HOOVER, Ala. – Despite a solid effort from the pitching staff, a disappointing day at the plate was too much to overcome for No. 9/13 Tennessee, as Texas A&M eliminated the Volunteers from the SEC Tournament with a 3-0 victory on a rain-soaked afternoon at the Hoover Met.
Seth Halvorsen, Camden Sewell, AJ Russell and Zander Sechrist held the Aggies to just three runs on five hits and combined for 11 strikeouts to keep UT within striking distance, but the bats were never able to get it going as the Big Orange finished with just one hit on the day, which was tied for a season low.
Christian Scott registered the lone hit for the Orange and White, a single into right center with one out in the sixth inning, which extended his hitting streak to seven straight games.
Halvorsen made his first start since 2021 when he was playing for Missouri and gave the Vols four solid innings, striking out six batters while allowing a pair of runs on three hits and three walks.
Texas A&M starter Troy Wansing posted his best start of the year, tossing eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts and no walks on 95 pitches to get the win.
After a pair of scoreless innings to start the game, it was the Aggies (33-23) who struck first with a run in the top of the third. Hunter Haas walked before coming around to score on an RBI groundout by Trevor Werner to give A&M a 1-0 lead.
The Aggies doubled their advantage with an RBI single from Austin Bost in the fourth, plating Jordan Thompson, who singled to lead off the inning. Jace LaViolette capped the scoring with a solo home run to right center in the top of the sixth to make it 3-0.
After a consistent rain fell for most of the game, the decision was made to call the teams off the field with one out in the top of the ninth inning as the rain intensified and water began to accumulate on the infield. After a 2-hour, 6-minute delay, the team retook the field to finish the game.
Sechrist recorded the final two outs of the top of the ninth to keep the deficit at three, but Aggies’ reliever Evan Asherbeck retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to end the game.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will await its postseason destination for the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show will air on Monday, May 29 at noon ET on ESPN2. The 16 regional host sites will be revealed on Sunday, May 28 through social media (@NCAABaseball) and on the ESPN bottom line beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.
-UT Athletics
