No. 5 Texas A&M took a mid-week break from the gauntlet of Southeastern Conference play to host Sam Houston at Davis Diamond on Tuesday, March 25. Coming off their first home SEC series win against Alabama, a grand slam from sophomore first baseman Mya Perez propelled the Aggies to a dominant 10-0 win over the Bearkats, advancing to a 27-5 record on the season.
Senior right-handed pitcher Emily Leavitt got the start in the circle for the Aggies, her third of this season. Entering the matchup, Leavitt had a 1.50 ERA in 14 innings pitched, with a 1-0 record on the season. Leavitt threw five strikeouts and only allowed one hit, recording a shutout for the evening. Leavitt advances to 2-0 on the season, one of two Aggies with a perfect record.
“She’s been there and done that,” coach Trisha Ford said. “So I think from a mental approach, nothing really kind of phases her. She knows that she’s just got to go out and throw her game.”
The Aggie offense got the ball rolling with five consecutive hits from junior third baseman Kennedy Powell, junior right fielder Amari Harper, Perez, graduate designated player Mac Barbara and senior shortstop Koko Wooley, tacking on three runs early.
The sequence was finally stopped by sophomore RHP Kendall Daniel and the Bearkat defense after a deep pop up from senior center fielder Allie Enright, followed by freshman catcher DeeDee Baldwin hitting into a double play to end the inning.
The Bearkats entered this non-conference matchup on a five-game winning streak, including a sweep of Kennesaw State, but the stretch ended with a loss to the No. 5 team in the nation. The Bearkats couldn’t get anything flowing offensively, going three up, three down in the second inning and leaving them scoreless against a powerful A&M offense.
The Aggies continued to shine offensively in the second inning, loading the bases quickly for Perez, who leads the team in home runs and RBIs, 8 and 42, respectively. Sure enough, Perez took advantage and went over the fence to left field for a grand slam, the first of her A&M career.
“I love it,” Ford said. “Mya’s got a lot of juice… last year we saw it at the end of the year, and this year, she’s actually had really good at-bats.”
“It was a ball,” Perez said. “I knew [assistant coach Jeff] Harger was going to look at me like I was crazy. But I kind of knew it was going to go over just because I had a feeling.”
The grand slam wasn’t enough for the Fightin’ Farmers, as they added on three more runs from Wooley, Barbara and Enright. The second inning was one to remember, with seven runs on seven hits, putting the Aggies up 10-0 with at least three more innings to go.
Leavitt and the Aggie defense continued to hold the Bearkats scoreless, only allowing one hit through four innings. Nothing seemed to work for Sam Houston, as they shuffled through three different pitchers, allowing ten runs and zero strikeouts on the day.
With a 10-run cushion, Ford was able to go deep in her bench, giving some freshman and sophomores playing time and experience.
“Tonight we got some kids in, some at-bats in, some playing time in,” Ford said.
The Aggies ended the day with 10 runs off of 14 hits, run-ruling Sam Houston for their eighth run-rule victory this season. The Aggies are back in action on Wednesday, March 26 at Davis Diamond against North Texas, with first pitch at 6:00 p.m.
