Wildcats Clinch Series With 4-2 Win Over Aggies
Apr 23, 2005 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Josh Dent’s leadoff homer in the bottom of the seventh broke a 2-2 tie and proved to be the game-winner as Kansas State clinched a series win over Texas A&M for the first time ever with a 4-2 win Saturday before 1,052 fans at Tointon Stadium. The win was the fifth straight overall and the fourth in a row in Big 12 play for the Wildcats as they improved to 20-17 overall and 6-11 in Big 12 play. Texas A&M fell to 25-18-1 overall and 5-12 in league play after the loss.
With the game tied at two, Dent, who was 1-for-5 on the day, led off the seventh inning and drove the first pitch from reliever Clayton Turner (3-3) over the wall in right-center to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead. K-State added another insurance run in the inning as Cris Tapia doubled in Joe Roundy from second to up the lead to 4-2. Turner suffered the loss for the Aggies after giving up three runs in 2.1 innings of work.
Eric Rollins (2-2) earned the win in relief of Mitch Walter by throwing 1.2 shutout innings while scattering two hits. Seth Lackow retired the lone batter he faced in the eighth and Bryan Peterson earned his second straight and team-leading fourth save by finishing out the ninth. Walter picked up the no-decision but was masterful for 6.0 innings after a rough first. In the first, Walter gave up one run on one hit while walking three. But, the senior settled down and scattered just three hits over the next 5.0 innings.
With the Aggies ahead 1-0 in the third, K-State tied the game as Blunt led off with a double right and then moved to third on a Dent groundout. Jared Goedert followed with a single up the middle to plate Blunt to tie the score.
The Wildcats then took their first lead of the game in the sixth as Tapia singled and later scored on a Blunt two-out double down the right field line as K-State grabbed a 2-1 lead. The Aggies tied the game in the top of the seventh on a run-scoring single but a double play ball from Rollins got the Wildcats out of the inning.
Blunt and Tapia each had three hits to lead the 11-hit Wildcat attack, while Dent’s homer was his third of the season and extended his current team-best hitting streak to eight games. Four different players drove in and scored each of Kansas State’s four runs on the day.
Kansas State will look for a series sweep of the Aggies Sunday at 1 p.m. Adam Cowart (6-2) will get the start for Kansas State, while Texas A&M has yet to announce a starter.
KSU
