Texas A&M wins Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series against Tennessee and is close to its first national title

OMAHA, Nebraska – Texas A&M is just one win in the Men’s College World Series away from making program history.

The Aggies defeated Tennessee 9-5 in the first game of the MCWS championship series at Charles Schwab Field, putting them on the verge of their 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 finally clinch the opener – to power an Aggie offense that produced 13 timely hits and its most runs so far in four games at the MCWS.

KAEDEN KENT IS UNREAL 🫢🦸‍♂️#MCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @AggieBaseball pic.twitter.com/sZAxzGykTE

— NCAABaseball (@NCAABaseball) 23 June 2024

The third-seeded Aggies (53-13) continued their perfect streak throughout the NCAA Tournament and have now won nine straight postseason games since being eliminated from the SEC Tournament with a 7-4 loss to Tennessee on May 23.

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

Aggies pounce on Vols pitching early

Gavin Grahovac, a true freshman third baseman at Texas A&M, helped the Aggies offense get off to a good start in Game 1 by sending the third pitch of the night into the right-field bleachers for a home run.

Texas A&M had hit just one home run in the first three games in Omaha, but the SEC Freshman of the Year got his team going and Tony Vitello had to take starting pitcher Chris Stamos off the field after just 18 pitches and one out. The Aggies trailed for the rest of the game.

OPPO 🌮 FIRST TIME OFFICER IN THE FINALE#GigEm X @GavinGrahovac X #MCWS pic.twitter.com/Lc5jHjrTUk

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

Texas A&M struck again in the third inning, turning four hits and an error by Vols relief pitcher AJ Causey into five runs and a 7-1 lead. Causey went 3 2/3 innings and struck out five players, but the Aggies were able to score four earned runs on a series of timely base hits. Tennessee ended up having to use five pitchers from its bullpen to get through Game 1.

Prague solid after short break

If this was Texas A&M star Ryan Prager’s last appearance in his three-year career with the Aggies, he had a good feeling about it. The junior played through to the fifth inning against the Vols after a short break, threw strikes on 60 of 81 pitches, had 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 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Aggies’ Friday starter is 9-1 with a 2.95 ERA this season and had just completed 6 2/3 innings against Kentucky in a 5-1 win on Monday.

Josh Stewart relieved Prager from the bullpen and held the Vols offense in check with two shutout innings before allowing a two-run home run to Dylan Dreiling in the eighth inning. When reliever Brad Rudis stepped in and immediately allowed a solo hit by Hunter Ensley, 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 and improved his Division I ERA to 1.49 on the year.

Time of desperation for Vols

Tennessee’s dangerous hitting lineup did some damage in Game 1, but was never enough to seriously catch up with Texas A&M. The Vols are No. 1 in the nation in points (647 runs) and home runs (180), and while they had 12 hits on the night, they struggled to build momentum for a late comeback, leaving 10 runners on base.

The talented hitting trio at the top of the Vols’ team – Christian Moore, Blake Burke and Billy Amick – struck out 3 for 13 and had seven strikeouts. Moore, their All-American hitter who cycled in the Vols’ opening win in the MCWS, went hitless for the first time in his four games in Omaha.

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(Photo: Dylan Widger / USA Today)