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Texas A&M starter suspended for Arkansas series

Texas A&M will be without one of its top starting pitchers when it hosts Arkansas next weekend.

Sophomore left-hander Asa Lacy was ejected for apparently arguing balls and strikes in the fifth inning of the Aggies’ 2-1 loss at Alabama on Saturday. HawgBeat has confirmed with the SEC that the ejection comes with an automatic four-game suspension.

That means he’ll miss Sunday’s series finale in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and - with no midweek games scheduled - all three games against the Razorbacks in the final series of the regular season.

Position players receive a one-game suspension for a similar offense, much like Heston Kjerstad against Mississippi State, while pitchers get a longer punishment because they aren’t everyday players. Arkansas was impacted by that rule earlier this year when an umpire ejected Jacob Burton for allegedly throwing at a batter on purpose and he had to sit out the next four games.

It’s a huge loss for Texas A&M because Lacy has been its Game 2 starter all season, giving the Aggies a strong 1-2 punch with ace John Doxakis.

Including Saturday’s outing at Alabama, Lacy is 7-4 with a 2.13 ERA in 76 innings across 13 starts this season. He also has 115 strikeouts, which ranks third in the SEC, and is holding opponents to a .162 batting average.

Lacy was coming off one of his best starts of the year, a seven-inning shutout of Mississippi State’s powerful offense, but struggled with his command against the Crimson Tide. When his 3-2 pitch to T.J. Reeves was called a ball, he voiced his displeasure to home plate ump Ryan Broussard and was promptly tossed.

Last season, Lacy failed to record an out in Arkansas’ series-opening win at Baum-Walker Stadium. Replacing ace Michell Kilkenny with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, he issued consecutive free passes - a walk and hit by pitch - before giving up a two-run single to Eric Cole.

Those were the only three batters he faced and he was charged with two earned runs. In his other 22 appearances as a freshman, Lacy posted a 2.29 ERA.

This year’s series will be played at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas, beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday on ESPNU.

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