COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 22 Texas A&M softball team (27-9, 7-5 SEC) opened an 11-game homestand Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep of the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (9-24).
SFA took a 2-0 lead after two innings to open the day, scoring on a solo home run in the first and an RBI single in the top of the second inning.
The Aggies had their chances to score in the first two innings, stranding five runners on a single hit.
Senior Rachel Fox and the Aggie defense got in a groove in the third inning, sending the Ladyjack batters down in order as Fox notched her fifth and sixth strikeouts of the evening. A solo homerun over the left field wall from freshmanTori Vidales in the leadoff spot chipped into SFA’s lead, making it a 2-1 game.
The tying run came in the bottom of the fourth, with the Aggie attack starting with a leadoff single to center field from freshman Erica Russell. Senior Brittany Cloptonthrew down a bunt and made her way to second on a throwing error, giving Russell the chance to show her speed on the way home. Freshmen Kristen Cuyos andAshley Walters would join Clopton on base before the end of the inning but A&M would leave two on base and score just the one run.
Neither team managed to score in the fifth and Fox retired the SFA side in order in the top of the sixth to send the game into the home portion of the inning.
Russell reached base in the leadoff spot again for the Aggies, this time on a four-pitch walk. Back-to-back bunts by Clopton and Cuyos loaded the bags and a sacrifice fly to left field from Vidales gave Russell her second run of the day, as well as the first A&M lead of the day.
Fox and the defense closed the game out as the Ladyjacks went three up, three down in the final inning. Fox ended the day with ten strikeouts and just one walk in seven innings of work, allowing two runs on just five hits. The Aggies left 11 on base over the course of the game, scoring three runs on seven hits. Senior Brittany Clopton led the team with three hits in four at-bats, recording one RBI.
Junior Katie Marks got the start in the second game of the day, pitching one of her best games on the year, allowing no runs and just a single hit and throwing just 56 pitches while facing 23 batters.
Neither team could get any offense going in the first inning and Marks retired six Ladyjack batters in a row through the first two.
Cuyos opened the second with her sixth homer of the year and the Aggies took the first lead of the game. Junior Cali Lanphear doubled up the lead with a solo bomb of her own in the third inning, her third time going yard in as many games.
Back up in the bottom of the third, Cuyos singled to center field and was joined on the bags by sophomore Abby Donnell, who knocked a single to shortstop. Sophomore April Ryan’s first hit of the day came on a single through the right side and sent Cuyos home for the third run of the game. A wild pitch gave Donnell a chance to scratch across home plate for the final run of the third inning and extended the Aggie lead to 4-0.
Marks sent Stephen F. Austin’s batters down in order again in the fourth before the Aggies were back at back in the fourth.
Russell led off with a double all the way to the right field wall, falling just six inches short of her first collegiate home run. After a pitching change from the Ladyjacks, Vidales reached on an error at second base and Russell moved to third to put runners on both corners for the Aggies. A single to center field from freshmanAshley Walters sent Russell speeding home.
After Cuyos reached on a fielder’s choice and Walters was tagged out at second, a long ball up the middle from Donnell called Vidales home for the final run of the night.
The Aggies threatened again in the sixth inning, loading the bases on a fielder’s choice, an error and a walk but another pitching change from SFA got the Ladyjacks out of a final jam.
The A&M offense closed the night with 11 hits from eight different batters, reaching base four more times on walks.
Coach Evans Post Game Sound
“I’m so pleased to see our defense play well. I’ve been talking to them so much this week about how we need to be a defense that takes hits away from hitters. We did that, I felt, early in the season and we haven’t done it as much during the last stretch. Tori Vidales made a catch on a huge line drive, I thought she was her very best on defense all season. She brought her game to another level and I’m excited about that. April Ryan took away a hit, Kristen Cuyos took one away. It’s nice to see them play like that because that’s what you have to do to win in the SEC.”
Let’s Hear a Hullabaloo
…for maturity on the mound. Both Rachel Fox and Katie Marks added to their win count Wednesday, with Fox coming back from a weather delay to shut down the Ladyjacks and Marks not giving SFA a chance from the beginning. The Aggies allowed only two runs on the day, due in large part to the great play inside the circle. Gig ‘em, Rachel and Katie!
Coach Evans on Fox:
“Rachel did a great job of settling in. she’s a mature pitcher and she understands her strengths. She was terrific when she was ahead of hitters in the count and I thought she got on a roll, looked really comfortable towards the end. Ten strikeouts and I thought she threw a very good game.”
Coach Evans on Marks:
“She was terrific. I thought she was so good at going right at hitters. She didn’t throw a ton of pitches and was very efficient throughout the game.”
Up Next
The Aggies take on Georgia Tech in a weekend series starting Friday night at 6:35 p.m. Follow along with live stats at 12thMan.com and @AggieSoftball on Twitter for all the hits, pitches and everything in between during the 2015 softball season.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics