6 innings of 2-hit scoreless relief.
The Tigers return to Auburn to gear up for the NCAA Tournament, in which they will likely host a Regional. AU is 38-18 overall and No. 5 in RPI.
Texas A&M finished the regular season 28-25 after a rough 11-19 showing in SEC play. With a 2-0 showing in the SEC Tournament, the Aggies now have 13 conference wins as they push for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
