The No. 23 Texas A&M softball team claimed a 6-5 seventh-inning victory over UT Arlington before downing Wichita State, 7-1, as part of the Aggie Classic Friday at the Aggie Softball Complex.
A four-run seventh inning comeback against the Mavericks (3-4) gave the Aggies (6-3) their first win of the Aggie Classic. A&M allowed only one run on seven hits by Wichita State (2-5) for a second victory on the day.
The first run of game one came in the bottom of the first when junior Natalie Villarreal singled up the middle, the ball bouncing off of the pitcher’s arm. Sophomore transfer Brittany Walker hit a short sacrifice bunt, pushing Villarreal to second. Senior Rhiannon Kliesing stepped up in the next at-bat and slammed a double down the right field line, scoring Villarreal for an early 1-0 lead.
Walker led off the third with a hard double down the left field line and was followed on to base by Kliesing, who was hit by a pitch. The shortstop was sacrificed to third base by sophomore Meagan May. Walker tried to run home on a pitch, but was caught stealing in the act for the last out of the inning.
UT Arlington answered with a run in the top of the fourth. Center fielder Stephanie Gonzalez hit a long triple to left center. She scored on a single by first baseman Rebecca Collom.
In the top of the fifth, left fielder Kersti Rowan, who was on the Wichita State roster until a month ago, singled to right center. She was forced home on a bases-loaded walk by Gonzalez to put the Mavericks ahead 2-1.
The Aggies rallied in the bottom of the inning. Walker led off with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error by the shortstop. Senior Kelsey Spittler popped a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, while Walker took third. The shortstop was sent home on an RBI sacrifice fly by May, once again tying the score at 2-2.
The Mavericks’ catcher Erica LeFlore hit a double in the top of the sixth that ricocheted off of the wall in left-center field, scoring two teammates and giving UTA a 4-2 lead.
A&M Sophomore Mel Dumezich hit a single to left-center in the bottom of the inning, but was left stranded. UT Arlington got one last run in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Collom.
In an attempt to get back into the game in the bottom of the seventh, Walker took a pitch to the body and advanced to first. Kliesing powered her fourth home run of the season well over the right field fence and earned two RBI, giving the Aggies two more runs for a 5-4 score.
Spittler singled up the middle in the next at-bat and was pushed home on a double by May that landed just fair past third base and shot into foul territory. Senior Andrea Tovar pinch ran for May. Freshman Cassie Tysarczyk pushed Tovar into scoring position at third on a sacrifice bunt before freshman Amber Garza singled and pushed the game-winning run home for a 6-5 A&M victory.
“I was so proud of our girls in the first game,” head coach Jo Evans said. “We had a lot of things happen in that game that were frustrating and discouraging. For our kids to go out there in the seventh inning and still believe they could win got us started right back. I thought a huge key was that Spittler gets right back up there with nobody out and gets a base hit up the middle. I thought that was a difference-maker there. To be able to execute like we did, everything just fell into place. It was fun to see our kids get fired up.”
Dumezich (3-2) earned the win, while UTA’s Teri Lyles (1-3) suffered the loss.
The Aggies jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two when Kliesing hit her fifth home run of the season, and her second of the night.
In the bottom of the third freshman Emily Albus and Villarreal drew walks to lead off. Spittler joined them two at-bats later on another ball four. With bases loaded, May slugged a double into right field, scoring Albus and Villarreal.
The WSU second baseman lost control of the throw from right and picked up an error as Spittler crossed the plate, unearned. The first baseman recovered the fumble and threw May out attempting to steal third to end a three-run inning by the Aggies.
A&M lost no momentum in the fourth. Garza singled up the middle and was slugged across the plate on a home run over left by Tysarczyk, her career-first long ball.
“She [Tysarczyk] just settled right in,” Evans said. “When we were in Arizona, she looked so comfortable and was doing her job hitting it on the bunt. I felt like in her first at bat today, she was trying to do too much, but that’s [the home run] exactly not doing too much. That’s taking the pitch they’re going to give you and going the other way with it. She hit that ball really well.”
Albus reached first in the next at-bat when the left fielder dropped a catch. Walker picked up an RBI on a long single to left-center that scored Albus, unearned, giving the Aggies a 7-0 lead.
The Shockers’ lone run of the game came in the top of the fifth. Center fielder Kiersten Dixon doubled and took home on a sacrifice fly by the shortstop, Hayley Temple. The Aggies allowed no other hits or runs and ended the game with a 7-1 advantage over Wichita State.
Junior Lindsey Sisk (3-1) earned her third win of the season, fanning six batters and allowing only one run in seven complete innings. WSU’s Katie Armagost (1-2) gave up six runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of work for the loss.
A&M takes on Wichita State again tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., followed by a 5 p.m. contest with UT Arlington in day two of the Aggie Classic. Log on to AggieAthletics.com or radioaggieland.com to follow both games live.