After spending a weekend on the West Coast, the No. 21 Texas A&M softball team will return to the Lone Star State to take on the University of Texas at Arlington Lady Mavericks. The Aggies will head to Arlington after winning the Stanford Classic this weekend.
The Aggies (16-7) went 4-1 in the tournament, garnering their third championship weekend in a row.
After showing their offensive muscle in the St. Joseph Aggie Invitational II last weekend, the Aggies did an about face and relied heavily on their defense to stifle the opposition last weekend. On Friday, the Aggies beat Long Beach State in the first game, 2-0, but lost a tough one to the No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs, 2-1.
The next day, tournament host No. 11 Stanford was on the receiving end of the biggest Aggie offensive outburst of the tournament with the Aggies winning 7-3.
In the night cap, the Aggies again put away Long Beach State 2-1 to reach the championship game on Sunday for a rematch against No. 12 Georgia. This time, it was the Aggies who got the best of the Bulldogs with junior pitcher Lindsay Wilhelmson no-hitting the Bulldogs through five innings. Wilhelmson later proved to be her own best friend, clearing the bases with a line drive down the left field line in the top of the eighth to break the tie and drive in the winning runs. As a whole, the Aggie defense was so dominant that opposing hitters managed only a .189 batting average, allowing Aggie pitchers to do their work, posting a 0.96 ERA for the weekend.
While relishing the fact that her team won a tough tournament this weekend, A&M Head Coach Jo Evans understands the importance of maintaining the intensity the team showed in Palo Alto.
“UTA is a very competitive team, and they have already had success against teams from the Big 12,” Evans said. “These mid-week games against Southland Conference teams are always competitive, and we can’t afford to overlook UTA because we know what happened when we played Southwest Texas.”
As for UTA, the Lady Mavericks have had their own run of success lately, advancing to the championship game of the 2003 Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala. UTA is led by junior pitcher Katy Cox, who is fresh off of receiving Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week honors.
Although her team is young, UTA Head Coach Debbie Nichols-Hedricks said she has been pleased with its performance this season.
“We are a very young team with several freshmen starting in various spots,” Nichols-Hedrick said. “We have had success against the Big 12 and SEC already this year, beating Baylor 10-0 and beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Our freshmen have played well-above their age.”
Lately, UTA’s freshmen have played like veterans, including freshman first baseman Falon Kwasnick who earned Southland Conference Hitter of the Week honors. She finished the week hitting .333, helping lead UTA to its 11-9 record, 3-0 in conference play.
After heading to Arlington, the Aggies will continue their road trip, heading to Tallahassee for the weekend to compete in the Seminole Invitational.