May 18, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M pounded out a season-high 17 hits en route to an 11-7 win over UT Arlington Tuesday evening before 2,671 fans at Olsen Field.
The Aggies (34-18-1) scored four in the first and six more in the second en route to their sixth straight victory and 12th in the last 14 games. The Mavericks, meanwhile, fell to 26-27.
"I thought it was a great game," A&M coach Clayton Ehlert gave us a very good start. But give UTA credit, those guys do not quit and fought our guys the whole way. Nick Fleece came in and shut things down, we got 11 runs on a Tuesday night--I was proud of the way we played."
Already up three runs entering their second at-bat, the Aggies used the long ball to blow the game open. Brodie Greene launched a two-run homer to left, his 10th of the season, and Adam Smith followed three batters later with a three-run blast off and over the top of the wall in center to make the score 9-1.
Starter Clayton Ehlert (3-6) battled through six innings to pick up the victory. He gave up four hits, four runs and two walks while punching out a pair.
The Mavericks chipped away in the middle innings and, facing a five-run deficit in the seventh, loaded the bases to put the tying run on deck. Nick Fleece came out of the bullpen and struck out pinch hitter Taylor Mabra to end the threat.
Greene, Matt Juengel, Gregg Alcazar and Joaquin Hinojosa had three hits each to pace the Aggie attack, while Preston Beck and Jesse Payne each had a pair of hits to lead UTA.
Fleece earned his first save of the season and sixth of his career, allowing a run on three hits over the final 2.1 innings of the game.
Maverick starter Mark Picca (2-6) took the loss, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) and 11 hits over two innings.
Texas A&M closes the regular season this weekend with a three-game series against 23rd-ranked Kansas State (34-16, 13-10). Action gets underway at Olsen Field on Friday at 6:35 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES: Texas A&M now leads the all-time series, 22-7 ... A&M's 17 hits was a season high, eclipsing the previous best of 16 (vs Penn State, March 9) ... the six-game win streak is the Aggies' second longest of the year ... A&M won nine straight from Feb. 27-March 12 ... the Aggies finish the year 10-4 in mid-week contests ... Tuesday was A&M's 10th regular-season victory in the month of May, a school record ... Brodie Greene extended his hit streak to 10 games with a first-inning single ... Greene's second-inning home run was his 10th of the season and 25th of his career, making him the 16th player in school history to reach the 25-homer plateau ... Matt Juengel and Gregg Alcazar matched season/career highs with three hits each.