April 29, 2006
Even though the 15th-ranked Texas A&M softball team out-hit the 17th-ranked Nebraska Huskers 8-4, it was NU that recorded the 3-2 victory in front of 470 fans at Bowlin Stadium on wet Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, A&M dropped to 32-15 overall and 11-6 in Big 12 play. The win improved the Huskers?â„¢ season record to 38-8 and 11-4 in conference to remain in second place in the standings while the Aggies are in third.
?I thought (Megan) Gibson did a great job in her couple of at bats at the end, in just finding ways to get herself on base and battling,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?It?â„¢s frustrating for our team, we feel like we have a lot of talent, but you have to be able to put it together and you have to have a lot of confidence in your ability to come out and make everyday plays. Our kids showed a lot of fight at the end. I want them to understand that we can come from behind, but the bottom line is it was 3-2 and we still lost.?
A&M came within one run of tying Nebraska in the top of the sixth as Rocky Spencer?â„¢s clutch, two-out, double scored Gibson, who reached on a walk to lead off the inning. Spencer then scored on a sharp single to left field by Jami Lobpries.
Then in the seventh the Aggies had another runner in scoring position as Sharonda McDonald reached on a single to into shallow left field, with two outs, and advanced to second on another Gibson walk. However A&M was not able to push a run across as Amanda Scarborough ended the inning with a fly ball in to right field.
All the run support Nebraska would need to earn the win would come in the bottom of the third, as the Huskers plated three runs on two hits, two hit batsman and an error by Aggie third baseman, Jamie Hinshaw.
Early in the game, A&M had an opportunity to score in the top-half of the third, but ended the inning with the bases loaded. Beverly Rowan recorded a double to the left-center field gap and Hinshaw followed-up with a single to right. McDonald slapped an infield single to load the bases with just one out. Gibson hit into a fielder?â„¢s choice, retiring Rowan at home and then Scarborough struck out swinging to end any scoring threat the Aggies might post.
In the circle, Scarborough threw her 19th complete game of the season dropping to 15-8 with the loss. She worked six innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits. She walked two and struck out two.
?It time for us to right the ship and make plays when we get the opportunity,? Evans said. ?I thought Scarborough was great. I thought she pitched well, they didn?â„¢t hit the ball hard against her, she got a lot of ground ball outs and weak foul ball outs. When you give up four hits in a game, and no extra base hits, you ought to win a ball game.?
For the Huskers, Ashley DeBuhr worked seven complete picking up her 21st win of the season. She gave up two runs on eight eights and struck out seven Aggie batters while only allowing two free passes.
McDonald was named State Farm player of the Day, registering her 12th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-4 at the plate.
The conclusion of the series between A&M and Nebraska is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m., barring any inclement weather. Fans can access live stats for the game by logging on to AggieAthletics.com and can listen to the game locally on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone.