Building Champions
 (#14) Texas A&M 8, Sam Houston State 2

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May 5, 2009

Post Game Audio:
Head Coach Childress
C Patterson
OF Colligan

Final Stats

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Joe Patterson went 3-for-4 with two home runs to lead No. 14 Texas A&M to an 8-2 win over Sam Houston State Tuesday night before 3,978 fans at Olsen Field.

Patterson's first homer came in a five-run first for the Aggies (32-16), who have won 11 of their last 13 heading into this weekend's series against rival Texas. The Bearkats fell to 29-20 with the loss.

The Aggies came out swinging to open the game, sending 10 men to the plate in the first and scoring five times off Sam Houston starter Daniel Nottebart. Luke Anders opened the scoring with a two-run triple to right center field. Kyle Colligan followed with an RBI groundout to make the score 3-0, and one batter later Patterson hit a two-run home run to right center.

Sam Houston State would answer back off A&M starter Clayton Ehlert with solo homers in the second and third frames. Jon Reed and Ryan Mooney each left the park to pull the Bearkats within three.

Colligan and Patterson added solo home runs of their own in the fifth, however, to make the score 7-2. Two innings later, Kevin Gonzalez's RBI groundout gave the Aggies a six-run lead.

Colligan, Caleb Shofner, Brodie Greene and Adam Smith added two hits apiece for A&M to highlight a 14-hit attack. The Aggies totaled seven extra-base hits on the night.


 

 

The A&M bullpen combined for four innings of shutout relief to nail down the victory for Ehlert (4-0), who gave up four hits and two runs in five innings of work. He did not walk a batter and struck out four. Kyle Thebeau, Alex Wilson and Nick Fleece teamed up to punch out six and not issue a free pass in relief.

Nottebart (1-1) took the loss, lasting just 2/3 of an inning and giving up all five runs in the first. He walked one and did not punch out a hitter.

Texas A&M concludes a 13-game homestand on Friday when the Aggies host No. 7 Texas at Olsen Field. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. Tickets for the game are still available and can be purchased online at aggieathletics.com or by calling 888-99-AGGIE. The series then shifts to Austin for the final two games (Saturday, 12 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m.).

POSTGAME NOTES

• Texas A&M improved to 26-8 at home with two regular-season games remaining at Olsen Field...the Aggies are 10-2 on the current homestand, which wraps up Friday against the Longhorns. • Joe Patterson became the fifth Aggie this season to hit two home runs in a game, joining Nick Anders (March 15 vs Baylor), Luke Anders (April 4 at Texas Tech), Kyle Colligan (April 18 vs Nebraska) and most recently Brodie Greene (May 2 vs Dallas Baptist)...A&M has now hit 66 home runs in 2009 and has launched 15 in the last seven games.

• Kyle Colligan's home run was his 10th of the season, tying Luke Anders for the team lead...it was his 37th round-tripper of his career, also tying Anders for fifth all-time.

• Luke Anders' first-inning triple was the 200th hit of his career...it also drove in a pair of runs, giving him 150 RBIs for his career and making him just the seventh Aggie to reach that milestone.

• Alex Wilson's three strikeouts gave him 101 for the season, making him the 16th A&M pitcher to reach that total in a single campaign.

• Sam Houston head coach Mark Johnson returned to Olsen Field Tuesday for the first time since he was the Aggies' head coach in 2005...Johnson is the winningest coach in school history with an all-time record of 876-431-3 in 21 seasons at A&M.

• Game-time temperature was 84 degrees with cloudy skies and winds blowing out to center at 16 miles per hour.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH Rob Childress: "We started the game off incredibly offensively. Clayton Ehlert wasn't very sharp, but I felt after he got through the third he was pretty good in the fourth and fifth. The bullpen was outstanding...Thebeau and Fleece got themselves into jams but were able to get themselves out of them. We were able to build on the lead late and, again, the pitching was incredible tonight."

(on playing Texas this weekend) "This is what we play for, and this is what every team plays for. It comes down to the last two weekends. We just need to go play like we've played the last three weeks. It doesn't matter who is in the other dugout. We've got to go play the game at a high level and execute, and do all the routine things well and get the big hits. We've got to go match them pitch for pitch and play great defense, which is what we've done for the most part over the last three weeks."
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