Seniors Lift Aggies Past No. 23 K-State, 3-2

Sunday, May 23

College Station

1:05 PM

Texas A&M

36-19-1, 14-12-1

Kansas State

35-18, 14-12

Kansas State

Texas A&M

May 23, 2010 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

May 23, 2010

Final Stats

Rob Childress [mp3]

Clayton Ehlert [mp3]

Joe Patterson [mp3]

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Seniors Clayton Ehlert and Joe Patterson had a memorable finish to their home careers, as the duo led Texas A&M to a 3-2 win and a series victory over No. 23 Kansas State in the regular-season finale before 3,119 fans Sunday afternoon at Olsen Field.

Ehlert kept the Big 12's best offense in check all day, limiting the Wildcats (35-18, 14-12) to eight hits and two runs over 7.1 innings, while Patterson drove in all three runs for the Aggies (36-19-1, 14-12-1) with home runs in the first and eighth innings.

"Clayton and Joe came out today and played like seniors, and I couldn't be more proud of those two guys," A&M coach Rob Childress said. "I felt like in the sixth and seventh innings there was a lot of confidence in our dugout because of the way Clayton was pitching and the way we were playing. We were able to hold them down and we were able to score late."

Nick Martini gave KSU a short-lived lead with a solo shot to left in the first. Patterson took it right back in the bottom half of the frame, launching a long two-run home run over the scoreboard in left center to give the Aggies a 2-1 edge.

Martini came through again in the third, scoring Adam Muenster on a two-strike single up the middle to tie the game.

The score would remain the same until the eighth. Martini drew a lead walk off Ehlert, who got the next hitter on a sacrifice bunt and was then lifted to a standing ovation. Estevan Uriegas entered and got a foul out off the bat of Kent Urban and battled Blair DeBord through nine pitches, before striking out the pinch-hitter swinging to preserve the lead.

Patterson's game-winner came off K-State reliever Evan Marshall on the next pitch of the game, sending the offering over the fence in right to give A&M a 3-2 lead. John Stilson then tossed a perfect ninth to earn his ninth save of the season.

Patterson finished the day 2-for-2 with the two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored. Muenster and Martini had four of K-State's eight hits on the afternoon.

Uriegas (1-0) earned his second career victory after recording the two outs. Ehlert allowed eight hits, two runs and two walks while fanning four over 7.1 innings.

Marshall (5-4) took the loss, giving up only the home run over two frames. Wildcat starter Justin Lindsey lasted 5.1 innings and gave up four hits, two runs and three walks.

Texas A&M now heads to Oklahoma City for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. The Aggies are the No. 4 seed and will open pool play against No. 5-seed Texas Tech (27-27) on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

"I'm really proud of the way we finished the regular season, but we leave tomorrow on a business trip," Childress said. "We're going up there to win a championship, and come home with a trophy and a ring. Anything less will be disappointing. We need to go up there and play well, and that's what I expect."

POSTGAME NOTES: Texas A&M now leads the all-time series with Kansas State, 36-11-1 ... the Aggies finished the regular season with a 26-11 record at Olsen Field ... A&M is 6-8 against ranked opponents in 2010 ... the Aggies have a 12-3 record in the month of May, a school record ... Joe Patterson had the second two-homer game of his career on Sunday ... Patterson hit two home runs last season against Sam Houston State ... Tyler Naquin registered his seventh outfield assist of the season in the fifth inning, the most since Cory Patton recorded eight in 2004 ... A&M's 47 stolen bases in Big 12 play is the second most in school history (56 in 1997) ... A&M drew 131,089 fans through the turnstiles in 2010, an average of 3,543 per game (37 dates).