Texas A&M softball recorded two wins on Friday to extend its overall record to 9-2 on Day 1 of the Reveille Classic tournament at Davis Diamond. The Aggies recorded a dominating win over Lamar, 8-0, then beat Campbell 3-0 in Game 2.
A&M coach Jo Evans praised the team for its defensive showing and said it feels good to get the tournament started with a few wins.
“Anytime you get shutouts, I don’t care who you’re playing, one swing somebody can hit one out and for our pitchers and defense to play the way we did, I’m happy about that,” Evans said. “I just feel so much more grounded when your pitching and defense are working the way ours was tonight.”
A&M freshman Grace Uribe allowed four hits and recorded three strikeouts while on the mound against Lamar. In addition to her great performance in the circle, Uribe recorded her first collegiate hit in the bottom of the third with a double. Junior Makinzy Herzog brought her in with an RBI double to take a 2-0 lead over the Cardinals.
The Aggies kept their bats alive and managed to score five in the bottom of the fourth with RBI’s from Uribe and Herzog once again. Senior Dani Elder secured the victory with a walk-off home run and led to A&M’s 8-0 victory.
Herzog took the mound in Game 2 against Campbell and recorded a great showing with a career-high 10 strikeouts.
“I thought [Herzog] was really good tonight,” Evans said. “I thought that was one of her better games and not because she had 10 strikeouts which is her career high, but because I thought she was around the strike zone more and had command of her off-speed. I thought her presence was really good — I liked the way she managed herself tonight.”
In addition to 10 strikeouts, Herzog only allowed five hits on the night and held Campbell scoreless. Herzog, sophomore Shaylee Ackermann and sophomore Jourdyn Campbell recorded hits and contributed to A&M’s 3-0 win over the Fighting Camels.
“We only got three hits on the night in that second game but we felt in control the whole time,” Evans said. “It is nice, I always just feel like when you’re playing you’re just so much more grounded — you’re relaxed, you’re comfortable, you’re not pressing at the plate and I really liked the way this felt today in terms of taking care of the ball and what we did.”
Evans said Friday’s wins are largely in part to the pitching staff’s performance. Although the team wasn’t especially productive at the plate, Evans said the maroon and white were able to do enough on defense to stay ahead of their opponents.
“We only got three hits on the night in that second game but we felt in control the whole time. It is nice, I always just feel like when you’re playing you’re just so much more grounded — you’re relaxed, you’re comfortable, you’re not pressing at the plate and I really liked the way this felt today in terms of taking care of the ball and what we did.”
A&M will be back in action at Davis Diamond on Saturday, March 6 to take on Campbell at 12:30 p.m. followed by a matchup against No. 19 Tennessee at 3 p.m. Tennessee will be the Aggies’ first SEC opponent of the season.