April 23, 2005
Texas A&M pitcher/first baseman Megan Gibson hit her 15th home run of the season and drove in two runs to lead the No. 5 Texas A&M softball team (40-4, 11-2) over Texas Tech (22-20, 2-11), 7-2, in front of 1,295 fans, the third largest all-time crowd, at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Rocky Spencer (Katy, Texas) was named the State Farm Player of the Game after a 3-for-4 one-run one-RBI performance.
"This is another big win for our team," commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. "Our team did a great job focusing on the game and getting the job done. We came to play today and it showed. After they (Texas Tech) cut into our early lead and made it a one-run game we stayed relaxed and came right back with four runs."
In the circle, Amanda Scarborough (Magnolia, Texas) earned her 24th win of the season with a five-inning three-hit performance allowing one earned run ending a string of 27 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run.
After leading off the game with a single, Sharonda McDonald (Houston, Texas) tied A&M's single season run mark when she crossed the plate for the 51st time when Jana James (Mesquite, Texas) singled up the middle. McDonald tied Olympic gold-medal winner Jennifer McFalls' marks she set in 1993 and 1994. After moving to third on a fielding error, James made it 2-0 on a double steal that saw Amanda Scarborough (Magnolia, Texas) move to second.
In the third, Jamie Hinshaw (Missouri City, Texas) reached and advanced to second on a throwing error by Tech pitcher Erin Crawford before scoring on a Megan Gibson (Spring, Texas) single to center.
After the Red Raiders cut the lead to one on three hits and one error in the fifth, Gibson put the Aggies up by two with a home run to left center, her league-leading 15th round-tripper of the season. Scarborough followed Gibson's homer with a double off the top of the center field wall setting the table for Rocky Spencer (Katy, Texas) to knock in pinch runner Jami Lobpries (Wharton, Texas), extending the lead to three. Pinch hitter Laura Durham (Pearland, Texas) then put the Aggies up 6-2 with a single to left plating Spencer and moving Adrian Gregory (Livingston, Texas) to third. With two outs and the bases loaded, James recorded her second RBI of the day, earning her 16th walk of the year, plating Gregory.
With the win, Texas A&M improved to 15-9 all time against Texas Tech.
The win extended the Aggies home win streak to 15 games.
The Aggies and Red Raiders close out their series on Sunday at the Aggie Softball Complex. First pitch is set for noon.
Live stats and audio of Sunday's game will be available, free of charge, on AggieAthletics.com. Fans attending the game can listen live by tuning into 89.9 FM.