Texas A&M needed two home runs and clutch pitching to take sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Sunday.
In the deciding game of a series against Oklahoma State, the Aggies won 6-4 to win the series. A&M shared first place with Texas before the game, but the Longhorns tied Kansas State 6-6 to fall to second place.
“Things are going our way a little bit,” A&M Head Coach Rob Childress said. “Ever since we came back from [Kansas State] we’ve played the way we’re capable of playing and we can continue to play even better.”
A&M improved to 28-15 overall and 13-8 in Big 12 play. There are two conference series remaining in the regular season schedule with a split location series against Texas and a road series at Oklahoma.
The Aggies took the lead in the first inning when junior second baseman Brodie Greene was sent home from third base on a balk by Oklahoma State junior starter Tyler Blandford. It was Blandford’s first of two balks in the game.
“We’ll take as many balk calls as we can get,” Childress said. “He wasn’t coming set to a discernable stop and felt like it was the right call. There were other opportunities for them to call that and we got the other one later in the game.”
Senior center fielder Kyle Colligan stretched the lead with a two-run home run over the left center field wall in the bottom of the third inning. With the wind pushing out to left field, Colligan’s hit went over the scoreboard.
Junior designated hitter Joe Patterson followed with a home run over the center field wall one out later.
Sophomore Barret Loux started the game for the Aggies. Loux has had elbow problems during the course of the season and was pulled from the game one out into the third inning.
“I didn’t know I was going to be needed this quickly,” said A&M junior reliever Alex Wilson, who replaced Loux on the mound. “I knew for a fact today that I was going to pitch at some point, which helps a little bit, but I had no idea I was going to come in in the third inning.”
Wilson pitched five innings, giving up nine hits, four runs and striking out seven.
The Cowboys scored their first run in the sixth inning when senior third baseman Tyrone Hambly scored from third base on a sacrifice fly by freshman designated hitter Jared Womack.
A&M answered in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a two-RBI double down the left field line by Greene.
“At that point I was trying to get something into the outfield to bring them home,” Greene said. “I battled, kind of got out of myself on the first swing chasing the slider, but I was able to find the hole.”
Oklahoma State chipped away at A&M’s lead in the late innings. Sophomore catcher Kevin David hit an RBI single in the seventh inning and Womack hit a two-run home run over the right field wall in the eighth inning.
“I’m not really sure how he hit that ball out,” Wilson said. “It was about three or four inches off the ground, so it was just one of those things you shake your head at and move on.”
Sophomore closer Nick Fleece started the ninth inning on the mound. He gave up back-to-back singles, but escaped the inning with a strikeout and a double play to end the game.