College Roundup: Aggies Continue Midweek Dominance

In its first game since climbing atop the Baseball America Top 25–powered by Louisville Slugger—for the first time this year, No. 1 Texas A&M made on Tuesday the short trip from College Station to take on No. 15 Houston.

HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

(1) Texas A&M: won, 7-2, at (15) Houston

(2) Florida: won, 3-2, vs. (12) Florida State in Jacksonville

(3) Miami: off

(4) Louisville: won, 17-0, at Western Kentucky

(5) Mississippi State: won, 13-5, vs. Southern Mississippi at Pearl, Miss.

(6) Vanderbilt: won, 8-2, vs. Belmont (First Tennessee Park)

(7) South Carolina: lost, 6-5, vs. College of Charleston in 13 innings

(8) Texas Christian: won, 17-4, at Texas-Arlington

(9) North Carolina: won, 10-2, vs. Davidson

(10) California: won, 7-5, vs. San Francisco

(11) Oregon State: won, 9-6, vs. San Diego State

(12) Florida State: lost, 3-2, vs. (2) Florida in Jacksonville

(13) Mississippi: off

(14) Virginia: off

(15) Houston: lost, 7-2, vs. (1) Texas A&M

(16) Oklahoma State: won, 5-4, vs. (22) Arkansas

(17) Long Beach State: lost, 10-5, at Fresno State

(18) UC Santa Barbara: lost, 6-2, at Pepperdine

(19) Louisiana State: lost, 7-1, vs. Tulane

(20) Michigan: won, 9-7, vs. Central Michigan

(21) Alabama: lost, 10-1, vs. Auburn in Montgomery

(22) Arkansas: lost, 5-4, at (16) Oklahoma State

(23) Georgia Tech: off

(24) Kentucky: lost, 5-4, vs. Northern Kentucky

(25) Florida Atlantic: postponed at Florida Gulf Coast

The Aggies (22-3) continued their strong start to the season, and defeated the Cougars, 7-2. Texas A&M has now won 25 straight midweek games, a streak that dates back to 2014.

Texas A&M jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the top of the first. Right fielder Nick Banks hit a two-run home run, his third of the season, to cap off the inning. The Preseason All-American is hitting .316/.381/.579 in 20 games this season.

The victory sends Texas A&M into its big weekend series at No. 2 Florida as winners of five of its past six games.

Florida also scored an important win Tuesday, defeating No. 12 Florida State, 3-2, at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The Gators (24-3) have won nine of their past 11 games against the Seminoles.

Florida had been the top-ranked team all season, but fell to No. 2 in the rankings this week after losing a series at Kentucky over the weekend. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said he was pleased of the way his team responded to the series loss.

“I can’t begin to explain how proud of our team I am to bounce back from a tough weekend,” he said. “It’s been a tough couple of days for us and I’m proud to coach this team with the way they responded tonight. I thought the focus was as good as it has been all year long.”

The Seminoles took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on catcher Cal Raleigh’s home run off righthander Jackson Kowar. But the Gators pushed ahead the next inning on DH Mike Rivera’s two-run homer, and didn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the night.

Kowar (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K) and fellow freshman righthander Brady Singer (3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) combined to shut down Florida State’s offense for eight innings. Righthander Shaun Anderson struck out two batters in a perfect ninth for the save, his fourth of the year.

With the victory, Florida clinched the season series against Florida State. The two teams are scheduled to play one more time, April 12 in Tallahassee.

In the third game Tuesday between Top 25 teams. No. 16 Oklahoma State edged Arkansas, 5-4, at home. The Cowboys (18-7) have won 12 of their past 13 games.

Oklahoma State has gotten used to playing tight games this season. Of the Cowboys 25 games, 14 have been decided by one run and they are 9-5 in those games.

The Cowboys offense was led by catcher Collin Theroux, the nine-hole hitter. His lone hit of the night was a home run, and he scored twice and drove in three runs.

Tuesday’s action also saw College of Charleston snap No. 7 South Carolina’s 13-game winning streak with a 6-5 victory in 13 innings. The Cougars (18-7) extended their own winning streak to six games, as they won for just the sixth time in 41 meetings with the Gamecocks.

Another Southeastern Conference power lost at home to an in-state foe Tuesday, as No. 19 Louisiana State lost, 7-1, to Tulane. It was the first win in Baton Rouge for the Green Wave since 2007.

Shortstop Stephen Alemais, one of the best shortstops in this year’s draft class, led Tulane. He went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs and a stolen base, and also made an outstanding play to start a double play that earned him the top spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.