After severe weather postponed Game 4 of the SEC Baseball Tournament from Wednesday night to Thursday morning, Texas A&M arrived at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium rested and ready, powering past Mississippi State 9-1 to advance to the second round.

Jace LaViolette delivered the highlight of the day with a grand slam in the second inning, marking the 26th grand slam in SEC Tournament history and the Aggies’ first in tournament play. It was Texas A&M’s 11th grand slam of the season, the most by any Division I team this year. LaViolette’s blast also tied him with Florida’s Brendan Lawson for the most grand slams by an SEC player this season with three.

The Aggies set the tone early with a six-run second inning, their third-highest scoring frame in an SEC Tournament game. Terrence Kiel II contributed by going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, becoming the sixth Texas A&M player to cross the plate three times in a tournament contest.

On the mound, Ryan Prager led the way with 5 1/3 innings, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out six. Prager’s outing was his second-longest scoreless start of the season and a turnaround from previous struggles at Hoover. The Aggies’ pitching staff held Mississippi State to one run, stranding nine Bulldogs on base and recording seven strikeouts.

Texas A&M’s shutout was its sixth in SEC Tournament history, tying LSU for the second-most since the Aggies joined the conference in 2013. The win also marked Michael Earley’s first SEC Tournament victory as head coach.

Mississippi State was eliminated after its second shutout loss of the season. The Bulldogs had not been shut out in the SEC Tournament since 2019 and have now been blanked just four times in 129 tournament games.

Texas A&M advances to face No. 6 seed Auburn in the second round Thursday at approximately noon ET on SEC Network. Mississippi State’s season now hinges on the NCAA Selection Show, set for Monday at noon ET on ESPN2.

‍