COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M Softball fell in eight innings, 3-0, against No. 18 Arkansas on Sunday’s Senior Night at Davis Diamond.
The game’s only runs came on a two-out, three-run home run from Arkansas’ Katie Warrick in the top of the eighth.
Payton McBride was saddled with the loss to move to 8-5 on the year. The junior tossed 8.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out a career-high nine batters.
Kelbi Fortenberry paced the Aggies at the plate, batting 2-for-4 for her 14th multi-hit game of the season.
The Texas A&M offense was held in check by Arkansas’ Mary Haff, who threw a three-hit complete game.
KEY INNINGS
T8 | Hannah McEwen landed on first after being hit by a pitch and Danielle Gibson singled up the middle. A Katie Warrick homer down the left field line gave the Razorbacks a three-run lead. ARK 3, A&M 0
Top Offensive Players:
Kelbi Fortenberry | 2-for-4
Payton McBride | 1-for-3
Pitching Breakdown:
Payton McBride (8-5) – L, 8.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
WHAT THEY SAID
Head Coach Jo Evans
On what was working for Payton McBride…
“She was great. She was throwing three different speeds and just had command of the strike zone. I think the only mistake she made all night was that home run. We have got to be able to score a run in seven innings and get her a win. I thought she was great on the mound. She just had tremendous presence and made big pitches when she needed to make big pitches. I know she’s really disappointed, but that kid shouldn’t hang her head. She threw a great game.”
On how she felt about her offense on the night…
“[Mary Haff] has good numbers. She’s a good pitcher, so we shouldn’t take anything away from her. But we didn’t do a great job in commanding the strike zone. I thought we could have had better discipline at the plate. Understanding what she is going to throw for a strike and then what she is going to try to get you to chase. I didn’t think we did a good job with that. We didn’t show good patience and discipline in that sense. So we put ourselves in a hole, but it’s disappointing. We weren’t perfect on the night, but it was a night where we still made plays and got ourselves out of jams. We haven’t always done that. But offensively, we’ve got to do a better job.”
Junior Pitcher Payton McBride
On what worked for her tonight…
“I just told myself to give it my all every single inning. I told myself to give everything I had that was left in the tank, inning by inning and then just come out the next inning and do the exact same thing. I trusted my pitches more tonight, knowing that I’ve done the work up until this point and that my pitches were as good as they’re going to get. I just went out there and did what I knew how to do.”
ON DECK
The Aggies close out the series against No. 18 Arkansas Monday at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can follow the Aggies wherever they go by following @AggieSoftball on Instagram and Twitter or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TAMUSoftball.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics