Seniors Plate Four, Strike Out 10 in Senior Day Victory

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Seniors contributed two home runs, four RBI and 10 strikeouts from the circle on Senior Day as the 14th-ranked Texas A&M softball team (39-14, 10-13 SEC) downed Mississippi State (32-21, 8-16), 4-2, in the Aggies’ final game of the regular season, Sunday.

A&M seniors Meagan May, Mel Dumezich and Sydney Shannon were honored after the game in a special Senior Day celebration as they ended their regular-season careers with the Aggies.

May and Dumezich plated all four runs for A&M, and Dumezich fanned 10 hitters in a dominant effort in the circle.

May put the Aggies on the board with an against-the-wind home run over left field in the bottom of the third. The leadoff jack cleared the complex and landed in the street as A&M took a 1-0 lead. May was 2-for-2 with an infield single and a walk on the day.

A&M stranded four runners in the first five innings, including two in scoring position, and was unable to stretch the one-run lead.

Mississippi State gained the 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth when a bases-loaded, two-out single down the left-field line plated two runs.

The Bulldogs didn’t hold the lead for long. In the bottom of the inning, junior Amber Garza led off with a hit-by-pitch and moved to second on a bunt single by freshman Cali Lanphear. A Cassie Tysarczyk sacrifice bunt moved the pair into scoring position to set up the rally.

With two outs, Dumezich swung at the first pitch she saw and sent it soaring over centerfield for a three-run home run to push the Aggies back out to the lead at 4-2.

Dumezich (26-6) struck out 10 batters on the way to her 26th win of the season, giving up just two earned runs on six hits and a walk. MSU’s Alison Owen suffered the loss after allowing four earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out 5 through seven complete innings.

The Aggies will travel to Lexington Kentucky this week to play in their first-ever SEC Tournament as the league’s No. 9 seed. A&M will compete in a play-in game with the to-be-determined No. 8 seed, either Alabama or Kentucky, at 5:30 p.m. Central on Wednesday, May 8 on ESPNU. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

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