March 13, 2004
Redshirt freshman Jill Weynand went the distance in the Aggies' third game of the day on Saturday as A&M knocked off the Fighting Irish 2-1 in the first round of bracket play. The complete game effort was Weynand's eighth of the season as she struck out 10 and did not give up a walk. Weynand improved to 6-3 on the season and moved the Aggies to 16-11.
Coach Evans was excited to get the win and see her team step up in a big game.
"I am excited to play Nebraska tomorrow. It was a great win for us tonight against Notre Dame. Our kids played great. Jill Weynand really stepped up and did a wonderful job."
Freshman Sharonda McDonald got the Aggies started in the first with a bunt single followed by a heads up play where she advanced all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt by right fielder Rocky Spencer. She then scored her fifth run of the weekend on a wild pitch giving the Aggies a 1-0 lead. Junior Jana James quickly doubled the lead when she hit her second home run of the season.
Notre Dame mounted a seventh inning rally as they pushed one run across but Weynand closed the door with a two-out strikeout finishing off the Irish.
The Aggies take the field again on Sunday at 9 a.m. (CST) when they take on No. 19 Nebraska in the semifinal game at the FSU Softball Complex.
"I am excited about the game tomorrow," Evans said. "Nebraska and A&M, we both lost key seniors last season, we both lost all-american players. Now we both have young players so it is going to be nice to see how we match up. I know that both teams are going to be fired up and ready to play. Going in to the Big 12 we want to make a statement. What a wonderful opportunity for us to have a chance to win this tournament. We are one game away from getting that chance. That is our goal. We came here to win this tournament and I think that today we made big strides toward doing just that."
Live stats for all remaining games will be available on AggieAthletics.com.