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OMAHA, NEB. -- For the first time in program history, Texas A&M baseball will play for the national championship.
The Aggies (52-13) received another outstanding pitching performance as they remained undefeated at the College World Series, shutting out Florida (36-30) 6-0 at Charles Schwab Field Wednesday night.
"That was a great ball game," coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "I thought we played really, really well."
The win puts A&M into a best of three championship series against No. 1 Tennessee, which cruised past Florida State 7-2 earlier Wednesday to complete a 3-0 run through their bracket in Omaha.
This was the second time the Aggies and Gators played in the College World Series, with A&M winning a 3-2 nail-biter Saturday night. Even though most of the names and faces were the same, the outcome was decided much earlier.
After pounding No. 2 Kentucky 15-4 earlier Wednesday to set up another matchup with the No. 3 Aggies, Florida found themselves on the receiving end of a buzzsaw. The shutout was the first thrown against the Gators since May 22, 2022 -- coincidentally, also at the hands of the Aggies.
The Gators turned to their Saturday night starter, Liam Peterson (3-6), with the hopes he would be able to improve on his first outing against the Aggies (2 1/3 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts). Instead, Peterson got the four walks out of the way early -- in the first five batters. After walking first baseman Ted Burton to force in leadoff hitter Gavin Grahovac, Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan had seen enough and went to his already taxed bullpen.
Fisher Jameson would give up a sacrifice fly to left fielder Caden Sorrell to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead, but Jameson would limit the damage done in the top of the first to just those two runs. With the Gators' power bats red hot after bashing N.C. State and Kentucky pitching, it seemed reasonable to assume they would be eager to have a second crack at A&M starter Justin Lamkin (3-2), who held them to one hit over three innings of work Saturday night.
They did not get the Saturday version of Lamkin. They got an even better one. The sophomore lefthander struck out five of the first six batters he faced; seven of his first nine outs were via the strikeout.
The Gators had opportunities to score, but Lamkin clamped down each time. In the bottom of the second, Florida shortstop Colby Shelton led off with a double past a gimpy Jace LaViolette in left field, but Lamkin struck out the next three hitters. The Gators loaded the bases with one out in the third, but Lamkin struck out first baseman Travis Shelnut and induced a weak popup in foul ground from Shelton to end the threat.
"We had our opportunities, quite honestly. We had, what -- bases loaded, one out and struck out. And then second and third, one out and didn't drive in a run," O'Sullivan said.
The Aggies, on the other hand, did not waste their opportunities. In the top of the fifth, second baseman Kaeden Kent led off with a double to right, then scored when Grahovac, who had been slumping, hit a booming ground-rule double to left center field. That put the Aggies up 3-0 and served as a tremendous relief for the Aggies. Grahovac's 2-4 night, as well as a walk, did not surprise his coach.
"If he has a bad game, I just expect him to have a good game," Schlossnagle said. "There ain't no AAA, man. He's our third baseman."
On the mound, Lamkin continued to cruise.
In his first appearance against Florida, Lamkin was limited to just three innings of work in anticipation he'd be brought back for today's game. This time, Schlossnagle left him out there, and the move paid off. Lamkin cruised through the fifth, racking up a strikeout and forcing All-American Jac Caglianone into a weak groundout to first.
On the night, Lamkin gave up just three hits, walked one batter and struck out nine. For the combined two games, Lamkin pitched eight innings against the Gators, giving up four hits, no runs and a walk while striking out 15.
"I've seen pitchers (dominate a team) like this before, but not very often," Kent said.
As it was in A&M's 5-1 win over Kentucky on Monday, the sixth inning proved to be when the dam broke. O'Sullivan brought in right-hander Jake Clemente to start the inning, but after a walk to Hayden Schott and a hard-hit out to deep left center from Burton, the Florida coach pulled the plug after just 12 pitches. O'Sullivan brought in closer Brandon Neely with a 2-0 count on Sorrell, who worked the count full.
Neely then threw a fastball right down the middle and the freshman outfielder didn't miss it, crushing it deep into the Nebraska night. When it landed 402 feet later in the right-centerfield stands, the Aggies had a 5-0 lead.
"I think I started the at-bat 2-0 against him, just because they brought him in after the other pitcher started throwing a couple balls, and pretty much my approach was just sitting fastball," Sorrell recounted. "I know he's pretty fastball-heavy. He's got a lot of arm side running right on it, so I was just sitting fastball, trying to get something that started low or middle, and luckily, he threw a fastball pretty much middle-middle and I was just sitting fastball and I got it and I executed it."
As he did in the first game, Schlossnagle then turned to power arm Chris Cortez in relief of Lamkin in the bottom of the sixth. Unlike Saturday night, Cortez could not find the strike zone and was pulled after throwing eight pitches -- all balls. The Aggies turned to right-hander Josh Stewart, who performed well in the Monday win over Kentucky, and he went to work quickly. After getting a groundout from Shelton, Stewart struck out the next two batters to keep the Gators off the board.
Florida would threaten again in the eighth after a single by Caglianone and a walk to second baseman Cade Kurland, but closer Evan Aschenbeck induced two weak fly balls and struck out catcher Luke Heyman -- who struck out four times on the night -- to end the threat.
A&M would add one more insurance run on in the top of ninth, when shortstop Ali Camarillo tripled to right and came home on a single by Kent past a drawn-in infield. Aschenbeck retired the side in order in the bottom half of the ninth, giving the Aggies a chance to make history.
"I'm tired of leaving before the championship. So personally it's awesome, it's fun to get to be a part of," Schlossnagle said. "We're excited. I'm excited for the 12th man. Texas A&M has an awesome fan base, and just incredibly proud and awesome people that you just -- you want to reward the commitment that they have made. I think we've done that. Obviously, we'd like to win the whole thing, but it's been a good year to this point."
