Texas A&M softball earned its first road win this season and is currently on a five-game winning streak after defeating Sam Houston State.
On Wednesday, March 3 the Aggies captured an 11-5 win over the Bearkats in Huntsville.
A&M coach Jo Evans said she was more than pleased with her offense.
“Even in the first inning when we had a couple of outs, we were still hitting and still looking good at the plate,” Evans said. “We had the ball flying out of the yard all night long, and I loved how we hit through the lineup.”
Both teams started out evenly, with both the Aggies and the Bearkats scoring one run each during the first inning.
For the Aggies, the run in the first inning was scored off of a home run launched by junior catcher and utility player Haley Lee, marking her sixth home run of the season.
The second inning was where the Aggies jumped ahead, with junior pitcher and outfielder Makinzy Herzog, junior outfielder Morgan Smith, sophomore utility player Jourdyn Campbell and senior infielder Dani Elder running to home plate.
Campbell and Smith scored off of a right center homer by Campbell, the third of her career.
Evans said her players are learning from every at-bat.
“Dani Elder had a great day, and Jourdyn Campbell gets up there and hits a home run and then was able to get another base hit,” Evans said. “Offensively, we got so many great things out of our hitters and kept learning from at-bat to at-bat.”
The third and fourth innings were fairly uneventful, with neither team managing to touch home plate.
In the top of the fifth, senior infielder Ashlynn Walls hit a solo shot over the left field fence to bring A&M’s home run total to three.
However, Sam Houston State answered with back-to-back home runs to put them back in the matchup, 6-3.
Elder blasted her first home run of the contest during the sixth inning. The Aggies also scored one other run during this inning.
A&M closed out its batting during the top of the seventh. The Aggies scored an additional three runs this inning, which was highlighted by Elder’s second and last home run of the matchup, which hit the scoreboard.
The Bearkats only managed to respond with two runs, allowing the Aggies to capture an 11-5 victory.
The pitching circle was primarily dominated by senior Kayla Poynter, who allowed seven hits, three runs and two home runs. Poynter also clinched four strikeouts.
Freshman pitcher and outfielder Grace Uribe came in to relieve Poynter during the bottom of the sixth. The first-year Aggie allowed three hits and two runs, both of which were home runs. Uribe’s performance was highlighted by two strikeouts.
Next up for the maroon and white is their Reveille Classic at Davis Diamond. The Aggies first matchup of the tournament is against Lamar University at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 5.
“[The Reveille Classic] going to be so much fun. I’m so excited, because it just says so much about our program and the culture of our program that we can welcome back a former player who is now the head coach at Campbell [Sharonda McDonald-Kelley],” Evans said. “Many of her former teammates are coming back to watch us play and see her coach this weekend, and it’s amazing how much those kids love each other and want to support each other.”