The Olsen Field faithful yelled loudly for one particular player when lineups were announced before Saturday’s baseball game between Texas A&M and Kentucky: designated hitter Caden Sorrell.
A&M’s sophomore made his season debut in Game 2 of the Southeastern Conference series. The Aggies lost to the Wildcats 14-11 in a game that lasted over four hours. Sorrell was 2 for 6 at the plate with a home run and two RBI. He had been sidelined by a hamstring injury all season.
Sorrell came to the plate as the winning run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, but flew out to right field to end the game. The loss dropped A&M (13-13, 1-7 SEC) back to .500 on the season.
“It hasn’t started off how we wanted, obviously, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Sorrell said. “Bats have been coming along for sure lately and I’m proud of our guys. Even today, it didn’t go how we wanted, but we showed fight until the ninth inning. Got the bases loaded, I was up, didn’t get the job done, but next time I will.”
Texas A&M outfielder Caden Sorrell (13) hits a home run in his first at-bat of the season in game two of the series against Kentucky on Saturday at Blue Bell Park.
A&M reached a double-digit run total, but left 12 runners on base, including 10 in the final four innings. The Aggies were 5 for 19 (.263) with runners on base and 4 for 13 (.308) with runners in scoring position.
A&M pitchers struggled in Saturday’s loss. The Aggies hit six Kentucky batters, four of which came around to score. Starter Justin Lamkin hit four batters and allowed a season-high seven runs on six hits in five-plus innings of work.
Texas A&M outfielder Caden Sorrell (13) celebrates and rounds the bases after a home run in his first at-bat of the season in game two of the series against Kentucky on Saturday at Blue Bell Park.
Lamkin was pulled during a disastrous sixth inning in which the Wildcats scored six runs on three hits and turned a 6-5 deficit into an 11-6 lead. The first five Wildcats reached base before the Aggies recorded an out, and all five wound up scoring in the inning. Relievers Clayton Freshcorn and Luke Jackson were not immune to the free passes and each plunked a batter.
Kentucky hit four home runs, three of which were two-run shots. The Wildcats were 8 for 13 (.615) with runners on base and 5 for 8 (.625) with runners in scoring position.
A&M head coach Michael Earley said the Aggies hit too many batters, especially when ahead in counts.
“For sure surprised because I just haven’t seen that all year, especially with the pitches being called,” Earley said. “We’ll be better tomorrow. Period.”
The Aggies answered in the seventh, though. Catcher Bear Harrison continued his hot streak with a one-out grand slam to make it 11-10. Yet, A&M left two runners in scoring position.
In the eighth, Kentucky hit a two-run homer off left-handed reliever Caden McCoy and a solo shot off right-hander Brad Rudis to pull ahead 14-10.
WATCH: Jace LaViolette breaks Texas A&M’s career home run record
Sorrell’s first plate appearance was electric. He launched a towering two-run homer into the Kentucky bullpen to break a 1-1 tie two batters after Jace LaViolette broke the school’s career home run record with a solo shot to right field. Sorrell’s round tripper went 345 feet with a launch angle of 52 degrees. The crowd waited with anticipation for the ball to come down and erupted with elation when it sailed over the fence.
“It was definitely a relief,” Sorrell said. “I’ve been waiting for this since opening day and even before that since Omaha last year. I’ve just been waiting to get back out there and play this season. Obviously, it didn’t start off the way I wanted it to. I got hurt, but it was an amazing feeling to be out there with my guys and finally play baseball again.”
A&M and Kentucky will wrap up their three-game series Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. The Aggies will start left-hander Myles Patton (2-2, 2.41 ERA). The Wildcats will start left-hander Ben Cleaver (2-1, 2.37 ERA).
“I think [Sorrell] just gives us some more depth, but at the end of the day, I think in the past week if you look at our at-bats, they’ve just been unbelievable,” LaViolette said. “I think that the glue’s starting to come together. It’s starting to happen and I’m excited to see what happens.”
