It was a day of determination for the Texas A&M softball team, as it defeated Georgia Tech 11-0 in the second game of the doubleheader Saturday after falling 5-4 earlier at the Aggie Softball Complex.

The Aggies (30-10, 7-5 SEC) sent Katie Marks to the mound in game two of the series, which began at 2 p.m. as the opener of the two contest slated day. Head coach Jo Evans yanked Marks after pitching 3.1 innings when Georgia Tech got on the board first with a grand slam.

The Yellow Jackets (14-25, 5-10 ACC) loaded the bases in the third from a single, walk and beamed batter. When senior Karly Fullem stepped up to the plate behind in the count at 0-2 with two outs, she sent all three base runners home with a home run to give Georgia Tech a 4-0 lead.

Tori Vidales refused to let that diminish any comeback hopes, however. In the bottom of the third inning, the freshman sneaked a two-run home run just right of the left foul pole to cut it to 4-2.

Offense lacked in the next few innings until it mattered most. In the seventh inning, the bases were loaded after three Aggies were walked, and April Ryan appeared with two outs. Ryan singled to center to score Vidales and Erica Russell, tying it at 4-all. Once Kristen Cuyos fouled out, the game entered extra innings.

Georgia Tech squeezed out a score in the top of the eighth when Kelsey Chisolm singled to left field with two down. A&M loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, but the Yellow Jackets managed to snag an out to earn the 5-4 victory.

Christina Biggerstaff pitched a complete game for the Yellow Jackets, and improved to 6-4 on the year after dishing 170 pitches. Although Rachel Fox received the loss for her one inning outing as relief in the eighth, she was credited the win in the second and final contest in her complete game, which consisted of a mere 62 pitches. She now leads the Aggies in wins and is 16-7 on the year.

Hitting was the least of Georgia Tech’s troubles in the 11-0 A&M triumph. The Yellow Jackets pitching coughed up the opening three scores alone. Four walks and a beamed batter helped the Aggies take a 3-0 lead with one hit, but they were not finished at that point.

A sacrifice fly, another hit by pitch and a single to center field increased the Aggie advantage to 6-0 by the end of the first inning.

The Aggies weren’t threatened for the remainder of the game, but an RBI from Vidales in the third and a four-run outing in the fourth helped add insurance. The fourth was more of the same from the first, since three of the four scores came from walks.

Clopton, Russell and Vidales garnered two RBIs in the 11-0 blowout, and the lack of offense from Georgia Tech ended the game after five innings because of the mercy rule.
A&M hosts UTSA and North Texas Tuesday and Wednesday before welcoming the Auburn Tigers for an SEC weekend series.