On a cold Tuesday night in College Station, the Texas A&M softball team defeated the Temple Leopards in a doubleheader 9-0 and 11-0, allowing only three hits in 14 innings at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Head coach Jo Evans said she was pleased with how well her pitchers preformed tonight and thought the offense was strong throughout the lineup.
“I thought our pitchers threw well. I was really pleased with our starting performances on the mound so far, this season. They are able to throw strikes and get outs.” Evans said. “They’re doing everything we are asking them to do. Offensively, we are hitting throughout the lineup. We are doing a great job of scoring early in games and getting our opponents on their heels.”
A&M opened up the first game early in the first inning, scoring four runs with the help of two single RBI’s by Tori Vidales and Ashley Walters, and a double RBI by Riley Sartain putting the Aggies ahead, 4-0.
With their pitching staff, led by Lexi Smith, dominating the mound, the Aggies took advantage of throwing errors and walks by the Leopards’ defense to advance their lead to 8-0 with another four-run frame. A&M scored their last run of the first game with a single to center field by sophomore Payton McBride allowing Erica Russell to score, bringing them to 9-0 in the fourth.
Smith was the lead pitcher for the Aggies in the first game and only allowed one hit in the top of the first against Temple sophomore Kylie Mica. As a former Leopard, Smith said she was excited to see her former teammates and head coach, but knew it would still be challenging pitching against them.
“I was really excited and pumped. It was really good to see all my old teammates. I knew it was going to be a challenge because Coach [Kristen] Zaleski is awesome and I can’t that coach enough for what she’s done for me, but I was really excited to see them…it was fun.” Smith said.
A&M continued their control of the mound and the plate in the second game, finishing with a final score of 11-0. Freshman Maddie MacGrandle came in to pitch for the Aggies and only allowed one hit in five innings.
Vidales opened up the second game after reaching on a fielder’s choice, bringing in Keeli Milligan to make the first run for A&M. With two walks and bases loaded, Russell came up to bat and hit a single to center field advancing the score to 5-0. MacGrandle finished off the inning with a single RBI up the middle causing Kristen Cuyos to score, bringing the score to 6-0.
With the aid of two singles by Cuyos and Ashley Walters in the second inning, the Aggies move to 8-0. The Temple defense began to show some fight in the third with two early outs and no runners on base for the Aggies.
However, this changed when sophomore Kelbi Fortenberry came up to bat and hit a RBI single up the middle, advancing Blake-Ann Fritsch home to move the score to 9-0.
A&M struggled offensively and defensibly in the fourth. MacGrandle walked two Temple freshman, Madilyn Weatherly and Daisy Gonzalez. The Aggies were able to stop any runs from occurring, despite having two back-to-back walks and two runners on base, keeping the score 9-0.
The Aggies struggled offensively in the fourth, and were unable to put points on the board for the first time in three innings. They were not able to take advantage of bases loaded late in the fourth and ended the inning with only one hit by freshman Kayla Poynter.
With a change at pitcher for the Leopards, A&M scored their last two runs of the game in the fifth when McBride singled to right field bringing in Dani Elder, and freshman Abby Smith hit one out to left field bringing in Fortenberry, making the final score 11-0.
Evans began to work in some freshman and sophomores throughout the last few innings and said she wanted to give them opportunities on the field in order to begin building their confidence in game situations.
“It’s good to give them opportunities and give them looks at the plate. I think they’re still learning the game.” She continued saying, “You can see the difference in an upperclassman in their confidence and how they carry themselves, and that’s what we’re working towards for our freshman. To get them confident playing the game and carry themselves with a lot of confidence.”
The Aggies will continue their fall season on Thursday when they host Galveston College at the Aggie Softball Complex. The first pitch will begin at 4 p.m.