The Judi Garman Classic offered trials and tribulations for No. 18 Texas A&M softball, but it withstood the tests that the road tournament had to offer to progress to 19-2 overall.
Back again on the West coast, the Aggies took down DePaul on Saturday, March 2 for their final game of the Classic at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, California.
The Blue Demons took an early lead, and their only one, in the first inning after a lengthy rain delay pushed the game back 50 minutes after only one pitch.
Fifth-year 1B Brooke Johnson started off the hitting spree with a double to right field, followed by junior 2B Baylee Cosgrove with a sacrifice bunt. When the Aggies mishandled the ball on the next pitch, Johnson made them pay by darting home, kicking the game off with a 1-0 lead.
After giving up a run and two hits during the first inning, junior LHP Emiley Kennedy kept her poise and struck out back-to-back Blue Demons in the second to reestablish her recently displayed dominance.
The Fightin’ Farmers responded in their next at-bat with a one-two punch from senior DP Julia Cottrill leading with a single to shortstop, then junior RF Allie Enright sent Cottrill home with a single to center field with help from an error by sophomore CF Gracie Jacobs on the throw.
While the bats were on fire again in the bottom of the third for A&M, four base hits were produced but only one run was cashed in. Sophomore 3B Kennedy Powell singled to right field to start the streak off, then was pushed along by sophomore 2B Amari Harper’s double to center field. Powell reached home on a fielder’s choice afterwards, growing the lead to 3-1.
Another quiet inning from the Blue Demons’ lineup would spark mayhem for the Maroon and White bats in the bottom of the fourth. Junior SS Rylen Wiggins started the hitting frenzy with a single to center, followed by Enright, who reached base on a fielding error by sophomore SS Bibianna Rodriguez.
Back-to-back groundouts would allow Wiggins to score, then graduate CF Jazmine Hill sent herself and two others home with her sixth home run of the season. Cottrill got in on the action herself with an RBI triple to right-center field, sending in sophomore LF Keely Williams and freshman PR Hailey Golden to score the seventh and eighth runs for the Aggies.
Wiggins returned to the plate to seemingly wrap up the game with an RBI double to left-center field, skewing the score further and inducing the run-rule going into the fifth inning.
Despite being down, the Blue Demons fought on. Rodriguez led the last charge with a single to right field, followed by Cosgrove smacking a double to right field for the RBI, keeping the game alive for another half inning.
After returning to the plate, the Aggies decided to put this one away, but with the help of freshman PR Scout Lovell this time. Hill knocked the newcomer in with an RBI single along the left side after Lovell stole second, ending the game early in the fifth.
Next, A&M softball will head back home to Davis Diamond for a mid-week matchup against North Texas on Wednesday, March 6.
