COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Kyle Simonds no-hit the No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores as the No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies took the series with a 3-0 win on Blue Bell Park at Olsen Field on Saturday afternoon.
Simonds worked the ninth complete-game no-hitter in school history and just the sixth 9-inning complete-game no-hitter in A&M annals.
Coming off his first career complete-game in his previous outing, Simonds (8-1) picked up right where he left off mowing down the final 25 batters he faced. The only Commodore baserunner reached on an error with two outs in the first inning. It was the Aggies 12th no-hitter in Aggie history, and first since Ross Stripling against San Diego State in 2012. He also became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in SEC play since Todd Abbott of Arkansas did the deed against Vanderbilt in 1994.
In the final frame, needing three outs to complete the no-no, Simonds fielded a comebacker before facing Connor Kaiser, the nine-hole hitter. Kaiser rocketed a liner to center that looked as if it might find a hole but a Nick Choruby diving effort kept the no-hitter alive. Jeren Kendall, the Vandy's leading hitter, was all that was standing between Simonds and history. Kendall smoked one right back at Simonds who stabbed it for the final out, kick-starting the celebration.
On the other side of the ball, the Aggie (37-10, 16-8) bats gave Simonds enough room to work with putting three runs on the board. Vanderbilt (36-12, 14-10) starter Patrick Raby (7-1) came into the ballgame with a perfect 7-0 record on the season. He had the Aggies number for the first four frames as the home team couldn’t convert the baserunners into runs.
Austin Homan broke the stalemate with a solo shot to left in the fifth for his first homer as an Aggie. J.B. Moss followed it up with a walk and a stolen base. He was moved to third by a Choruby groundout. Boomer White grabbed his third hit of the ball game plating Moss and giving the Aggies a 2-0 advantage.
The Maroon and White offense added another run in the seventh inning when Austin Homan came in from third when Choruby dribbled one to first.
Choruby hit second for the 11th time on the season with the Aggies holding a perfect record in such games. White had a 3-for-4 day giving him a 24 game hitting streak in SEC play. Homan posted a two-hit performance and scored two of the three A&M runs.
The Aggies will hit the road next weekend for a top ten matchup with South Carolina. The first pitch on Friday is set for 6 pm from Columbia.
