April 14, 2004
Freshman Sharonda McDonald led off the first inning with a triple to right and then scored on an attempted double steal to give the Texas A&M softball team (26-16) the only run they would need as they defeated No. 20 Baylor, 2-0, at the Aggie Softball Field on Wednesday. With the win the Aggies remain in second place in the Big 12 with an 8-1 mark while the Bears fell to 37-10 overall and 7-3 in league play.
"Absolutely (it was a big win)," stated head coach Jo Evans, "one of our biggest of the season. We had a lot on the line and you don't want to give away any games, especially against a team that's just beaten you. It was really important for us to get a big win there. I thought our team played with a lot of composure and poise."
Senior Jessica Kapchinski earned the win as she moved to 10-5 overall and 7-1 in conference while extending her streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 46.2 innings of conference action.
Kapchinski went the distance for the sixth time in conference play as she struck out five, allowed four hits and did not give up a walk.
She hit a glitch in the sixth but worked her way out when Baylor loaded the bases off of a single and two hit-by-pitches. With one out, Kapchinski struck out cleanup hitter Danelle Arnold and forced Kelly Levesque into a 4-3 groundout to end the threat.
"She threw great," Evans continued. "Getting out of that jam was huge. That drop ball she threw Arnold was just unbelievable for the strikeout and then gets the ground out to second base to end the inning."
Adrian Gregory gave Kapchinski some insurance in the fourth when she took the seventh pitch of her at-bat and lined it over the center field fence for her fifth home run of the season.
The Aggies take a six-game win streak, their longest of the season, into Lubbock this weekend for a two-game series with Texas Tech. The Aggies and Red Raiders square off at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and close out the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Live stats will be available on AggieAthletics.com.