March 15, 2006
The 18th-ranked Texas A&M softball team (16-8) scored five runs on 11 hits to earn the win over Cal State Northridge (10-7) in pool play Wednesday in the Judi Garman Classic on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.
?This was a great way for us to start the tournament,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?We were able to put a lot of runs on the board as well as play solid defense.?
Amanda Scarborough was lights-out in the circle to start the game, striking out the first two Northridge batters before coaxing Megan Smith to fly out to Holly Ridley at short.
Scarborough continued to hold strong in the second, retiring the side on two groundballs and a strikeout.
In the bottom of the second, Ridley recorded her sixth RBI of the season on a single that drove in Jami Lobpries who reached on a double down the left field line, putting the Aggies up 1-0.
The Aggies added two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ridley hit her first triple of the season, scoring Patti Wunderlich who reached on a fielding error by Matador third baseman Kelly Zakosek. Sharonda McDonald and Jamie Hinshaw each reached on a fielder?â„¢s choice. McDonald scored on a Megan Gibson single up the middle before Hinshaw was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Lobpries hit her first Aggie career homerun over the left-center field fence, scoring Rocky Spencer who reached on a double, giving A&M a 5-0 advantage.
Scarborough (6-4) was named State Farm Player of the Game, recording her eighth complete game and fourth shutout of the season. She gave up four hits while only walking one batter and striking out seven. Scarborough also contributed at the plate, going 3-4.
?Amanda put together a complete game.? Evans said. ?She didn?â„¢t give-up anything dangerous in the circle and she was dangerous for us at the plate.?
A&M will face No. 1 Arizona Thursday at 1:15 p.m. in round two of pool play.
You can access live stats for all the Aggies?â„¢ tournament games by logging on to www.AggieAthletics.com.