In the first SEC series of the year, the No. 10 Texas A&M softball team won two out of three at the Aggie Softball Complex against No. 4 LSU. The Aggies improve their overall record to 27-3 and 2-1 in the SEC after the weekend series.
The Aggies started the series with a 6-2 win on Friday, but followed it with a 6-1 loss on Saturday. On Sunday, the Aggies and Lady Tigers battled for the series victory. The Aggies started scoring quickly in the first inning as senior Cali Lanphear blasted a three-run home run over the right field fence onto Olsen Boulevard. The home run fueled yet another offensive explosion from the Aggie bats that eventually led to nine runs.
The reason the Aggies’ quick start on Sunday is important is because they faced the same LSU pitcher, sophomore Allie Walljasper, that they struggled against on Saturday, scoring only one run.
“We weren’t very good [Saturday],” Coach Jo Evans said. “We didn’t fight too hard at the plate and we made it hard on our pitchers, so to come out today and score early was huge for our ball club.”
Freshman Samantha Show started the rubber match for the Aggies. She was cruising until LSU’s four-run fourth. Sophomore Kayla Ober replaced Show in the fourth with one out and the bases loaded with Lady Tigers. On her first pitch, LSU grounded into a 5-3 double play turned by Aggie third baseman Riley Sartain. Ober finished the game in the seventh to record her first save of the year. In addition to pitching, Ober contributed at the plate, driving in one of the insurance runs for the Aggies in the bottom of the sixth.
“That situation [in the sixth inning] had Kayla’s name written all over it,” Coach Evans said. “I’m really proud of her. The way she went out there and attacked the strike zone was great.”
Ober’s appearance in the circle was just her fifth of the year, and she’s only thrown 11 total innings.
“Kayla is the epitome of a great teammate,” Coach Jo Evans said. “She’s unselfish, she works hard every day, she always waits for her opportunity and this is when it came.”
The 10th-ranked Aggies will be back in action next weekend as they travel to Athens, Georgia for a three game series starting on Friday at 5:00 PM against the No. 12 Georgia Lady Bulldogs.
