On its second trip to the West Coast this season, No. 9 Texas A&M softball faced Boston University, San Diego State and Grand Canyon University on the first two days of the San Diego Classic. Due to bad weather, the Aggies (20-2) were unable to face the University of Pittsburgh and Utah Valley on the final day of the tournament.
Texas A&M opened the tournament with a 9-1 victory over Boston University. Senior pitcher Katie Marks earned her fourth victory of the season behind an offensive surge led by freshman Keeli Milligan. In the game, Milligan had four RBI on four hits versus the Terriers.
The Aggies suffered their second defeat of the season in game two, falling to San Diego State 10-5. After falling behind in the bottom of the first inning, Texas A&M responded with two runs scored in the top of the second inning. The Aggies led the Aztecs 4-2 until San Diego State scored eight runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Despite a leadoff home run from sophomore Tori Vidales, the Aggies were unable to mount a comeback.
Texas A&M head coach Jo Evans said that her team had many missed opportunities to defeat the Aztecs. Evans also said that the pitching staff did well and it was up to the rest of the team to help them out.
”I thought their pitchers did a great job. They got strikeouts in key situations for them,” Evans told 12thman.com. “We had several opportunities with bases loaded and runners in scoring position. We have to make sure we are putting the ball in play and putting pressure on them.”
Texas A&M bounced back on the second day of the tournament by defeating Grand Canyon University and the University of San Diego. A&M defeated GCU in a 2-1 victory in first game of the day behind the pitching of freshman Samantha Show, who earned her 11th victory in maroon and white.
After a close score in game one, the Aggie offense ignited and scored 21 runs when they faced the University of San Diego. A&M scored 16 runs in the first three innings of the game. Sophomore Kristen Cuyos led the Aggie offense with a total of 5 RBIs on three hits and scoring a trio of runs.
The 21 runs the Aggie scored are the most runs scored at A&M since Jo Evans has been in charge of the squad. Evans said she was pleased with the way her team adjusted after their game one loss.
“We really needed that. We were too tight the last two days,” Evans told 12thman.com. “It was nice to see our kids go out there and play the game it is supposed to be played.”
The final two games of the tournament against the University of Pittsburgh and Utah Valley were cancelled due to rain. Now, Texas A&M is set to travel to Huntsville as they visit Sam Houston State Wednesday in their second matchup of the season.
