Texas A&M softball improved to 17-3 on the season by sweeping Day 2 of the Davis Diamond Classic. A&M won the first game against Louisiana Tech 7-2 and the second game 6-0 over Montana. The wins also increased their current win streak to seven games.
A&M coach Jo Evans talked about how she was proud of the way her pitching staff battled in the first game of the doubleheader.
“The great thing with our pitchers is they’re not having to be perfect,” Evans said. “We’re able to score runs. Kelsey [Broadus] I didn’t think was her sharpest tonight, but still managed to get herself out of some jams and [Makinzy] Herzog came in and did a really nice job to shut that down. It’s so nice to have a deep staff like that, that can come in relief and be comfortable in those situations. I like the way we’re swinging the bat.”
The Aggies got off to a fast start in the first inning against Louisiana Tech after Bre Warren hit an RBI single to score Makinzy Herzog.
Louisiana Tech took the lead in the second inning after Tanjala Smith hit a two-run home run off A&M starting pitcher Kelsey Broadus. Louisiana Tech led the game 2-1 heading into the bottom half of the second.
After being held scoreless in the second, the Aggies evened the score in the bottom of the third after Warren hit an RBI double to score Rylen Wiggins. This marked Warren’s second RBI of the game.
A&M took the lead in the fifth after Mariana Torres scored on an RBI double from Herzog. The Aggies led 3-2 going into the sixth inning.
After holding Louisiana Tech scoreless in the top half of the sixth, A&M broke the game open by scoring four runs to increase their lead to 7-2. Three of the runs were scored off of RBI singles from Herzog, Torres and Morgan Smith. The fourth run was scored off of an RBI groundout from Kelbi Fortenberry.
A&M would go on to win the game 7-2.
Herzog was very glad to be able to break out of the slump she had been in of late.
“I have just been working hard,” Herzog said. “I was in a little bit of a struggle there for a little bit, but we finally figured out what I was doing and I am glad we figured it out and it played into today’s game and the last couple of games.”
In regards to the second game, Evans was impressed with the way her team has continued to improve.
“Game 2, I thought Kayla Poynter looked really good,” Evans said. “I think that’s definitely the best she’s thrown all year and had complete command of her pitches. I thought Mariana Torres played a really nice second base, in terms of being where she supposed to be. Those freshmen just fit right in. Trinity Cannon had a phenomenal day, a great day at the plate. Defensively very, very good. She’s a quick kid, she’s got a great arm, her feet are good, and I thought she put on a really nice defensive display. Happy for Kelly Martinez to get out there and go three-for-three and nearly hit the cycle, and just did some really good things tonight. All in all, just feels like we’re getting better every game, I’ll say that.”
Once again, the Aggies got off to another fast start in the first inning against Montana after Warren hit an RBI double to score Herzog. In the second inning, A&M increased their lead to 3-0 off of an RBI triple from Kelly Martinez and an RBI double from Wiggins.
The Aggies scored another run in the third on a sacrifice fly from Cannon. A&M led 4-0 over Montana at this point.
In the sixth inning, Martinez put the game out of reach with a two-run home run. This put the Aggies up 6-0 and would end up being the final score. Starting pitcher Kayla Pointer threw a complete game and struck out two Montana batters.
Offensively, the Aggies tallied seven doubles against Montana. The Aggies hadn’t recorded that many doubles since 2006 against Oklahoma State, which Herzog said is just A&M’s hard work paying off.
“It’s been crazy, we are just really working gap to gap,” Herzog said. “We are just big about doing damage on the field and that is what we did today.”
Up next for the Aggies is their final game in the Davis Diamond Classic against Montana. The game at Davis Diamond is set for a Sunday morning start at 10 a.m.