February 19, 2005
Texas A&M freshman Megan Gibson and seniors Jana James and Adrian Gregory hit home runs in the Aggies, 11-1, win over Utah State after falling to Ole Miss, 2-0, in the St. Joseph Aggie Classic on Saturday.
James and Gregory shared State Farm Player of the Day honors after a hot day at the plate. James was 3-for-5 five with three RBI and two runs scored while Gregory was 3-for-6 with three RBI and two runs.
"We had a tough game against Ole Miss but we bounced back and played really well against Utah State," A&M head coach Jo Evans stated. "In the first game we had our scoring opportunities but we didn't take advantage of them. Against Utah State, Jill (Weynand) pitched really well and we got our bats going making it a nice ending to the day."
The scoring was not the only story of the day as attendance records at Aggie sporting venues continued to fall with fans pouring into the Aggie Softball Complex at near-record pace for the second consecutive day. The attendance on Friday was the second most in school history (1,059) but it fell to third on the list on Saturday when 1,087 Aggie supporters filled the stands.
The "Chandler Fans" were rewarded with Gibson's (Spring, Texas) three run shot in the first. Her team-high sixth home run of the season, gave the Aggies a 3-0 lead scoring Jamie Hinshaw (Missouri City, Texas) and James after they reached on a walk and a single, respectively. Gibson cleaned up on the first pitch of her first career at-bat in the four-hole with a line drive home run over the left field fence.
Joy Davis (Austin, Texas) kept the Aggies going in the second with a leadoff single and a stolen base before scoring on a throwing error by USU first baseman Kelly Leos. Sharonda McDonald (Houston, Texas), who reached and moved to third on the error, was next to score when Hinshaw doubled to left. Hinshaw became the Aggies' sixth run on Jana James' (Mesquite, Texas) single to left.
In the second at-bat of her career, Aggie pitcher Jill Weynand (Frisco, Texas) drove in her first-career RBI with a groundout to first scoring Gregory for the Ags lone run of the third inning.
After Utah State cut into the A&M lead with one run in the top of the fourth, James put the Aggies up, 8-1, with a solo shot to left center. Gregory followed James' lead with a three-run blast onto Chandler Drive giving the Aggies an 11-1 lead and rewarding some Aggie fans that were sitting on the side of Chandler Drive waiting for Aggie home runs.
With the 11-1 victory, Weynand improved to 3-0 on the season after a five-inning, five-strikeout performance.
The Aggie bats weren't as hot against Ole Miss. A&M entered their first game of the day with a perfect 9-0 record and a team batting average of a blistering .403 but were quieted by Rebel pitcher M. J. Callahan who threw a three hit shutout while striking out eight Aggie batters, the most strikeouts against A&M all season.
Gibson fell to 2-1 on the season after allowing only two hits and one earned run against Ole Miss.
The St. Joseph Aggie Classic continues Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Aggie Softball Complex. Tournament information is available on AggieAthletics.com.
St. Joseph Aggie Classic
Friday
10:00 Ole Miss -3, Northwestern St. - 2
12:15 Utah St. - 3, Northwestern St. - 2
2:30 Texas A&M, 15 - Utah St. - 1
4:45 Texas A&M, 2 - Ole Miss, 1
Saturday
10:00 Northwestern St. - 2, Utah St. - 0
12:15 Ole Miss - 11 - Northwestern St., 4
2:30 Ole Miss - 2, Texas A&M - 0
4:45 Texas A&M - 11, Utah St. - 1
Sunday
10:00 Utah St. vs Ole Miss
12:00 Texas A&M vs. Northwestern St.