On the second day of the A&M Invite, the No.7 Aggies kicked on action versus Texas State coming out on top, 6-3. In their second game of the day, the Aggies beat Utah, 1-0.
The Aggies second game kicked off in the same way the first did with a scoreless first and second second inning. In the third junior Keeli Milligan got a hit but nothing came from it and the game remained scoreless heading into the fourth inning.
The top of the fourth inning began with junior Kaitlyn Alderink hitting a leadoff double.Senior catch Ashley Walters would bring her in for the first run of game. Aggies would take a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning. Senior pitcher Trinity Harrington carried a perfect game into the fifth inning.
The last three innings maintained the defensive theme of the game. Both teams would remain scoreless for all three innings.
Harrington was perfect up until the seventh inning. She would only give up one hit in the game. A&M took the victory 1-0 completing doubleheader sweep.
Texas A&M head coach Jo Evans said she liked the performance the team put out their, as they were able to handle adversity throughout the day.
“I just felt we kept our composure. I just feel like we put together a really good day today. MacGrandle threw a lot of balls so I did not take any chances. Sam came in there and did her job even with the home run, it wasn’t the end of the world. We still kept our feet on the ground,” Evans said.
Against Texas State, the game was scoreless until the bottom of the second inning when sophomore pitcher Peyton McBride grounded out to first to bring in senior Ashley Walters from third. Aggies led 1-0 going into the third inning.
Then in the bottom of the third, Walters hit a 3-run home run to bring in senior Tori Vidales and junior Milligan. Junior Riley Sartain would not be outdone and hit a homer the very next at bat to give A&M back to home runs and a 5-1 lead going into the fourth inning.
Evans said Walters is one of the most consistent players on the team and one of the big reasons for the team’s early on success.
“She wants to be out there. She just gets out there a looks for something to drive. I’ll tell you we’ve been able to count her as much as anyone on the team,” Evans said.
Evans said Sartain was a key part of the winning effort and important asset to the Aggie team as their season continues.
“When she’s comfortable, she’s deadly. I was happy to see her looking a lot more comfortable today and adjusting to the pitches. I mean those pitchers are tricky and we did a good job at finding out spots,” Evans said.
The game was scoreless for the entire fourth inning with the next score coming in the bottom of the fifth. Milligan would get on base, steal third from second, and get run in by Vidales. The Aggies took a 6-1 lead going into the sixth inning. Vidales last RBI gave her the record for second most in Aggie history. She only needs six more to reach the record for all time most in A&M history.
The Bobcats came out swinging in the sixth inning with a two-run home run coming from Haleigh Davis. The A&M defense would come over a few errors and take a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth. At the top of the seventh A&M held the Bobcats, securing the victory 6-3.
Evans said the games mental errors were her number one priority, feeling it was important for her teammates to have each others back.
“Oh man, that drove me nuts. It was the first thing we talked about when we got into the dugout. What really bothered me, and I made sure to let my infielders know, when they did not turn that double we certainly had, that would have gotten us out of the inning. Instead Sam Show had to throw thirteen more pitches. That’s not okay. You got to take care of your pitcher and get her on and off the field because she gets us on and off the field,” Evans said.
The Aggies quickly return to action against Louisiana Tech at 12:15 p.m. in their last game of the A&M Invite on Sunday at the Aggie Softball complex.