May 20, 2006
The Texas A&M softball team saw its season come to an end on Saturday evening with a 4-3 loss to Lehigh in the NCAA Amherst Regional semifinals before 921 fans at the UMass Softball Complex.
The Aggies conclude the year with a 34-19 record. Lehigh improved to 43-13 and advances to face host UMass in Sunday?â„¢s championship game.
A&M took an early lead in the third off Mountain Hawk starter Kate Arico when Megan Gibson?â„¢s ground ball with the bases loaded kicked off the foot of shortstop Mendy Martin and into left field. Sharonda McDonald and Jami Lobpries both scored to put the Aggies up 2-0.
Lehigh tied the game in the fourth on a two-run home run by right fielder Julie Sterrett to straightaway center field.
The Aggies answered in the fifth when Gibson sliced a two-out single through the left side, plating McDonald and making the score 3-2.
An error and an infield single to start off the Lehigh fifth set the table for the Mountain Hawks to take their first lead of the game. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, catcher Mary Wieder singled to center to drive in Kate Marvel and tie the game. Sterrett then greeted Gibson, who had just entered the game in relief of starter Lisa Gorzycki in the circle, with a single to left to make the score 4-3.
Arico made the lead stand, retiring the final six Aggie batters on groundouts to earn her 15th win of the year.
Gorzycki (1-4) took the loss for A&M, going 4 1/3 and giving up eight hits and all four runs in her third career start.
Texas A&M extended their season earlier in the day with a 6-5 win over Albany.
The Great Danes quickly took a 3-0 lead on Gibson, who drew the starting nod in the circle, with a pair of triples and a home run in the first inning.
Gibson, however, settled in and allowed just one hit in the next three innings as the Aggies fought back to take the lead.
A&M scored five in the top of the fourth, all with two outs, to take the lead for good. Amanda Scarborough launched a two-run home run over the scoreboard in left field to pull the Aggies within one. Rocky Spencer?â„¢s RBI double to left center and Ronda Smith?â„¢s two-run single up the middle accounted for the scoring.
Jamie Hinshaw scored a two-out insurance run for A&M in the fifth. At third base with Scarborough at first, Hinshaw scored when Scarborough attempted to steal second and stayed in a rundown long enough to allow the run to cross safely and give A&M a 6-3 lead. Hinshaw would finish the game with two hits and two runs scored along with a career-best four stolen bases.
Albany (36-13-1) would tally single runs in the fifth and sixth inning, but Gorzycki entered in relief of Gibson and tossed a hitless final two innings to earn the save.
Gibson (17-4) got the win, going five innings while fanning seven and allowing five runs on eight hits. Casey Halloran (27-10) took the complete-game loss for the Great Danes.
The loss to Lehigh saw the career of senior Rocky Spencer come to an end. Spencer ends her tenure in Aggieland with a .290 career batting average, eight home runs, 30 doubles, six triples and 82 RBI. She played in 212 games and started 197 for A&M, including the final 150 in a row in right field, and swiped 31 bases.
A&M will return eight position players and all four pitchers in 2007.