No. 7 Ags handle Arizona State in Arlington for 11th straight win, 10-5

Game #10: No. 7 Texas A&M 10, Arizona State 5
Records: Texas A&M (11-0), Arizona State (5-6)
WP: Zane Badmaev (1-0)
LP: Tyler Meyer (0-1)
Box Score

arlington, Texas — The center of Friday's hostilities became the focal point of Sunday's pleasantries.

That character was Braden Montgomery.

After being plunked twice two nights ago, the All-American had the biggest blow in No. 7 Texas A&M's 10-5 win over Arizona State.

"It felt great being able to play against the Pac-12 and play against a team that gave me a couple booboos the other day," Montgomery said postgame. "It felt awesome."

With A&M already ahead 3-0 in the second, Montgomery unloaded on a 443-foot grand slam down the left-field line that landed on the concourse of Globe Life Field's second deck.

And he made sure to admire it.

"He put something over the middle of the plate that was something I knew I could handle, to say the least," Montgomery said. "I just tried to put a good swing on it, and it went well for me."

Understatement.

It was Montgomery's second homer of the weekend after a three-run bomb on Friday night.

It was also only A&M's second hit of the afternoon behind Hank Bard's two-run, bases-clearing double in the first.

TexAgs

Montgomery’s fifth home run of the season plated four runs, moving him into a tie first at A&M with 21 RBIs. He drove in nine on the weekend.

A&M did not let up in the third, adding three more on Ali Camarillo's RBI fielder's choice and the speedy Jace LaViolette's infield single that plated a pair thanks to Jack Bell's intelligent baserunning.

"College baseball, man, it's super tough to win three games three days in a row. I don't care who you're playing," said A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle. "The game just doesn't lend itself to that. I'm proud of our guys."

Arizona State pitching issued seven walks in the first three frames, and by the time Cole Carlon stabilized Sun Devil efforts in the fourth, the game was already out of hand.

"It's an offense that is going to hit you if you make a mistake, for sure," Montgomery said. "If you walk guys, then we're going to take advantage of it. It's a special offense."

The Aggies worked 10 walks along with eight hits to provide plenty of run support to stave off a late comeback attempt.

"That's the best feeling for a pitcher ever," said A&M starter Justin Lamkin. "It really calms you down and lets you go out and do what you do, knowing your offense is going to provide for you."

What was once a bludgeoning got closer in the late innings.

The Sun Devils tagged Lamkin for one run on three hits in the third. He allowed a run in four innings on just four hits while striking out five.

ASU capitalized on Zane Badmaev's leadoff walk for an unearned run in the seventh.

An inning later, Peyton Smith allowed a pair of unearned markers before an earned run in the final frame.

"I think it was a solid step forward. Not where we need to be. Got to be a little bit better on the mound, but yeah, we're moving forward, I think."

- A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle

Despite six quiet innings of offense, the Aggies were never truly threatened.

Still, Shane Sdao was called upon to slam the door in the ninth.

He did so 11 pitches while racking up three strikeouts. Schlossnagle did say Sdao will be available on Tuesday at Texas.

"I think it was a solid step forward," Schlossnagle said of his pitching staff's weekend. "Not where we need to be. Got to be a little bit better on the mound, but yeah, we're moving forward, I think."

With another winning effort on Sunday, A&M swept its way through the Kubota College Baseball Series and now sits 11-0 for the first time in nine years.

The Aggies will put that perfect record on the line when they face their archrival in Austin on Tuesday night.

"I've heard a lot about it, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they've got," Montgomery said. "I know what we've got, and we're going to bring it on Tuesday."

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