On Friday, April 1, Texas A&M softball opened its weekend series with Abilene Christian. Following a scoreless first inning, the Aggies rattled off 18 unanswered runs through the next three innings to clinch a run-rule shutout victory.
A&M entered the bottom of the fourth inning with a standard 4-0 lead when the floodgates opened. Sophomore infielder Rylen Wiggins and senior catcher Haley Lee started the show, cruising home off a single. A single from senior pitcher Makinzy Herzog brought home sophomore infielder Trinity Cannon, and freshman catcher Katie Dack returned the favor with a moon shot that brought home Cannon and herself.
When it was all said and done, the chaotic inning produced a season-high 14 runs.
Dack and senior outfielder Morgan Smith led the Aggies in hits, tying with three each. Dack also made her mark on home plate, scoring a team-leading three runs.
Freshman pitcher Emiley Kennedy started at the mound, striking out four batters and allowing just one hit in 4 innings. Graduate student pitcher Kayla Poynter came in for the finishing touches, allowing a hit but preserving the shutout in the final inning.
While an 18-run victory is out of the ordinary, it was not the craziest statistic from Friday. Of the 12 Aggies that stepped to the plate, each scored at least one run in the hit-fest.
In her 26 seasons at A&M, coach Jo Evans said she has never seen that level of dominance.
“I don’t think that’s ever happened in my career,” Evans said. “It’s just nice because you have those people coming off the bench that are working just as hard as everybody else, and when they get an opportunity, you’re pulling so hard for them to have success, so I’m pleased to see them be able to jump in.”
The Aggies will continue their weekend series with Abilene Christian at Davis Diamond in College Station on Saturday, April 2. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.