HOOVER, Ala. – After weather delays pushed the fourth game of day one to Wednesday morning, Texas A&M took full control early and never looked back, shutting out Mississippi State 9-0 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in front of 7,242 fans under blue skies.
With the win, the Aggies improved to 29-25 overall and 12-19 in conference play under head coach Michael Earley. They will face No. 6 seed Auburn at noon EDT Thursday, live on SEC Network.
Senior left-hander Ryan Prager turned in a veteran performance, striking out six over 5.1 shutout innings while allowing just four hits and two walks.
“The plan was always to throw today,” Prager said. “Whether that be 8 p.m. or 9:30 in the morning, I treated it like another game of baseball.”
Michael Earley added, “I have a ton of comfort with Ryan Prager. He’s probably up at 5 a.m. every day—no sweat.”
Texas A&M’s bullpen held firm over the final 4.2 innings. Clayton Freshcorn, Brad Rudis, and Gavin Lyons combined to allow just two hits, one walk, and one strikeout to close the door on Mississippi State’s offense.
A few moments later, second baseman Ben Royo roped an RBI single into left field out of the outstretched glove of Gehrig Frei, scoring Harrison to take a 1-0 lead.
Ags strike first 💥#GigEm | @BenjaminRoyo15 pic.twitter.com/TUC32AIlQi
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) May 21, 2025
Shortly after, Aggies shortstop Kaeden Kent was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Schott to make it 2-0.
The No. 7 projected overall draft selection from MLBPipeline.com’s Top 150 rankings, center fielder Jace LaViolette, gave the Aggies a jolt in the top of the second inning when he crushed a grand slam over the right field wall into the trees—his 18th homer of the year—capping a 6-0 outburst.
RATTLIN' BOG AT THE HOOVER MET#GigEm | @JaceLaViolette2 pic.twitter.com/Iq2gaWQgVE
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) May 21, 2025
Mississippi State starter Ryan McPherson was pulled in the second inning as interim head coach Justin Parker called on reliever Ben Davis.
McPherson allowed five hits, five earned runs, two walks, and struck out three over 1.2 innings in his brief outing.
Texas A&M tacked on more runs in the third when left fielder Sawyer Farr hit a ground ball to first base, scoring Royo to make it 7-0.
The next batter, Kaeden Kent, lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring right fielder Terrence Kiel II and extending the lead to 8-0.
The Aggies added another run in the top of the seventh, when Farr drilled an RBI single to left-center, again scoring Kiel to make it 9-0.
After McPherson exited, the Bulldogs’ bullpen—Davis, Dane Burns, Luke Dotson, and Charlie Foster—combined to pitch the final 7.1 innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts.
Mississippi State committed two errors and left nine runners on base in the loss. The Bulldogs, who enter Selection Monday with an RPI of 29, will wait to learn if they’ve done enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show airs May 26 at 12 p.m. EDT on ESPNU.
“I was just happy to put a ball in play again,” said LaViolette, who had been in a rare slump entering Wednesday. “I’ve been working with Coach Mike and trying to stay on the fastball. That approach helped me a lot today.”
The next batter, shortstop Kaeden Kent lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring right fielder Terrence Kiel II to plow out to an 8-0 lead.
The Aggies added another run to the board in the top of seventh inning, when Farr drilled an RBi single to left-center field, scoring right fielder Terrence Kiel II to stamp the run count to 9-0.
The Bulldogs pitching staff after McPherson was taken out with Davis, Dane Burns, Luke Dotson, and Charlies Foster chucked the final 7.1 innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Mississippi State, having two errors and leaving nine men on base during Wednesday’s loss, will have to tack on adjustments for next week in the NCAA Tournament, once they find out that they are in on May 26 for Selection Monday on ESPNU at 12 p.m. EDT.
Mississippi State starter Ryan McPherson lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing five earned runs on five hits and two walks. Bulldogs interim head coach Justin Parker stuck with the freshman, saying afterward, “He was our best available guy… I’d start him again.”
After the game, Parker admitted the second inning turned the tide fast. “Reed got lost on the warning track. Lead-off outs are so important. It just snowballed,” Parker said. “You roll around to one of the best power hitters in the league with the bases loaded—that was a pretty defining moment.”
