The crowd and dugout filled with cheers, with the cold air blowing as junior outfielder Blake-Ann Fritsch stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning.
With only one out on the board and a 1-1 count, Fritsch set her sights on starting University of Texas-Arlington pitcher Randi Phillips. The next pitch resulted in a single to right field, with freshman outfielder Taudrea Sinnie running home from her post at second base.
The solo run by Sinnie secured the Texas A&M softball team with its 15th win of the season and advanced its win streak to six. The Aggies move to 15-6 overall, while UTA is now 10-10 on the season and has a four game losing streak.
UTA had a familiar face to Aggieland on the mound in Phillips, who was originally on the A&M roster in fall of 2017 before transferring the following January to the Mavericks.
A&M head coach Jo Evans said Phillips should be proud of her performance after stranding five Aggies in scoring position throughout the game.
“I thought she pitched very well. RC [Randi Phillips] threw a really good game against us,” Evans said, “…we did a really good job of setting the table and getting them in scoring position and she did a good job of getting out of a lot of jams.”
The Aggies were led on defense by sophomore right-handed pitcher Kayla Poynter who completed her second consecutive win for a full seven-inning game. Poynter had three hits on 22 at bats and had the only strikeout of the two pitchers.
“I feel like everything was working,” Poynter said. “I just went out there, threw strikes, and let my defense work. The defense backed me up tonight.”
Evans said Poynter’s performance is contributed to the about of experience she has on the mound and the time she spent facing tough opponents in her freshman season.
“Last year we seriously considered redshirting her and not using a freshman year with the other pitchers we had,” Evans said. “Coach [Kara] Dill and I both felt like it was important for her to get some experience knowing that we were going to lose a couple of those pitchers. …now looking at it we’re both very happy that we made that decision.”
Offensive standout this season, junior outfielder Kelbi Fortenberry is currently on her 11th game hitting streak and reached base for the 13th game this season. Fortenberry had one hit on two at bats and was walked once. Junior pitcher Payton McBride led the offense with two hits on three at bats, while Fritsch went 1-for-2 with one RBI.
A&M will face their first SEC opponent of the season in a three-game series against Louisiana State March 8-10.
The first pitch on Friday begins at 6 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network. Game one and two will take place on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. and will also be televised on the SEC Network.