The Texas A&M softball team secured an undefeated fall season with their fourth doubleheader win against the McLennan College Highlassies, 11-0 and 13-2, at the Aggie Softball Complex on Tuesday afternoon.
A&M head coach Jo Evans said overall she thought the team looked good on the field and was impressed with the confidence the younger team members played with on the diamond.
“I thought we played really good defense, I thought we looked sharp out there playing error-free ball, and it was nice to see our team is maturing and growing.” Evans said. “I thought our young players did a nice job at the plate tonight, put up a bunch of hits. I felt like our youngsters played with more confidence than they have so far and I love seeing that.”
A&M busted the game open in the fourth inning scoring five of their 11 runs with Kayla Poynter starting it off for the Aggies with a RBI single to center field, bringing in Payton McBride and moving the score up 5-0.
Tori Vidales also contributed to the five runs with her own RBI double to right center field, bringing home teammates Kaitlyn Alderink and Gabby Moreno. Going into the fifth, the Aggies held the lead at 9-0.
Starting sophomore pitcher McBride had five hits, zero runs, and zero errors against the Highlassies, stopping any runs from occurring in the first game.
Kelbi Fortenberry scored the first run for the Aggies early in the first with a fly to right field by Alderink. Late in the second, Moreno singled to left center field and brought in two Aggies to move the score to 3-0 after just two innings.
A&M continued to score in the third, with a fly ball to center field by Riley Sartain bringing in Vidales from third and advancing the score to 4-0.
With no score in the fifth, by either team, the Aggies went into the sixth scoring their last two runs of the game with a double by Abby Smith and a groundout to second by Maddie MacGrandle. McBride pitched two 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh to end the game.
In the second contest, A&M allowed two runs in the fourth and sixth, but quickly bounced back to close the game and finish with a 13-2 win.
The Aggies started their scoring run in the second inning with Sarah Hudek scoring on a throwing error by the Highlassies’ freshman short stop, Genisa Carter. The scoring continued with an RBI by Kristen Cuyos bringing Sartain home and ending the second at 2-0.
A&M continued to increase its lead in the third with a single up the middle by Alderink and a fly out to right field by Samantha Show, both hits brought in Keeli Milligan and Alderink, now 4-0.
Phillips struggled in the fourth causing bases loaded scenario early in the inning after allowing three hits from McLennan batters, Zayra Olguin, Daniella Hill, and Breanna Heredia. The Aggies were unable to stop the Highlassies from taking advantage and they scored their first run of the two games when freshman Emily Klanika reached a fielder’s choice and helped bring Olguin home, moving the score to 4-1.
Alderink opened the game wide open and started a four-score run in the fifth when she singled up the middle to bring Milligan home. Abby Smith and Hudek also brought in Alderink, Ashley Walters, and Show to end the fifth and move their lead to 8-1.
Freshman Aggie pitcher, Hannah Mayo came in the fifth to relieve Phillips and showed some struggle in the sixth. With two on base, McLennan’s Genisa Carter hit to left center field and brought Ariana Hernandez home to score, cutting the Highlassies deficit to 8-2.
A&M answered with five runs at the bottom of the six. Russell started them off with a double to left field, bringing in Cuyos. Two Aggies scored after this and with bases loaded Alderink was hit by Victoria Vasquez’s pitch, bringing home Poynter. The Aggies would secure their biggest lead of the game here and end with a final score of 13-2.
Evans said felt that throughout this fall season, she saw their defense, pitching and batting showing some major improvements from both returning and new players.
“I liked our defense. I think we’re showing that we’re a team that can make plays, routine plays and some tough ones. I think we showed some bright spots in our pitching with our returners. I thought they pitched well. I think our youngsters can get better command of the strike zone. It’s great that they got opportunities out there. I thought offensively we hit the ball well. We hit better this fall than we did last fall. We’re showing some maturity and growth in our ball club,” Evans said.”
The Aggies will finish their fall season with the last game of the Maroon and White series on Thursday at the Aggie Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.