Arkansas' Walk-Off Home Run In 11th Inning Sends Aggies To Elimination Game

The Texas A&M Aggies played well, but a costly pitch gave the Arkansas Razorbacks an extra-inning win.

Over 400 pitches were thrown Wednesday afternoon at the Hoover Metroplex, but only three were needed to tell the story between Texas A&M and Arkansas. 

Down by three in the bottom of the seventh, Jared Wegner launched a no-doubt grand slam to give the Hogs a 5-4 lead. Austin Bost responded in the top of the ninth with a solo shot to left field on a fastball that hung up in the zone. 

But it was designated hitter Kendall Diggs' solo homer off redshirt junior Ty Sexton in the bottom of the 11 that gave Arkansas the 6-5 win. Three strikes were called, but the last one took A&M out of the running to enter the winner's bracket of the SEC Tournament. 

“I knew he was going to bring it to me there with a 2-1 count,” Diggs told the SEC Network postgame. “He doesn’t want that leadoff runner on, so I just tried to put a good swing on it, and it worked out well.”

Entering the seventh, A&M reliever Brandyn Garcia took the mound in place of freshman Shane Sdao with runners on first and second. He worked an 0-2 count against Arkansas' Jace Bohrofen before throwing four consecutive balls to load the bases. 

Wegner, who leads the Hogs in home runs with 11, didn't wait long to make Garcia pay. One pitch was all it took clear the ball over the left-field wall and give the Hogs their first lead of the afternoon.

“Garcia is a really good pitcher who was struggling there early, and I was just getting attacked with (fastballs), so I kind of knew that was coming,” Wegner told the SEC Network.

Hero ball from unlikely faces has been a positive for A&M two games into its trip just south of Birmingham, Ala. Troy Wansing, the lefthanded transfer from Purdue, struggled to find a rhythm on the mound during the regular season, posting a 2-3 and an ERA flirting with six (5.98). His one-hit eight-inning performance was the critical element in a 3-0 win over tenth-seeded Tennessee. 

Bost, A&M's recipient of the No. 12 and team captain, struggled to recapture his 2022 success once SEC play began. Entering the ninth inning, Bost posted a .212 batting average and .343 slugging percentage, both career lows in an Aggie uniform. 

No one cared in the moment what Bost's batting average was as the 2-1 fastball fell just on the fair side of the left-field wall to tie the game at five apiece. 

A&M righthander Nathan Detmer threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits with three walks and one strikeout before being pulled with a pair of runners on base. Sdao tossed four frames, allowing one hit with four strikeouts and two walks. Of the three runs allowed, only one was earned. 

IF NOBODY GOT ME 1️⃣2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/kTpyuNRK2s

— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) May 24, 2023

The Aggies jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to timely hitting. Brett Minnich doubled off Razorbacks' starter Cody Adcock to begin the third inning. That was followed up by a single from Max Kaufer and a four-pitch walk to Hunter Haas. All three came around to score on lefthander Zack Morris thanks to an RBI groundout from Jack Moss and a two-run single from Trevor Werner. 

Ryan Targac launched a solo home run over the left-center field wall to make it 4-0 at the top of the fourth. The Hogs responded in the bottom frame to keep A&M's lead a three thanks to a sacrifice fly from Tavian Josenberger. 

Arkansas tried to close the door on A&M in the bottom of the 10th with two on and one out, but Sexton's heads-up play on a safety squeeze forced the runner out at home. Josenberger grounded out three pitches later to leave the runners stranded. 

While the Aggies hope to keep their championship aspirations alive against sixth-seeded South Carolina Thursday morning, they likely have done enough to warrant a spot in the NCAA Tournament. A&M ended the season winning six of its last eight SEC series, including picking up victories over No. 25 Kentucky and No. 2 Florida.

TarGO 💪@RyanTargac pic.twitter.com/0bGr9F4IiF

— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) May 24, 2023

Getting to the tournament is the hardest challenge, but a new chapter awaits in the field of 68. Last season, Ole Miss snuck in as the "last team standing" before running the tables en route to a College World Series victory over Oklahoma. 

A&M likely won't be the "last team" to make the cut, but its bubble status could be popped after defeating No. 18 Tennessee. Should the Aggies prevail against the Gamecocks, consider their ticket punched for the postseason. 

First pitch from The Met is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. 

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