Texas A&M takes Game 1 of Men’s College World Series vs. Tennessee, on verge of first national title

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.

KAEDEN KENT IS UNREAL 🫢🦸‍♂️@AggieBaseball pic.twitter.com/sZAxzGykTE

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 23, 2024

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.

“I certainly thought we played really well for the most part,” Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “We got a lot of timely hits and had some really good at-bats against some really good pitchers. … It’s one win. We can’t make it anything more than that. Still got a ballgame to win, got a series to win.”

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.

OPPO 🌮 TO LEADOFF THE FINALS@GavinGrahovac x pic.twitter.com/Lc5jHjrTUk

— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 22, 2024

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.

Kent, the Aggies’ No. 8 hitter and son of former NL MVP Jeff Kent, moved into the starting lineup after All-America right fielder Braden Montgomery was lost to a season-ending broken ankle during the Aggies’ Super Regional series against Oregon. Over his last six games, the sophomore is hitting .500 with two home runs and 14 RBIs.

“Kaeden Kent just continues to play outstanding in the back half of the season,” Schlossnagle said.

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.

“I thought he was great,” Schlossnagle said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be his very best stuff throwing on short rest, but (Texas A&M pitching coach) Max (Weiner) has done such an unbelievable job with our pitching staff in getting them to believe in throwing the ball in the strike zone.”

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, 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.

“I’ve had some great relievers in the past, and he’s right up there with all of them,” Schlossnagle said. “You just know he’s going to control his heartbeat. The moment’s never too big.”

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.

“You can either get frustrated that tonight went the way it did or you can get more determined,” Vitello said. “We’ve got guys that have done that in the past a lot where determination kicks up and play kicks up.”

The Vols will turn to ace right-hander Drew Beam on Sunday afternoon. The SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year is 9-2 on the year and allowed one run in five innings while striking out seven in his last CWS start, a 6-1 win over North Carolina on June 16. Schlossnagle has not announced who will start for the Aggies.

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(Photo: Dylan Widger / USA Today)