February 21, 2007
Megan Gibson, Holly Ridley and Joy Davis each blasted a home run as the second-ranked Texas A&M softball team run-ruled the Stephen F. Austin LadyJacks in both games of the Wednesday doubleheader at the Aggie Softball Complex.
?I was really excited with the way our kids came out and swung the bats today,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?We don?â„¢t want to be a team that has to rely on one or two hitters, of course we love (Amanda) Scarborough and Gibson, but it?â„¢s sure nice to have a Macie Morrow or a Sho (Sharonda McDonald) or JD (Joy Davis) to set the table. Those kids have a lot of speed and they set it up for our more powerful hitters to come through.?
With the 8-0 and 9-1 wins the Aggies improved to 12-0, the best start in program history. SFA dropped to 3-6 on the season.
Gibson?â„¢s solo shot in the second inning, of the first game, was her third home run of the season, bringing her within seven long-balls of the Aggie career record.
An inning later, with two runners on and two outs, Ridley recorded her first hit of the season, a towering three-run shot over the left center field fence. A&M managed four hits and drew three walks in the third to plate six runs.
The Aggies took a 7-0 lead into the sixth where the final run of the game was scored by McDonald who reached on a bunt single, moved to second on a passed ball and came home on a sac fly by Jamie Hinshaw.
Gibson recorded her fifth victory of the season, a complete game shutout. She gave up six hits, struck out six and allowed just two free passes.
Scarborough (6-0) earned the victory in the second game, working six complete. She allowed one run on three hits. She struck out eight and walked one.
?Our kids were pressing a little (in the second game),? noted Evans. ?We had some scoring opportunities early and didn?â„¢t take advantage. It was really nice to see us stay loose. When you struggle at the plate in your first couple of at bats, you just have let it go and come back and that?â„¢s what our kids did.?
The second game remained scoreless until Davis skimmed the top of the fence for her second career home run, scoring Ronda Smith who?â„¢d reached on a double up the middle. In the same inning, Morrow would come around to score on back-to-back singles by Hinshaw and Scarborough, after reaching on a single of her own and stealing second.
?The little one stepped up, I?â„¢m excited for JD,? Evans said. ?And then her next time up, she crushed one down the line. That?â„¢s what you see out of our line up, that it could be any player on any given day, who gets the job done.?
SFA drove in their only run of the day in the sixth inning as Kendal Harper reached on a single, stole second and came home on a double up the middle by Jessica Tullos.
A&M would add six more runs in the sixth to put the run-rule into effect. The Aggies strung together six straight hits and ended the game on a throwing error by the LadyJack catcher.
Smith ended the day 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI, she also drew a walk. Morrow dropped in six hits in eight at bats with two doubles, two runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases. She was a perfect 4-for-4 in the second game.
?I thought Ronda Smith had an especially nice day at the plate,? Evans concluded. ?She made some adjustments and really helped us by getting on base, to get things started, in the fifth inning.?
McDonald extended her hitting and stolen base streak to nine games, going 4-for-8 on the day with three runs scored and a stolen base in each game.
As a team, A&M managed 25 hits on the day, 10 in the first game and 15 in game two. Every Aggie in the starting line up logged at least one hit in the doubleheader.
The Aggies travel to Arizona this weekend to face the fourth-ranked Wildcats in a three-game series in Tucson. Friday?â„¢s game is set to start at 8 p.m. (CDT).