Texas A&M added two more in the third, including a sacrifice fly from Kaeden Kent, and scored again in the seventh on an RBI single by Sawyer Farr.Mississippi State dropped to 34-21 and 15-16 in SEC play. The Bulldogs left nine runners on base and committed two errors. Their RPI was 29 entering the day and they’ll now await their NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Monday at noon EDT on ESPNU.
Despite the lopsided loss, Parker remained optimistic.
“We’ve played great for a month,” he said. “We’ll catch our breath, recommit to the weight room, and move forward.”
Bulldogs infielder Noah Sullivan echoed the confidence. “We still have our best ball ahead of us. It sucks to go out like this here, but we’ll be ready to go when we get back to Starkville.”
Shutout secured 👍#GigEm pic.twitter.com/ua7HXZTyjj
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) May 21, 2025
2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Schedule
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala. Tuesday-Sunday, May 20-25
All Game Start Times Are Eastern Daylight Time
*Second Game Of Each Session Will Begin Approximately 30 Minutes After The Conclusion Of First Game
Tuesday, May 20 – First Round
Game 1: No. 9 Alabama 4, No. 16 Missouri 1 – Final
*Game 2: No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 13 Kentucky 1 – Final
Game 3: No. 10 Florida 11, No. 15 South Carolina 3 – Final
Wednesday, May 21 – Second Round
Game 4: No. 14 Texas A&M 9, No. 11 Mississippi State 0 – 9:30 a.m. – SECN
Game 5: No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 8 Tennessee – TBD – SECN
*Game 6: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Georgia – 4:30 p.m. – SECN
Game 7: No. 10 Florida vs. No. 7 Ole Miss – TBD – SECN
Thursday, May 22 – Quarterfinals
Game 8: No. 14 Texas A&M vs. No. 6 Auburn – 12 p.m. – SECN
*Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. No. 1 Texas – 4 p.m. – SECN
*Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt – 7 p.m. – SECN
Friday, May 23 – Quarterfinals
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. No. 2 Arkansas – 4 p.m. – SECN
*Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. No. 3 LSU – 7 p.m. – SECN
Saturday, May 24 – Semifinals
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 1 p.m. – SECN
*Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 4 p.m.- SECN
Sunday, May 25 – Championship Game
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 – 3 p.m. – ESPN2
SEC MLBPipeline.com Top 150 Draft Prospects
No. 7 – OF – Jace LaViolette – Texas A&M
No. 8 – RHP – Kyson Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 9 – LHP – Kade Anderson – Louisiana State
No. 10 – LHP – Liam Doyle – Tennessee
No. 16 – 2B – Gavin Kilen – Tennessee
No. 20 – OF/C – Ike Irish – Auburn
No. 24 – SS – Wehiwa Aloy – Arkansas
No. 28 – OF – Max Belyeu – Texas
No. 33 – RHP – Riley Quick – Alabama
No. 35 – 1B/3B – Andrew Fischer – Tennessee
No. 36 – OF/3B – Ethan Petry – South Carolina
No. 44 – LHP – Zach Root – Arkansas
No. 54 – SS/3B – Dean Curley – Tennessee
No. 55 – RHP – A.J. Russell – Tennessee
No. 60 – OF – Charles Davalan – Arkansas
No. 66 – 2B – Daniel Dickinson – Louisiana State
No. 69 – RHP – Marcus Phillips – Tennessee
No. 72 – LHP – J.D. Thompson – Vanderbilt
No. 78 – RHP – Chase Shores – Louisiana State
No. 79 – LHP- Jared Spencer – Texas
No. 90 – 1B – Jared Jones – Louisiana State
No. 99 – LHP – Justin Lamkin – Texas A&M
No. 100 – OF – RJ Austin – Vanderbilt
No. 101 – C – Easton Carmichael – Oklahoma
No. 102 – LHP – Pico Kohn – Mississippi State
No. 113 – RHP – Nate Snead – Tennessee
No. 116 – RHP – Mason Morris – Mississippi
No. 117 – SS – Jalin Morris – Texas
No. 123 – OF/1B – Tre Phelps – Georgia
No. 131 – SS – Colby Shelton – Florida
No. 133 – RHP – Malachi Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 141 – 3B – Brent Iredale – Arkansas
