The No. 6 Texas A&M softball team has been perfect all year, and continued its undefeated streak on Saturday as they knocked off Iowa and Tulsa to improve to 9-0 on the young season.
The two games were quite different from each other, as the Aggies battled the Hawkeyes and saw themselves behind 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh before winning 3-2. In the second game of the day, the Aggies cruised to a 6-0 win over the Golden Hurricane to secure the perfect day. A&M is now 4-0 in the Texas A&M Invitational the Aggies are hosting at the Aggie Softball Complex. 
“It was great to get two wins today,” head coach Jo Evans said. “I thought we showed really good resiliency today. I’ve been really pleased to see our youngsters take opportunities and run with them.”
Game one against the Iowa Hawkeyes was a fight until the end for A&M. The matchup was a scoreless tie until the top of the third when Iowa struck first, scoring a run on an RBI fielder’s choice. Then, the Aggies answered with a run of their own when they took advantage of an Iowa mistake and scored on a pass ball. The Hawkeyes made it 2-1 on an RBI single in the fifth, before the Aggies answered on freshman Payton McBride’s RBI single. The Aggies went to the plate in the bottom of the seventh knowing one run would give them the victory, and senior Tori Vidales took advantage of the opportunity and sent a deep walk-off home run to right field to clinch the 3-2 win for A&M.
“That was crazy,” Evans said about Vidales’ walk-off. “They had her number the first three Abs, but that’s just Tori. She wants you to throw her a pitch she can hit and she did. For Tori to step up and hit a monster shot is awesome.” 
Vidales, McBride, and freshman pitcher Maddie MacGrandle led the way for the Aggies in game one. Vidales went 1-4 with the game winning RBI on her walk-off home run, McBride went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI, and MacGrandle tossed a complete game, giving up just two earned runs on five hits while striking out six. 
Game two went very different than game one, as the Aggies cruised to the win over Tulsa. A&M beat Tulsa on Friday 7-0, and this one wasn’t a whole lot different than Friday’s matchup. The Aggies scored three runs in two different innings to win this one, with the scoring starting in the second. A string of three straight RBI hits gave the Aggies three runs in the second, thanks to junior third baseman Riley Sartain, freshman outfielder Sarah Hudek, and Payton McBride. Then, the Aggies added three more in the fifth on senior catcher Ashley Walters’ 2 RBI single, and a Sartain sac fly. 
“Our kids did a great job in that second inning,” Evans said. “It was so nice too because we struggled in the first game offensively and we came out there and just hit balls in the gap. We did a good job scoring from second base, and I was really pleased to see us break open with that and then be able to relax and play the game.”
Sartain, Walters, and senior pitcher Lexi Smith led the way for A&M in game two. Sartain went 1-2 with the 2 RBIs, Walters also went 1-2 with the 2 RBIs, and Smith threw six shutout innings, giving up just four hits and striking out eight. 
The Texas A&M Invitational continues tomorrow as the Aggies will take on the Butler Bulldogs at the Aggie Softball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 12:15 p.m.