In the No. 17 Texas A&M baseball team’s game versus No. 18 Texas Christian, the extra inning heroics of junior designated hitter Joe Patterson gave the Aggies a 4-3 win.
Tied 3-3 with runners on first and second base and two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Patterson was going to the plate batting 0-for-4 in the game. A&M Head Coach Rob Childress said he told Patterson to just get a hit; it was time to go home.
“I had to call time and take a deep breath,” Patterson said. “I was just thinking ‘Alright, I’ve got to get Luke in here because we need to go home. I’ve got a test tonight.'”
TCU freshman reliever Kaleb Merck left a fastball in the strike zone and Patterson knocked a single up the middle to score senior first baseman Luke Anders from second base, giving the Aggies a walk-off win.
“He gave me a good a pitch to hit and I just tried to get a base hit,” Patterson said. “That was a great feeling, to get that win.”
A&M improved to 29-15 overall and will move up the Ratings Percentage Index rankings due to TCU’s No. 10 national ranking in RPI going into the game. The Aggies are 8-1 since beating Rice on April 14. During that stretch, A&M is batting .344 and has a 2.81 team ERA.
The Aggies took their first lead in the third inning when freshman shortstop Adam Smith hit a solo home run that cleared the score board in left field.
In the fourth inning, Horned Frogs freshman starter Kyle Winkler was pinned with a second A&M run when TCU sophomore reliever Trent Appleby forced sophomore catcher Kevin Gonzalez into a ground out to short, scoring Anders from third base and giving the Aggies a 2-0 lead.
The Aggies started junior Clayton Ehlert on the mound. Going into the game, Ehlert had a 6.41 ERA and an opponent batting average of .330. Despite giving up eight base runners in the first four innings, Ehlert did not allow a run.
That changed in the fifth inning when Ehlert gave up three runs to the Horned Frogs after facing six batters.
Ehlert was then pulled from the game with a TCU runner on base with two outs. Senior reliever Kyle Thebeau went in and ended the inning with a strikeout but not before the Horned Frogs took a 3-2 lead.
Thebeau pitched three more innings, shutting out the TCU while giving up two hits and one walk.
“He was the best pitcher out here tonight on both teams,” Childress said. “He was dominant. It makes you feel good going into the weekend.”
After getting TCU out of the fourth inning, Appleby kept A&M at bay for the next three innings. Appleby had not given up a home run in 36 innings of work this season, but in the eighth inning, Anders pulled a pitch to right field, sending it over the wall to tie the game at 3-3.
Sophomore closer Nick Fleece was sent to the mound to start the ninth inning. Despite giving up a double in the ninth inning and a walk in the 10th inning, he did not give up a run to keep the Aggies in it, allowing Patterson to be the hero and end the game.
A&M begins a three-game nonconference series against Dallas Baptist on Thursday. The Aggies have played the Patriots in a late-season series in each of Childress’ three seasons and are 6-2 against them in that span.