Story by: Delaney Duke, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M softball defeated Houston Baptist 6-0 in a midweek matchup Tuesday at Davis Diamond. The Aggies climb to 18-3, while Houston Baptist drops to 8-4.
Texas A&M extends its win streak to eight, while marking their 11th shutout win of the year.
Kayla Poynter got the start in the circle and tossed 5.0 innings of work. The senior allowed five hits and recorded a season-high eight strikeouts to cement her fifth win of the season. Grace Uribe tossed the final two innings and struck out two.
Kelbi Fortenberry, Shaylee Ackerman and Bre Warren each recorded a hit, while Makinzy Herzog led the offense with two. Herzog finished 2-for-2 with a double and home run.
The Aggies have recorded a home run in eight of their last nine games, marking Herzog’s fifth of the season, while extending her hitting streak to five.
The Maroon & White did not allow Houston Baptist to touch third, limiting the Huskies to only three in scoring position.
KEY INNINGS
B1 | Herzog opened the frame lacing a single through the right side and stole second. Back-to-back walks to Bre Warren and Haley Lee loaded the bases. Shaylee Ackerman produced a RBI groundout to plate Herzog. A&M 1, HBU 0
B3 | Makinzy Herzog started off the inning with a solo home run to centerfield. A&M 2, HBU 0
B4 | Morgan Smith walked before Kelbi Fortenberry could reach on an infield single advancing Morgan Smith a bag. Ashlynn Walls laid down a sacrifice bunt advancing both runners into scoring position. Rylen Wiggins drew a walk and with back-to-back hit by pitches to Herzog and Warren, Morgan Smith and Fortenberry scored. Lee’s sacrifice fly, plated Wiggins. A&M 5, HBU 0
B6 | Herzog walked and stole second. Warren drove a single back up the middle to plate Herzog. A&M 6, HBU 0
Top Offensive Players:
Makinzy Herzog| 2-for-2, HR, 2 RBI
Bre Warren| 1-for-2, 2 RBI
Haley Lee| RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Kayla Poynter (5-0) – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 8 SO, 0 BB
Grace Uribe – 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 SO, 0 BB
WHAT THEY SAID
Head Coach Jo Evans
Opening statement…
“I thought our pitching looked good. Kayla Poynter gets a couple of runners on in that first inning and takes care of business. I thought she looked good. She was just comfortable out there, and no walks on the night for her or Grace (Uribe), so always happy about that. Offensively, we load the bases in the first inning and look like we could just have a big inning and really take the game over. Then we end up running into a double play, but nice to see (Makinzy) Herzog just do what she does and get out there, and get herself on base, and all the hitters behind her. I love the way she’s playing right now, and she’s kind of making us go, for sure. Just doing what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to go out there. We’re supposed to separate ourselves. We’re supposed to play defense. I am happy to see our team not take teams lightly. It’s nice not to be in tight games when you feel like you should be able to separate yourself. Also, I thought our hitters did a nice job when you think about them running out another new pitcher every couple of innings, and it’s not always easy to get your timing on those kind of situations. I thought our hitters did a good job drawing all those walks. We had eight walks and maybe three hit batters. We had 20 odd quality plate appearances and only five hits, so you can see that we did a great job taking our walks when we got them.”
Senior Pitcher Kayla Poynter
On what has changed in her pitching the last few games…
“I am settling into myself and being more comfortable this year. My first couple of outings were not the best, but I have taken time to focus on what I need to do and attack the zone every pitch.”
ON DECK
The Aggies return to action Thursday at 6:30 p.m. for another midweek showdown against McNeese at Cowgirl Diamond in Lake Charles, La.