February 14, 2004
The No. 18 Texas A&M softball team (5-2, 0-0) won one and lost one Saturday in the second day of play at the Fiesta Bowl Classic. In their first game the Aggies lost to No. 5 Washington 4-2 then turned around and beat New Mexico 6-0.
"I was pleased with the way we played today," Texas A&M Head Coach Jo Evans said. "We went in to the sixth inning with a 2-0 lead on Washington but didn't close it out. We have to learn how to finish off those teams when we have a lead late in the game. I was glad to see us turn around and come out upbeat against New Mexico. We hit the ball well and Jill (Weynand) did a great job keeping their hitters off balance."
Against Washington the Aggies jumped on top in the first inning when freshman Sharonda McDonald scored from second on a single to left field by Jana James. McDonald reached on a fielding error by the pitcher then advanced to second on her sixth stolen base of the season. James moved to third on another fielding error by Washington and later scored A&M's second run when pitcher Lindsay Wilhelmson hit into a fielders choice.
Washington first baseman Sarah Hyatt cut the Aggie lead in half in the top of the fifth with a leadoff home run to left field. The Huskies threatened to put another run across as they produced two more base runners but the Aggie defense held their lead through the Husky rally.
Washington finally broke through in the sixth and took a 4-2 lead off of two hits, two walks and two Aggie miscues.
A&M could not mount a rally in their two remaining at-bats and dropped the game to the Huskies.
Wilhelmson (1-1) took the loss for A&M after allowing four runs, one earned, on six hits and two walks. She struck out three batters and forced the huskies in to eight ground outs. Freshman Christina Smith (1-1) entered in relief for Wilhelmson with two outs in the fifth and she finished the game out by allowing only one hit while striking out one.
After a disappointing loss to Washington, A&M bounced back in the night-cap against New Mexico and earned a 6-0 victory. A&M quickly took control of the game thanks to a four-run third inning where Junior Adrian Gregory got the scoring started with a line drive home run to center field. Gregory took the delivery and deposited it well over the fence scoring Sharonda McDonald who reached on a bunt single. A&M quickly added to their lead when left fielder Jana James roped a double to right center and then scored on a Kristin Gunter double to the same spot. Gunter gave the Aggies their fourth run of the inning when she crossed the plate on a WIlhelmson single that skipped past the diving New Mexico shortstop.
The Aggies added two runs to their lead in the fourth inning when James drove in freshmen Joy Davis and McDonald with a single up the middle. The speedy freshmen duo each reached on base hits and moved to third and second, respectively, on stolen bases. Davis nabbed her fifth and sixth stolen bases while McDonald stole her seventh of the season.
Six runs were more than enough for redshirt freshman Jill Weynand (3-0) as she was dominant from the circle in earning her third win of the season. The right-hander from Frisco, Texas mowed down a career high 12 Lobo batters in a complete game effort where she allowed three hits and did not walk a batter.
A&M returns home to take on the University of Houston in a doubleheader at the Aggie Softball complex on Wednesday beginning at 3 p.m. Live audio and stats of the first game will be available on AggieAthetics.com. Live stats only will be available for the second game.