For the first time in two weeks Texas A&M was able to take on an opponent in front of the Aggie fans at Olsen Field. After wrapping up a 5-2 road trip that included a conference series sweep over Kansas and a conference series loss to Oklahoma State, the Aggie baseball team was ready to take on Stephen F. Austin at home Tuesday.
The Lumberjacks came into Olsen Field with an 11-13 record and a lineup featuring six hitters batting over .300. However they were not prepared for sophomore starter Clayton Ehlert and center fielder Kyle Colligan as they would fall 8-1.
Ehlert made his eighth career start, fourth of the season, nine days after being hit hard by Oklahoma State. The extended rest appeared to have given Ehlert the advantage as he struck out six Lumberjacks while not walking a single batter in six innings of work.
Reliever Kirkland Rivers came in to the game in the seventh inning wearing his signature crooked cap and struck out three more while not giving up a run. Amarillo, Texas native Evan Gerald closed the game for the Aggies with his side arm delivery in the ninth inning. Gerald closed the door by striking out two more to extend A&M’s current win streak to five.
The Aggies continued to set the pace in the Big 12 for strikeouts with 244 following Tuesday’s game. Missouri, the closest challenger to the count, has 229 this season.
Colligan, a junior from Houston, started the season by hitting .285 in the first nine games before having to sit out five of the next six because of a minor hamstring injury. After returning to the lineup Colligan had tapered off to hitting .138 in his next eight starts, but the story has been different in the last five games where he has hit safely in each and improved his batting average to .307.
Colligan lead the Aggies off against SFA and started the game with a bunt single down the third base line on a 2-1 pitch. He would steal his first base of the night on a double steal from second. Colligan scored the first run of the game on third baseman Dane Carter’s single to right field.
A&M went on to take a commanding 5-0 lead in the first inning, all lead off by Colligan.
“I like starting the game like that,” A&M Head Coach Rob Childress said. “We’ve done that now three or four games in a row, and it allows us to relax before we’re even into the game.”
Coligan later became a piece of a three run fourth inning when he hit a one-out RBI single to left field to score first baseman Luke Anders from third. Colligan also scored the last run of the game for the Aggies when Carter hit a two-out triple to score Colligan from third.
“Lately we’ve been really locked on to the ball,” Colligan said about the booming Aggie offense that has scored an average of nine runs a game over the last five games. “I think our offense is hitting on all cylinders right now.”
Colligan went 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs and two stolen bases against the Lumberjacks. No other Aggie came close to posting similar numbers.
“I’m not focusing on power numbers right now, I’m just focusing on getting on base,” Colligan said about his recent success in the leadoff role. “I’m finally realizing what a leadoff hitter is supposed to do. I’ve been hitting leadoff with a cleanup mindset and now I’m finally hitting with a leadoff mindset.”
A&M takes the field again on Wednesday against Stephen F. Austin. In fifteen total meetings against the Lumberjacks dating back to 1949, the Aggies are 15-0.