Looking for one last tune-up before the start of conference play, Texas A&M softball swept the final non-conference weekend of the season. The Aggies wrapped up the Texas A&M invite with a 7-1 victory over Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Sunday at Davis Diamond.
In the bottom half of the first inning, the Aggies were the first to score after junior Kelbi Fortenberry, who singled and stole back-to-back bases to get into scoring position, was driven in by freshman Haley Lee. Senior Riley Sartain, who reached base after being hit by a pitch, was also driven in to give A&M the 2-0 lead.
Two innings later, A&M extended its lead on a double to centerfield off of the bat of junior pitcher Payton McBride. Madi Jatzlau and Taudrea Sinnine, who were pinch running for Baylee Kingler and Lee, respectively, scored on the hit.
Sartain then drove two more runs in the bottom of the third inning and McBride added another to secure the 7-0 lead heading into the top of the fifth inning.
McBride, who led the Aggies at the plate with four RBIs going 2-for-3 with a walk, said she changed a few things while up to bat and was happy with the results.
“I had a different approach today,” McBride said. “I worked on staying up the middle on all my hits. I tried to stay through them instead of rolling over.”
Corpus Christi responded in the top of the fifth inning. After the Islanders loaded the bases after a single and back-to-back walks, Ashleigh Sgambelluri drove in the single run for Corpus Christi after reaching on a fielder’s choice.
A&M played a total of 11 innings on Friday, run-ruling Corpus Christi and Lamar 8-0 and 9-1, respectively.
In game one, the Aggies exploded for six runs in the bottom of the second inning and added one more run in the bottom of the fourth to secure the run-rule victory. The second game featured a three-run first inning, two-run second inning and a four-run sixth inning.
Saturday featured another offensively centered game after the Aggies outscored Lamar 10-7 and Longwood, 4-1.
A&M head coach Jo Evans said seeing her team bounce back from a 9-3 loss to Houston last Wednesday and 1-2 outing at the Mary Nutter Classic last weekend was a welcome and exciting sight, especially given that A&M welcomes No. 9 LSU to Aggieland this upcoming weekend.
“We got a lot of work with each of the pitchers,” Evans said. “Hannah Mayo got a couple of starts, which was really important going into this next week with SEC starting. I feel comfortable with what we’ve got out there right now. We learned quite a bit about our team this weekend. We stayed more consistent with the lineups we used depending on which pitcher was out there.”
The Aggies will return to Davis Diamond to host UT-Arlington on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.