February 26, 2005
Texas A&M head coach Jo Evans earned her 300th win at A&M as the No. 16 Aggies (15-1) knocked off No. 1 Cal, 5-2, on the strength of Megan Gibson's arm and bat and followed with a 4-0 win over UNLV at the Palm Springs Classic on Saturday.
Gibson was named the State Farm Player of the Game after improving to 4-1 in the circle and recording four RBI in a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
"This is a really great win for our team and our program," Evans stated. "Our players know that if they take the field with the confidence to win then they can beat any team in the country, and that is what they did tonight. We continued to be aggressive at the plate and Megan (Gibson) was great in the circle."
Evans, who recorded her 600th career win earlier in the season, improved to 300-181-2 in her ninth season in Aggieland.
"I truly had no idea going into the game that this could be my 300th win at A&M," commented Evans. "This will be a memorable win for me because of the way I feel about this team. I think there are going to be a lot of memorable wins for this team throughout our time at A&M."
In the first inning, Gibson put the Aggies up 2-0 with her second home run of the tournament when she took the two-out 2-and-2 count and knocked it over the left center fence scoring Jana James (Mesquite, Texas) from second. James reached on a two-out walk before stealing second.
After Cal put one run across in the fifth, Gibson answered with a two-out two-RBI single up the middle that scored Sharonda McDonald (Houston, Texas) and Jamie Hinshaw (Missouri City, Texas) after they reached on back-to-back singles.
Cal cut back into the lead with one run in the sixth but the Aggies answered again with a seventh-inning double by designated player Lindsay Park (Arcadia, Texas) that plated Rocky Spencer (Katy, Texas) from first after she singled to left.
Against UNLV, Texas A&M freshman Amanda Scarborough improved to 8-0 as the No. 16 Aggies (16-1) defeated UNLV (10-7), 4-0..
Scarborough (Magnolia, Texas) was named the State Farm Player of the Game after pitching a two-hit six-strikeout shutout and helping herself at the plate by going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
"This is another good win for us," stated A&M head coach Jo Evans. "Every team gives you a different challenge and UNLV is no different. They came out and fought hard but we had great pitching and solid defense and made the proper adjustments at the plate."
Megan Gibson (Spring, Texas) knocked in the first run of the game in the top of the fifth with a single to left scoring Joy Davis (Austin, Texas) from first. Davis reached on a leadoff single to left.
Scarborough followed Gibson's lead with a single to right, in an 11-pitch at-bat, scoring Jana James (Mesquite, Texas) and Gibson, giving the Aggies a 3-0 lead.
Rocky Spencer (Katy, Texas) made it 4-0 A&M in the top of the sixth with a leadoff homer to right, her first of the season.
A&M's 16-1 start is the program's best since the NCAA adopted softball as a varsity sport in 1983.
The Aggies improved to 4-0 in the Palm Springs with wins over Loyola Marymount (8-0, five innings, No. 12 Washington (10-0, five innings), No. 1 Cal. (5-2) and UNLV.
The Aggies continue play in the Palm Springs Classic when they take on Long Beach at 1:30 (CDT) Sunday. Log on to AggieAthletics.com for tournament information and game updates.