No. 7 Texas A&M returned to the Aggie Softball complex Wednesday to host Sam Houston State after a 3-2 outing in Cathedral City, California at the Mary Nutter Classic.
A&M, (14-2) suffered losses to No. Washington and Nebraska while on the west coast, but regained momentum as they had back to back victories over the Bearkats in a midweek double header, 9-1 in game one and 3-0 in game two.
The A&M offense slowed down in the second game of the day after a 10-hit game in the first game of the double header.
A&M put the first two runs of the game on the board early in the game with a two out single by sophomore Sarah Hudek, giving A&M the 2-0 lead. Three innings later, senior short stop Kristen Cuyos added to the A&M lead with an RBI double allowing for Hudek to score.
Junior Samantha Show was in the circle for the Aggies, pitching a complete game shutout. Show allowed three hits and struck out six as she moved to 4-1 on the season. Show said she is now starting to feel a lot more relaxed in the circle due to some work her and A&M pitching coach Kara Dill have done.
“Coach Dill and I really to a step back and worked on my mechanics,” Show said. “Over the course of coming back from winter break, I kind of lost somethings that were really on in the fall. In the bullpens with Coach Dill, I was working on mechanics, my back leg drop and drive and spinning the ball.”
In game one of the day, No. 7 A&M run-ruled the Bearkats in a five-inning defeat.
A&M was the first team to get on the board bottom of the first inning after junior third baseman Riley Sartain worked five pitch at bat ending in a 2 RBI double allowing senior Tori Vidales and junior Kaitlyn Alderink to score.
Sophomore Sarah Hudek immediately followed with an RBI triple to extend A&M’s lead 3-0. Hudek, who is still adjusting to softball after spending the majority of her life playing baseball, said in last year she has begun to feel a lot more relaxed at the plate.
“This time last year, I was definitely wasn’t as comfortable but [now] I am so much more comfortable in the box and just in the game in general,” Hudek said. “[I’m] just taking in everything softball has to offer.”
In the 16 games the Aggies have played, Hudek has brought in 11 runs and has scored eight. Along with those numbers, Hudek leads the team’s batting average at .488, the next closest player on the roster to come near Hudek’s average is Vidales who is batting .392.
Hudek said the increase in production is partly due to the team chemistry and partly due to
“Trusting the game plan that we set before going into each game,” Hudek said. “Not trying to go outside myself, just attacking good pitches and I feel really comfortable at the plate right now. It helps when your teammate around you are doing well.”
In the third inning, Vidales doubled to right center with the bases loaded with one. Senior Erica Russell and Cuyos scored and junior Keeli Milligan moved to third. A&M was unable to add any more runs in the inning after back to back ground outs followed.
Sam Houston State cut the lead 5-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning, making the game 5-1. However, A&M responded with three runs in the bottom half the Aggies within a point of run-ruling the Bearkats.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, sophomore Blake-Ann Fritsch scored the winning run after Vidales grounded out to short stop.
Senior Trinity Harrington earned the complete game victory, striking out two and allowing three hits in five innings of work.
Harrington, who suffered her first loss of the season to unranked Nebraska, said being able to return home and refocus with a midweek game was crucial in her preparation for this weekend where the Aggies will host Utah, Texas State and Louisiana Tech for the A&M Invite.
“I try to pull the good things that came out of Nebraska, like the strike outs that I had and the ground balls for my teammates,” Harrington said. “You pick out the little things about that, then you take that over to midweek games like this.”
Texas A&M head coach Jo Evans said she was happy to see both her starting picthers who suffered losses last weekend bounce back against a very aggressive hitting team like SHSU.
“I thought they both looked really good. At least the first inning, maybe in the second, Trin never even threw a ball. Just strikes early and getting outs, and that’s what we want. We want her to throw ground balls, and let us make plays,” Evans said. “Sam was terrific out here tonight. She’s doing a nice job of throwing several different pitches for strikes, which is going to make her so solid and tough. I thought her composure was really good. She backed up that Washington game, came out here and threw really well.”
No. 7 A&M returns to the playing field Friday at 3 p.m. against Louisiana Tech followed by a 5:15 p.m. night cap against Utah at the Aggie Softball Complex.