The Aggies’ struggles at the plate from their opening weekend series were nowhere to be seen on Thursday as Texas A&M softball notches two wins on day one of the Mary Nutter Classic.
Sophomore pitcher Makinzy Herzog led the Aggies to both wins, with four hits, two RBIs and a double on the day. Her only double on Thursday was also her eighth of the season and opened the game for A&M.
Herzog also came in to close the Aggies’ 7-6 win over Arizona for senior Kendall Potts, pitching in two innings with two hits and two strikeouts.
In her five innings on the mound, Potts allowed six runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts.
“Kendall Potts was terrific in the circle,” A&M coach Jo Evans said. “I’m just really proud of Kendall and I thought she showed great composure out there. She kept their [Arizona’s] hitters off balance.”
Junior pitcher Kayla Poynter led the Aggies to a shutout of Bethune-Cookman, allowing just three hits with six strikeouts.
A&M’s 11-0 win over Bethune-Cookman came quickly, with the Aggies taking a 3-0 lead in the first. Following Herzog’s double, freshman infielder Campbell notched a double of her own to score Herzog.
A flyout from sophomore utility player Morgan Smith and a single from freshman outfielder Ackerman added to the Aggies’ first inning score, bringing home sophomore catcher Haley Lee and Campbell.
In the second inning, Herzog notched her second hit of the game, a single to the right side. She then proceeded to steal second, third and home to add to A&M’s lead.
The Aggies added four more runs in the third inning, with a single by junior infielder Ashlynn Walls, a triple from Herzog and a fielding error from Bethune-Cookman allowing A&M to take a 7-0 lead.
A three-run fifth inning invoked the run rule, ending the game with the Aggies’ largest margin of victory this season.
Runs weren’t as easy to come by in A&M’s second game against No. 5 Arizona.
Down 5-0 by the top of the fourth after a three RBI homerun from Arizona in the first inning, the Aggies earned a homer of their own, a two-run play from Smith that also scored Lee.
That homerun was a turning point for the Aggies, Evans said.
“Morgan Smith really gave us a chance after hitting the two-run homerun and let us settle in and make it a ballgame,” Evans said. “Even when we were down 5-0, we had quality at-bats. We challenged their pitching and we were getting the ball in the air, which is good with their drop ball pitcher. I was pleased with that, but the homerun by Smith really gave us a chance to go, ‘You know what, we can do this.’”
The Wildcats answered immediately, adding one run to their lead with a single by freshman catcher Sharlize Palacios.
However, a five-run sixth inning helped A&M upset its ranked opponent.
Arizona’s senior pitcher Alyssa Denham walked Lee and Smith to start the inning, then a double from McBride allowed the two to score. After senior Mariah Lopez replaced Denham on the mound, a single and two walks followed, scoring junior catcher Dani Elder. A single from Herzog capped off the game with scores from Garcia and Martines on a throwing error.
Just two weeks removed from A&M’s opening series in which the Aggies went 3-2 against UT-Arlington and Abilene Christian, Evans said A&M’s upset of the No. 5 team in the country provides the team a boost in confidence.
“It’s a big win because when we came here, we talked about competing,” Evans said. “We competed today and we got the outcome we wanted. It’s really important for our ball club. Everyone knows that we’re really young and for us to show the resiliency to bend and not break was huge.”