No. 25 Texas A&M softball mustered up just one run in its matchup with San Diego State on Saturday, Feb. 17.
As it turns out, that’s all the Aggies would need as pitching took the spotlight in a 1-0 win over the Aztecs at the Campbell/Cartier Classic in San Diego. San Diego State was held to just two hits as A&M improved to 8-0.
The victory was made possible by junior LHP Emiley Kennedy’s complete game effort, keeping the Aztecs off the scoreboard in her third appearance of the weekend.
“San Diego State’s a good team,” coach Trisha Ford said. “I think Emiley Kennedy, again, just lights out, did a tremendous job for us.”
After three scoreless innings, junior RF Allie Enright broke the ice in the top of the fourth with a triple that plated senior DP Trinity Cannon following her leadoff single.
The RBI triple continued Enright’s rapid start to the season with a team-high .591 batting average and 12 runs batted in. Her three home runs and 1.136 slugging percentage pace the squad as well.
While the Aggies weren’t able to add any insurance runs, Kennedy held on to the lead by keeping the Aztecs in check. San Diego State threatened in the sixth with a pair of baserunners before a groundout ended the inning. The Aztecs put the tying run on third with two outs in the seventh inning, but a groundout sealed their fate.
“We primarily used one side of the plate, but when we needed to use the other side, she was able to hit it,” Ford said. “I think she’s just doing a tremendous job of working both sides of the plate and really keeping it on the edges versus leaving balls kind of in the meat of the plate.”
Kennedy improved to 3-0 with her scoreless outing and lowered her ERA to 1.68 over four appearances. Since stepping foot on campus, she has been a reliable option in A&M’s rotation, logging 76 appearances and 259.2 innings over the past two seasons.
“I think she’s just growing up, getting better and demanding more out of herself,” Ford said.
The Maroon and White look for a clean sweep of the tournament with a rematch against No. 14 Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 12 p.m. The Aggies opened the Classic with a 4-1 takedown of the Ducks on Feb. 16.
“Just don’t let up,” Ford said of her message to the team. “Oregon’s going to want to have payback against us … it’s going to be coming out and executing our game plan. We don’t really care who’s on the other side. What we care about is what we do and how we do it.”
