Ted Burton and Braden Montgomery had three hits apiece Friday afternoon as the Texas A&M Aggies overwhelmed the Grambling State Tigers 8-0 in the opening game of the NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional.

Grambling produced two hits in the first inning and two in the second off A&M starter Tanner Jones, who worked out of trouble both times. Missed opportunities doomed the Tigers, who went on to leave 14 runners on base in their first NCAA game since 2010.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Aggies broke the game open with seven runs. Burton came to bat twice in the inning and had two hits, a run scored and two RBI.

The Aggies, seeded third overall in the NCAA tournament and first in the regional, will advance to play Saturday against either the Texas Longhorns or the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. The regional will run through Sunday and possibly Monday.

Both Burton (from the University of Michigan) and Montgomery (from Stanford) joined the Aggies in the offseason as transfers. Burton, a first baseman, finished three for four with three RBI. Montgomery, an outfielder, was three for five with one RBI.

Records

Grambling 26-27
Texas A&M 45-13

Notable

Georgia’s Clayton Chadwick, a graduate year outfielder from La Vernia High School, went 1 for 4 on Friday in an 8-7 victory over Army in the Athens Regional. Playing in his first NCAA game at Georgia after transferring from Sam Houston State, Chadwick also had an RBI. He was batting .264 entering the tournament. The Bulldogs, who are a No. 7 national seed, will play next against either UNC Wilmington or Georgia Tech.

The Evansville Purple Aces upset Greenville Regional host and No. 1 seed East Carolina, 4-1. The Pirates, seeded 16th nationally, were without ace righthander Trey Yesavage. East Carolina won the regular-season title in the American Athletic Conference and then got knocked out in the semifinals of the tournament by Wichita State. The Pirates are facing elimination Saturday. They’ll play either VCU or Wake Forest in the losers bracket.