OMAHA, Nebraska — Texas A&M scored all of its runs in the sixth inning, Ryan Prager held Kentucky hitless into the seventh and the Aggies are off to their best start in a Men's College World Series after their 5-1 victory on Monday at night.
The Aggies (51-13) are 2-0 in the MCWS for the first time in eight appearances and have taken control of Bracket 2. They will await the winner of an elimination game Tuesday between Florida and Kentucky (46-15) in the group last Wednesday. They would have to lose twice to be out of the best-of-three final.
“The first two games we've been here, it's about how we designed it,” Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle said.
Prager (9-1), A&M's No. 1 pitcher of the season, got out of trouble twice before Ryan Nicholson hit the ball over second base for the Wildcats' first hit with two outs in the seventh. Nolan McCarthy followed with a double, putting runners on the corners, and then reliever Josh Stewart came in to end the game.
“Prager, what an outing. What a time to pitch a game like that,” Kentucky coach Nick Mingione said. “It kept us off balance. We had some opportunities and we didn't take advantage of them. In a game like this, all those opportunities matter. The big inning is perhaps the most important factor in determining whether you win or lose in college baseball. We were able to get one “
Prager, rocked for six runs in 1 2/3 innings in his superregional start against Oregon, threw just 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 first inning against the Wildcats, retiring 13 in a row from the second through the sixth. inning. The second-year left-hander walked one, hit one batter and struck out four.
“After last week, as soon as I got out there I felt some frustration, but it went away pretty quickly,” he said. “I thought a little bit, maybe I thought too much, but I came back to neutrality and understood what I had done all year. I realized that there doesn't have to be a drastic change in what I was doing.”
The last time Prager pitched at Charles Schwab Field was in the 2022 MCWS. He started the Aggies' final game against Oklahoma and lasted just 2 1/3 innings. He then missed the 2023 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
“I'm very grateful to be back,” he said. “The last time we were here I left with a bitter taste in my mouth.”
Not everything went well on his return.
He needed the big play from A&M catcher Jackson Appel with two outs in the second when James McCoy bunted to the left side with Nick Lopez heading home from third. Appel ran down and fired to first for McCoy to make a close play confirmed on review.
The Wildcats had two runners with one out in the sixth after a walk and an error. Prager left the inning when Kaeden Kent fielded a hard grounder by Devin Burkes down the third base line, tagged the bag and threw to first for a double play that ended the inning.
Texas A&M scored five times in the sixth to take control. Jace LaViolette led off the game with a walk against Mason Moore (9-4), Appel doubled into the right field corner and they both came home on Hayden Schott's single to left field. Cameron O'Brien came on in relief and allowed an RBI double to Ali Camarillo and a two-run single to Kent.
Kentucky ended the Aggies' bid for a national-leading 12th shutout when Nicholson homered with one out in the ninth.
The only downside for the Aggies was the injury to LaViolette, who sprained his hamstring while running the bases in the sixth. LaViolette leads the Aggies with 28 home runs and 77 RBIs, and was the hero of their inaugural MCWS victory over Florida when his catch at the fence robbed the Gators of a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning. Schlossnagle said he was hopeful LaViolette would be able to play Wednesday.
Texas A&M already lost top-five draft pick Braden Montgomery to a broken ankle and starting pitcher Shane Sdao to an arm injury in the super regionals.
“The last two weeks we've been losing players left and right, but that gives other guys a chance,” Schlossnagle said. “Hopefully we can make a good story.”
