COLLEGE STATION –The fifth-ranked Texas A&M Softball team marked their 13th shutout of the season after their 7-0 victory over Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Lexi Smith (10-0) continued her undefeated season after tossing a one-hit complete game. The Temple, Texas, native was dominant in the circle, striking out nine Cowgirls, while walking five.
Texas A&M (35-3) notched the first run of the game in the bottom of the first. Tori Vidales reached base on a walk and was later brought home on an infield single from Ashley Walters.
Oklahoma State threatened in the top of the second with two runners on base. A single to center field from Alex Edinger allowed the baserunners to advance, but Erica Russell threw a deep shot from center field to throw Vanessa Shippy out at home.
In the home half, the Maroon and White opened up the game, 4-0, in the second. Russell reached base on a walk prior to Keeli Milligan singling up the middle and Vidales earning her second walk of the afternoon. With the bases loaded, Kaitlyn Alderink was hit by a pitch allowing Russell to touch home, giving the Aggies a 2-0 advantage. A single to center from Riley Sartain plated Milligan and Vidales.
Vidales opened the fourth inning with a double to right center field. The junior now leads the team with an 11-game hitting streak and has reached base in 23-consecutive contests. An RBI groundout from Sarah Hudek allowed Vidales to score her third run of the game.
The Aggies recorded another run in the fifth to put A&M ahead, 6-0. Russell singled to the pitcher and was later brought home by a deep double to left by Milligan, her first of the season.
For her second-consecutive at bat, Reagan Boenker reached base after being hit by a pitch. A bases loaded walk by Payton McBride allowed Boenker to round third and push the final score to 7-0.
Milligan led the Aggie offense with a 2-for-3 day at the plate with the RBI double. Sartain showed dominance at the plate in the series finale going 1-for-2 in the box with two RBI. The sophomore led the offense for the series against Oklahoma State (25-15) after going 5-for-7 with eight RBI and two homeruns, while scoring five runs.
Cowgirls’ Logan Simunek (5-2) was saddled the loss after giving up seven runs off of eight hits and walking six.
The Aggies return to action on Friday with a three-game series as they travel to Fayettville, Ark. to take on the Razorbacks. The first game will be available on ESPNU, while the final game can be seen on the SEC Network +, available through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Each game can be heard locally on Willy 1550 AM.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
Texas A&M Head Coach Jo Evans
On Lexi Smith‘s performance…
“You have to believe in her. You can never stop believing in the kid. I was proud of her to be able to throw strikes when she absolutely had to. I liked how she went out in the 7th inning and did her job. The kid is a fierce competitor and she wants the ball and she expects to strike everybody out. I think that’s why we see what we see.”
On the series…
“I don’t know how many runners we left on base but we sure feel like we could’ve ended that game earlier. I can’t be greedy as a coach. I look out there and I see us score in pretty much every inning and putting pressure on them and that’s what matters. For our kids to come out this weekend and play well against a Big 12 team that was on a roll, that was 6-0 and has swept two series in the Big 12 makes me feel good about our kids and our team and where we are and our pitching staff. We could get three complete games from three different pitchers and understanding that, we have the pieces in place.”