March 13, 2004
Junior right fielder Jana James went 2-for-2 with three RBI and three stolen bases as the Aggies (15-11) defeated Robert Morris (1-14) 6-1 at the Florida State Invitational. The Aggies close out pool play with a 3-1 record and move in to the Gold Bracket where they will face Notre Dame at 6 p.m. (CST) Friday at Messer Park.
Texas A&M Head Coach Jo Evans was pleased with her team's performance against Robert Morris and looks to build on that in bracket play.
"Last game we did a good job. Offensively it was a good step forward for us. We also got a good outing from (Lindsay) Wilhelmson. This should be a great Gold Bracket. It will be a lot of fun to see how we work through this championship opportunity."
Senior Lindsay Wilhelmson went the distance as she improved to 3-3 on the season. The right hander from North Richland, Hills threw seven innings and allowed only one run on four hits while striking out five.
A&M put four runs across in the third on three hits, including two triples. James drove in the first two runs of the game with a triple to left center scoring Rocky Spencer and Adrian Gregory. Spencer reached on a triple and Gregory drew a walk before stealing second to set the table for James. Nicole Robinson added two more runs with a single up the middle that scored James from third and Laura Durham. Durham scored from second after reaching on a fielder's choice and stealing second.
Spencer made it a 5-0 Aggie lead in the fourth with her second triple of the game scoring Sharonda McDonald from third. McDonald reached on a walk and moved to third on two stolen bases, her third and fourth, of the game.
Robert Morris scored one in the sixth on one hit and a fielder's choice cutting the lead to 5-1.
A&M got the run back, giving them a 6-1 lead, in the bottom of the sixth when James hit a single up the middle scoring Gregory from second. Gregory stole second after reaching on a single to center field. Gregory's stolen base was the team's 11th of the game, a season-high. They had previously nabbed six bases in three different games this year.
Regardless of the outcome of the Notre Dame game the Aggies will play again in an elimination game at 9 a.m. (CST) on Sunday against either Nebraska or Penn State.
"We are excited to play Notre Dame," Evans said. "It is nice to be able to play a caliber of team like that. Every year they are a great team and go to the postseason so we are looking forward to our game with them. These are the kind of games that are going to prepare us for the Big 12."
Live stats for all remaining games will be available on AggieAthletics.com.