May 02, 2004
The No. 23 Texas A&M Softball team and the No. 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers went to extra-innings for the second day in a row, and for the fifth time in their last six meetings, Sunday as they took 10 innings to decide the game. Down 2-1 in the sixth, Junior Adrian Gregory hit a lead-off solo home run to tie the game before sophomore Lindsay Park hit a solo shot with two-outs to give the Aggies a 3-2 lead.
Nebraska designated player Carmen Kier hit a solo shot of her own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, eventually sending it to extra innings.
In the bottom of the tenth, with the international tie breaker in effect, Nebraska first baseman Jamie Waldecker stepped up with a bases-leaded single that gave the Huskers a 4-3 victory, clinching the regular season championship for the Huskers.
"I feel great about our effort today," stated A&M Head Coach Jo Evans. "I thought we played really well. We cleaned up our defense and really kept our focus. We had a chance to win both games, which is what you expect coming in to a big series like this. It is not easy to play a hot team at home. I am really proud of our kids, the way we stayed in there. It is not an easy situation to be in and we are all disappointed not to have won the Big 12 Championship, because that was our goal."
For the second day in a row, Sharonda McDonald scored in the top of the first to give the Aggies the early lead, but the Huskers answered with single runs in the bottom of the first, third and sixth innings before Waldecker provided the game-ending single in the tenth.
The Aggies finish the regular season with a 31-18 mark overall and finish in second place in the Big 12 with a 13-3 record. The second-place finish is the highest Aggie finish in nine seasons of Big 12 play. The team's 13 conference wins are the most in school history.
"Now it is important for us to focus on the Big 12 Tournament," Evans continued. "We firmly believe that we have a great shot to win that tournament. It is a matter of us keeping our focus, and not dwelling on the disappointment that we feel right now. We need to look forward to the great opportunities that we have ahead us in the tournament, regionals and eventually the College World Series."
Texas A&M has nine days off before the conference tournament begins on Wednesday, May 12 in Oklahoma City. The Aggies will be the two seed and will play the winner of a play-in game on Wednesday night at Don Porter Hall of Fame Stadium.
Live audio and stats will be available on AggieAthletics.com.