When opportunities arise, Texas A&M softball knows how to take them. With four errors by Incarnate Word with one resulting in a run, the Aggies used the momentum to ride to a 10-2 win.
Coach Jo Evans said that midweek games pose a chance for things to go wrong, but the maroon and white avoided “nerve-wracking situations” by halting the Cardinals’ drive.
“We did a great job turning stolen bases into runs,” Evans said. “It felt like every stolen base turned into a run, so I was really pleased to see that.”
The Tuesday, April 5 game started out quiet with both the Aggies and the Cardinals ending the first inning without a run, but it turned around in the second inning when a throwing error by A&M allowed Incarnate Word to mark a run on the board. The maroon and white stole the momentum in the bottom half of the same inning when an RBI from sophomore first baseman Mariana Torres sent senior utility player Makinzy Herzog home to even the score at 1-1. Torres advanced to third on an error by the Cardinals and was sent home by a single from freshman shortstop Koko Wooley, giving A&M the lead.
The third inning was quiet with both teams’ defenses holding strong, but Cardinal sophomore left fielder Maddie Boldt broke the wall in the fourth inning to tie the game. The Aggies were revived by two throwing errors from Cardinal freshman catcher Avalon Sanchez that led to runs from Wooley and freshman center and left fielder Cayden Baker. A&M sophomore third baseman Trinity Cannon singled to send senior catcher Haley Lee home before the end of the inning. The fifth inning swept by with no runs for either team, and A&M held the Cardinals off in the first half of the sixth. The home stretch of the sixth inning featured a rally by the Aggies. Lee opened with a home run to bring her and Wooley home and A&M up 7-2. Sophomore second baseman Rylen Wiggins was pushed home by a single from junior center fielder Star Ferguson.
The game closed with Herzog hitting a double to bring Cannon and Ferguson home and secure the 10-2 victory.
Lee said the team is taking it game by game, working for their hard work to pay off.
“We’ve worked hard and prepared for this, so it’s about time it starts paying off,” Lee said. “We need to build off of this and work our way up to create momentum for the next series. I think we did a good job doing that against Abilene Christian last week and tonight against Incarnate Word.”
The A&M offense proved dominant, with seven out of 12 Aggies earning at least one hit. In the circle, both graduate pitcher Kayla Poynter and sophomore pitcher Grace Uribe pitched for three innings with a combined five hits and one earned run. The win brought Uribe to a 5-2 record on the season. Overall, A&M moved to 23-12 for the season and left the Cardinals at 11-24.
The upcoming game against the LSU Tigers poses to be a hard fight to the finish, Evans said.
“I think it’s going to be a dog fight,” Evans said. “We have to keep our foot on the gas and take advantage of the opportunities we’re given. We’ve been pretty good at taking those openings that we’re given, but we’ll need to stay in it until the very end. I think it’s going to be back and forth and very high energy. Both teams are going to come out fired up and ready to go.”
The Aggies continue their homestead with a three-game lineup against No. 21 LSU April 8-10. The first game begins Friday, with the first pitch set for 6 p.m.