No. 23 Texas A&M softball defeated Sam Houston State Wednesday 8-0 in five innings at the Aggie Softball Complex.

After a scoreless first inning, the Aggie offense came alive to score, five runs in the bottom of the third inning. Freshman infielder Kaitlyn Alderink hit a line drive to the SHSU pitcher, causing an error and allowing three Aggies to score and add to the A&M lead. Later in the inning, sophomore Tori Vidales hit an RBI double to put Texas A&M ahead early.

Alderink said despite the error caused by SHSU, she was happy she was able to produce for the team after they struggled offensively to get on the board early in the game.

“I was just trying to get a base hit when I went up to bat — I wanted to get at least one of the runs in,” Alderink said. “Sometimes you get lucky and end up at third base and helping score three runs. It was really cool.”

Freshman pitcher Samantha Show said believing in her team’s defensive capabilities allows her to feel more relaxed about her pitching while in the circle.

“I just really have to trust in my defense. They’re great,” Show said. “It’s good to have people who can make amazing plays when I make a good pitch. Trusting in that, and knowing that I’m a good pitcher and that my defense is going to be there to back me up.”

Texas A&M head coach Jo Evans said she was pleased with the mindset her team had going into this game ahead of their upcoming weekend tournament, where they are set face multiple top-25 teams.

“It’s nice to have a run-rule victory on a mid-week as we try and get ready to go on a trip,” Evans said. “We have a great opportunity to play teams that are ranked higher than us. When you play teams that aren’t ranked. As a team you don’t know how to gauge your performance, but a win like this helps with momentum going into a weekend like we are.”

Texas A&M will head west this weekend to the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, California, where they will face No. 9 Arizona, No. 11 Washington and No. 15 UCF, among others.