The Texas A&M Aggies saw their 2017 season come to an end Tuesday in the College World Series with a 4-1 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs at TD Ameritrade Park.
TCU (48-17) drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning. Nolan Brown tight-roped a double down the leftfield line, moved to third on a grounder to short by Elliott Barzilli and scored on a grounder to short by Connor Wanhanen.
The Horned Frogs added three more runs in the bottom of the third. Ryan Merrill hit a leadoff home run and with one out Zach Humphreys was hit by a pitch. Evan Skoug followed with a gapper to right-center to plate Humphreys. After Cam Warner grounded out to third for the second out of the frame, the inning was given extra life when Brown reached on an error by Braden Shewmake to put runners on the corners. Barzilli made the Aggies pay for the miscue with a single through the right side for the 4-0 lead.
Texas A&M broke the scoring seal in the top of the sixth. Austin Homan got the rally started slapping a first-pitch offering to centerfield for a leadoff single. With one out, Cole Bedford roped a double down the leftfield line to put two runners in scoring position. Shewmake knocked in Homan with a grounder to second, cutting the TCU advantage to 4-1.
Stephen Kolek (4-5) was saddled with the loss for the Aggies. He yielded four runs, three earned, on four hits and two walks while striking out two in 2.2 innings. Kaylor Chafin was stellar in relief. He weaved 5.1 scoreless frames, scattering three hits while striking out six.
Brian Howard (12-3) earned the win for TCU. He allowed one run on five hits while striking out 12 in 7.0 innings. Sean Wymer earned his second save of the year, striking out two of the six batters he faced in 2.0 innings.
The Aggies wrapped up the season with a 41-23 mark, advancing to the NCAA Championship for a school-record 11 consecutive time. It marked the sixth College World Series appearance for the Maroon and White.
