Targac Time: Texas A&M Third Baseman Hits For Cycle In Slugfest Win Over Kentucky

Ryan Targac's record day propels the Aggies to their first SEC series win at home

Ryan Targac isn't the biggest player for Texas A&M. He stands at only 6-foot and weighs roughly 200 pounds. 

That didn't stop the third baseman from carrying the biggest stick on the afternoon Saturday against Kentucky. Targac hit for the cycle in a 17-3 slugfest win over the Wildcats to help the Aggies pick up the series win. 

Targac's cycle marks the second time in two weeks an Aggie has completed the task. Against then-No. 8 Texas, first baseman Jack Moss made magic on the way to a 12-9 win. 

"They're good hitters," A&M manager Jim Schlossnagle said. "You have to be good enough to hit the balls out of the ballpark and do the other things....Jack's been super consistent. I'm really proud of Ryan. He did it from both sides of the plate." 

Texas A&M Baseball

Texas A&M Baseball

Texas A&M Baseball

The sophomore switch-hitter ended his day going  4 for 5 at the plate with a career-high five RBIs and three runs, including a monster 475-foot home run over Section 12 in the fifth. That became the catalyst for a 10-0 run for the Aggies' offense between the fifth-eighth inning. 

It was only after Targac's RBI double in the eighth he realized the accomplishment. By that point, Texas A&M (19-12, 6-6 SEC) was leading by double-digits.

“We didn’t hear anything about it till my last at-bat when someone in the dugout looked out at me and held up the number two,” Targac said. “We normally don’t talk about that stuff until it happens, but it still happened. It’s awesome.” 

OH MY!!! Hey @RyanTargac, what did that ball do to you⁉️#NCAABaseball x 🎥 @AggieBaseball pic.twitter.com/ug3pMnN1Fg

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) April 9, 2022

Outfielder Dylan Rock usually wouldn't be overshadowed by his performance if not for the record day from Targac. Remaining the Aggies' hottest bat, Rock cleared the bases in the fourth inning with an RBI triple down the left-field line. Three innings later, he'd notch his team-leading eighth home run of the season over the left-field wall. 

Rock finished 2 for 3 with four RBIs on the day. Moss went 2 for 6 with a sacrifice fly and scored twice. 

"Everybody is up there competing, and we were just able to see the ball better today,” Rock said. 

Micah Dallas earned his first SEC win of the season on an unusual day. Despite being the often-used Saturday pitcher, Dallas is second in the rotation behind sophomore Nathan Dettmer. Instead, Schlosnagle elected to wait until the rubber match to send out his top starter. 

Dallas didn't disappoint. He was efficient through seven innings of work, allowing three runs off five hits while striking out five Wildcats (19-13, 4-8 SEC) along the way. 

“That was so much fun," Dallas said of his victory. "I have been waiting for it for a couple of weeks now, but I mean just being able to go out there and have the offense put on a show. I mean this was a fun baseball game.”

The win marks the most runs by Texas A&M since 2019. It also marks the team’s first SEC series win since facing LSU in Baton Rouge back in mid-March. 

Texas A&M Baseball

Texas A&M Baseball

Texas A&M Baseball

“You want to win them all, but most of the series in this conference are going to come down to somebody winning on the third day to win the series," Schlossnagle said. "We definitely needed that.”

A&M is set to leave College Station for a four-game road trip. The Aggies will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday before traveling to Athen to take on No. 10 Georgia starting Thursday evening.  

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