March 29, 2006
It took three errors in the bottom of the 10th inning and outstanding work in the circle by starting pitcher Megan Gibson for the No. 15 Texas A&M softball team (24-9, 3-0) to come away with the 2-1 victory over the Texas State Bobcats (21-12, 8-1) in front of 740 fans on Wednesday night at the Aggie Softball Complex.
?We played straight-up, stand-up defense,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?We?â„¢ve been doing this the last two weeks or so, where our bats have been struggling a bit and our defense and pitchers are keeping us in the games. Tonight was no different. I thought our infield was outstanding and Gibson had a lot to do with that. I?â„¢m really proud of our young ball club. We?â„¢re hanging around long enough to find ways to score.?
It was a pitcher?â„¢s dual, as neither A&M?â„¢s Gibson or Texas State?â„¢s Kati Ann Trahan allowed an earned run in the 10-inning ballgame.
After nine innings of shutout ball, the international tiebreaker came into affect. The Bobcats placed pinch-runner Jill Kloesel at second to start the 10th. Kloesel was moved to third on a sac bunt by Ashton Peters. Kloesel then scored on a sac fly to right field by Tamara Keller to give Texas State a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 10th, Rocky Spencer started at second base and was advanced to third by Patti Wunderlich on a fielding error by Texas State third baseman Keller. Ronda Smith tried to lay down a sac bunt, but reached first on another Bobcat error, this time a throwing mishap by Trahan. With the bases loaded and no outs, Jamie Hinshaw hit a fly ball to centerfield that was dropped by Jetta Weinheimer to score both the tying run in Spencer and the winning run in Wunderlich.
Gibson improved her overall record to 12-3 with the win. She threw 10 complete only allowing four hits. She struckout nine and walked one with 148 pitches thrown.
With the loss, Trahan dropped to 13-5. She threw nine complete, allowing two runs to score on three hits. She walked four and struckout seven of the 37 batters faced.
Gibson was named State Farm Player of the Game with the 10-inning victory.
?I thought Gibson was outstanding, in particular against their (Texas State) three and four-hole hitters who are really dangerous,? Evans said. ?She just buckled down and threw great. I?â„¢m really proud of her. She?â„¢s got to feel great about her outing tonight.?
The Aggies return to Big 12 action when they travel to Lubbock to face the Red Raiders on Saturday and Sunday in a two-game series. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
You can access live audio and stats for the games against Texas Tech by logging on to AggieAthletics.com.