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Texas A&M takes Game 1 of Men’s College World Series

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OMAHA, Neb. — Texas A&M is one Men’s College World Series win away from making program history.

The Aggies rolled to a 9-5 win over Tennessee in Game 1 of the MCWS championship series at Charles Schwab Field, putting the program on the verge of its first-ever title and the school’s first national championship in a major men’s sport since 1939.

Texas A&M second baseman Kaeden Kent delivered three hits and four RBIs — including a two-run blast in the seventh inning to put the opening game away for good — to power an Aggie offense that put up 13 timely hits and their most runs yet in four games at the MCWS.

The No. 3 seed Aggies (53-13) extended their perfect run through the NCAA tournament and have now won nine consecutive postseason games since a 7-4 loss to Tennessee on May 23 knocked them out of the SEC tournament.

Tennessee (58-13), the SEC champs and No. 1 overall seed, will look to keep its season alive Sunday with Game 2 scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. A Vols victory would force a decisive third game Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

Aggies jump on Vols pitching early

Texas A&M true freshman third baseman Gavin Grahovac helped the Aggies’ offense get off to a hot start in Game 1 by sending the third pitch of the night into the right field stands for a leadoff homer.

Texas A&M had only hit one homer in its first three games in Omaha, but the SEC Freshman of the Year got his team going and Tony Vitello ended up pulling starting pitcher Chris Stamos after just 18 pitches and one out. The Aggies would never trail the rest of the way.

Texas A&M struck again in the third, turning four hits off Vols reliever AJ Causey plus an error into five runs and a 7-1 lead. Causey went 3 2/3 innings and struck out five, but the Aggies were able to tag him for four earned runs with a run of timely base hits. Tennessee ended up using five pitchers out of its bullpen to get through Game 1.

Prager solid on short rest

If this was Texas A&M ace Ryan Prager’s final outing of his three-year career with the Aggies, he went out on a high note. The junior worked into the fifth inning against the Vols on short rest, throwing strikes on 60 of 81 pitches with eight hits, six strikeouts and only two earned runs.

It was another redemptive moment for Prager, who pitched in Texas A&M’s MCWS elimination loss to Oklahoma as a true freshman in 2022 and missed the entire 2023 season following Tommy John surgery. The Aggies’ Friday starter is 9-1 on the season with a 2.95 ERA and had just gone 6 2/3 innings against Kentucky in a 5-1 win on Monday.

Josh Stewart relieved Prager out of the bullpen and kept the Vols’ offense in check with two shutout innings before surrendering a two-run homer to Dylan Dreiling in the eighth inning. When reliever Brad Rudis stepped in and immediately gave up a Hunter Ensley solo shot, Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle turned to All-America closer Evan Aschenbeck to finish the job. Aschenbeck struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced, improving his Division I-leading ERA to 1.49 on the year.

Desperation time for Vols

Tennessee’s dangerous lineup of hitters did some damage in Game 1 but never did enough to put together a serious rally against Texas A&M. The Vols rank No. 1 nationally in scoring (647 runs) and home runs (180) and did rack up 12 hits on the night but struggled to build momentum for a late rally and left 10 runners on base.

The talented trio of hitters atop the Vols’ lineup — Christian Moore, Blake Burke and Billy Amick — went 3-for-13 at the plate with seven strikeouts. Moore, their All-American slugger who hit for the cycle in the Vols’ MCWS opening win, was held hitless for the first time in his four games in Omaha.

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(Photo: Dylan Widger / USA Today)

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