Texas A&M softball defeated No. 12 LSU 2-1 to open its first conference series on Friday at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge.
The Aggies came into Friday’s matchup against LSU on a nine-game win streak and extended their overall record to 20-3 with the victory over the Tigers.
A&M coach Jo Evans said she’s proud of the team for coming out on top and said it was a great example of a complete team win.
“We came to win,” Evans said. “I know we’re a young ball club and pretty much untested in the last couple of years, but it’s good to see out kids come out and expect to win.”
Highlights of Friday’s game included a home run by junior right fielder Morgan Smith, her first of the season, which gave A&M a 1-0 lead over the Tigers to start off the second inning.
“I think I’m usually pretty focused but I just saw the ball really well today and I think that showed in my at-bats,” Smith said. “For the one I went yard on, it was low and I know that with a 3-2 count she really likes to throw that to lefties so that was exactly what I was looking for … I was just trying to attack the pitches I was looking for.”
A solid pitching performance by junior Makinzy Herzog held LSU scoreless until the sixth, but the Tigers’ lone run was combated by a pair of hits from A&M’s Smith and senior Ashlynn Walls that secured the Aggies’ 2-1 lead.
Herzog recorded six strikeouts while on the mound and only allowed two hits on the night. The seasoned veteran was coming off of her first career no-hitter in the team’s most recent game, a 5-1 win over McNeese on Thursday, March 18.
“I thought Herzog just pitched a gem. She was in control all night,” Evans said. “That last inning was really just nails. It kind of bent, but it didn’t break. I’m proud of the way she managed that. It’s a tough situation on the road trying to keep that lead in the bottom of the seventh. I’m really proud of how she handled herself out there.”
Following the game, Herzog reviewed her pitching approach and said she was pleased with how her game plan worked in the team’s favor.
“There were a few batters here and there that I changed up my routine on what I did, but for the most part I just stuck to the plan from the beginning of the game and I was going to stick with it until it stopped working, but it pretty much worked throughout the whole lineup so we kept it going,” Herzog said.
Both Smith and Herzog said they feel as though Saturday’s win serves as a confidence boost for the team as they ease into conference play.
Smith mentioned the win being important as LSU is A&M’s closest SEC rival and said opening the first conference series with a win should create momentum among the team, especially the freshmen and newcomers.
“We have a lot of freshmen on the field, lots of young players on the field, so it’s huge for us to know we can stay in there and treat it like another game,” Smith said. “We can go into SEC with a lot of momentum and a lot of good feelings about this game.”
The Aggies will continue the series against LSU Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. at Tiger Park.