Texas A&M softball headed into day three of the Aggie Classic at Davis Diamond as it took on Abilene Christian and Villanova in a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 8. Coming off of their first ranked win of the year against Baylor on Friday, the Aggies had much-needed momentum heading into this doubleheader.
A&M claimed its first win of the night 1-0 against Abilene Christian before proudly posting an 8-0 score against Villanova to remain unbeaten.
The day started off with action against ACU who was looking for its first win this season. Freshman pitcher Sydney Lessentine got things started for the Aggies on the mound, holding the Wildcats scoreless through seven. Lessentine had nine strikeouts, the most by any starting freshman pitcher since 2016. She continued to impress in her collegiate debut, striking out the side in the top of the fifth, giving A&M all of the momentum.
“I thought Lessentine did a heck of a job, it was nice to see her come out, pound the zone, really spin the ball in and out, good change-up,” coach Trisha Ford said. “Good to get her feet wet, good for her to come out and compete, play in front of the 12th Man. It’s kind of intimidating as a freshman honestly, so it was good for her to get out there.”
Heading into the bottom of the fourth scoreless, the Aggies were eager to get the action started at Davis Diamond. Freshman second baseman KK Dement got things rolling with a double down the left field line, putting her in scoring position. Freshman right fielder Frankie Vrazel drove her home with another double to left field, putting A&M on the board 1-0. The Maroon and White had the chance to go up 2-0, yet the sequence was stopped by a fielder’s choice to home as redshirt senior catcher Valerie Ornelas made a dynamic play at the plate.
The Wildcats had one last chance in the top of the seventh to extend the game but got off to a rough start with two back-to-back pop ups from freshman utility Taylor Haywood and junior P Elizabeth Schaefer, leaving ACU with one out to work with. Ornelas stepped up to the plate and got a vital hit for the Wildcats by putting herself in position to tie the game. Yet, Lessentine acted calm and collected as she struck out sophomore INF Rachel Cook to secure the win for A&M.
“Offensively we just were kind of sluggish that first game, we’re seeing a lot of different pitching and just didn’t make some adjustments,” Ford said. “We hit some balls hard right at people, sometimes that’s how the game goes, you’ve got to figure out how to win, that’s what good teams do.”
Washington transfer sophomore P Sidne Peters got the start for the second game of the day against Villanova. Peters had a strong first inning, striking out two of the three batters she faced.
A leadoff double from DP Maranda Runco got the Wildcat bench up on their feet as the go-ahead run was on second with no outs to begin the top of the second. Peters kept composed as she struck out both junior 2B Lilly St. Jean and redshirt senior first baseman Brooklyn Ostrowski to keep the Navy and White scoreless.
The Aggies had a dominant third inning, with six runs off of five hits with nobody left on base. The magic started when senior center fielder Allie Enright got Davis Diamond up on its feet with a powerful homerun to right center on a full count off of Villanova’s junior P Kat Gallant. This marks Enright’s second home run of the season, her first being against Utah State on Thursday.
The Aggie offense started to light up after Enright’s homerun with a double from senior LF Kramer Eschete, sending Wooley up to the plate. She then drove Eschete to home plate with a single, giving A&M a 2-0 lead. Another run was driven in by graduate designated player Mac Barbara.
With two Aggies on base, Dement came up to the plate with the opportunity to extend the lead, giving A&M a comfortable cushion in case things went awry. Dement nailed a ball out to left field for a 3-run homer — her first home run of her collegiate career.
The Wildcats couldn’t get anything going in the fourth. They came up empty with only one hit from Runco as they couldn’t drive in the two runners left on base. Three consecutive walks from freshman P Maddy Burns loaded the bases for the Aggies with no outs, allowing them to add two insurance runs, making it an 8-0 ballgame.
The Maroon and White close out the Aggie Classic tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 9, against Purdue at 11:30 a.m.
