COLLEGE STATION-No. 10 Texas A&M completed a dominating weekend with a 9-0, five-inning run-rule win over SFA Sunday afternoon before 873 fans at the Aggie Softball Complex.
The Aggies ran their record to a perfect 10-0, continuing their best start since the 2007 season (12-0 start). A&M outscored its opponents 29-9 in the five-game Aggie Classic, hitting .356 as a team and smashing 15 extra-base hits, including six home runs.
“I thought it was our best game of the weekend,” head coach Jo Evans said. “SFA really looked good in this tournament–they had some big wins against some good teams. We came out today and really separated ourselves from the pack, and that’s something we had talked about needing to happen. We looked great at the plate today, and that started with very first at bat–with Emily Albus getting 11 pitches and drawing a walk. Putting pressure on their pitchers and pressure on their defense all day, I love to see that. We’re hitting throughout the order and putting a lot of runs on the board. It’s getting our pitchers comfortable and our defense comfortable and it’s fun to play the game that way.”
It would be the long ball that would lead Texas A&M to victory on Sunday. The Aggies connected on three homers-a solo shot by Cali Lanphear, two-run blast by Cassie Tysarczyk and the big blow, a grand slam by Nicole Morgan.
Tysarczyk would open the scoring in the first with a one-out double that scored Albus with the game’s first run.
The Aggies loaded the bases off SFA (4-7) starter Angela White one frame later courtesy a hit batter, a single and a walk.
Morgan took one pitch before crushing a 1-0 offering deep over the wall in left center, clearing the bases and making the score 5-0. The round-tripper was Morgan’s seventh of the year in 10 games.
Lanphear made it 6-0 with a solo shot to right in the third, her third of the season.
Tysarczyk drilled a two-run shot in the fourth inning over the fence in right center, her fourth of the year, extending the A&M lead to eight. Lanphear then just missed her second homer of the game-hitting the very top of the wall in right center with an RBI double that plated Amber Garza with the game’s final run.
Senior All-American Mel Dumezich (7-0) was nearly flawless in the circle, allowing only a two-out single in the second. She hit one and walked one, while fanning six, for her team-leading seventh victory of the year.
White (0-5) suffered the loss, allowing seven hits and six runs over three innings of work.
Albus earned Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament, hitting .692 on the weekend with nine hits, two doubles, three RBIs, four runs scored and five stolen bases.
Over A&M’s first 10 games, the team has outscored opponents 70-16, hit 21 home runs and sports a 0.98 earned run average in the circle.
Texas A&M and SFA will not have to wait long to meet again, as the two teams will face off in a doubleheader this Wednesday afternoon at the Aggie Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
2013 AGGIE CLASSIC – FINAL STANDINGS
Texas A&M 5-0
SFA 2-3
North Carolina 2-3
Pittsburgh 1-4
2013 AGGIE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
INF: Hailey Dickey, UNC
INF: Nicole Morgan, A&M (.400, HR, 5 RBI)
INF: Jenna Stark, A&M (.444, HR, 5 RBI)
INF: Maggie Sevilla, PIT
INF: Elizabeth Arana, SFA
*OF: Emily Albus, A&M (.692, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 4 runs, 5-5 SB)
OF: Cassie Tysarczyk, A&M (.467, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
OF: Brittany Clopton, A&M (.556, RBI, 2 SB)
DP: Cali Lanphear, A&M (.300, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
P: Mel Dumezich, A&M (3-0, 0.35 ERA, 1 ER, 5 BB, 20 SO)
P: Lori Spingola, UNC
*MVP
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics