March 26, 2006
A homerun by Megan Gibson in the first and a passed ball in the seventh gave the 15th-ranked Texas A&M softball team (23-9, 3-0) a 3-2 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks (15-16, 0-2) in front of 732 fans Sunday at the Aggie Softball Complex.
?I tip my hat to Kansas,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?They came here and played very, very well. Had we not had some good fortune they would have come away with two wins. Our team figures out a way to win when we?â„¢re not hitting as well as we needed to be hitting. I am proud of our kids. This was, collectively, a good team effort.?
Megan Gibson crushed her ninth homerun of the season in the bottom of the first, scoring Jamie Hinshaw who reached on a throwing error by Kansas second baseman Jessica Moppin, giving A&M a 2-0 advantage.
The Jayhawks were able to drive a run across in the top of the second, making the scoring 2-1 in favor of the Aggies, on a double by Stevie Crisosto to the right field gap that brought in Serena Settlemier.
Settlemier recorded the RBI that tied the game in the top of the third. The single to left field scored Destiny Frankenstein who, one batter previous, hit a triple to right field.
Jami Lobpries started the bottom of the seventh with a bunt single. Rocky Spencer advanced Lobpries to second on a single to left before Ronda Smith laid down a sac bunt to advance both Lobpries and Spencer to third and second. With one out, Holly Ridley watched a ball get past Jayhawk catcher Erika Simington, allowing Lobpries to score the winning run from third.
Amanda Scarborough slated the win, improving to 10-4 on the season. She threw seven complete, giving up two runs on six hits. Scarborough walked two and struckout one.
?Scarborough struggled a little bit at times,? Evans said. ?Then she really settled in the last three innings. I really thought she was outstanding, she did a good job using her change-up and hitting her spots.?
Settlemier dropped to 9-4 with the loss. She pitched six and a third. Settlemier was charged with three runs on four hits. She walked one and struckout five.
Gibson was named State Farm Player of the Game she was 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI on her homerun in the first.
The Aggies will play a mid-week game, Wednesday, against the Texas State Bobcats at 6:30 p.m. at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Live audio and stats will be available at AggieAthletics.com. Fans attending the games can listen to the broadcast inside the stadium on 89.9 FM.
Tickets for all home games, are available at the gate and by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.