February 24, 2007
Jamie Hinshaw?â„¢s grand slam in the top of the fifth lifted the No. 2 Texas A&M softball team to a 4-3 victory over the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night at Hillenbrand Stadium.
With the win, the Aggies evened the series with the Wildcats one-all. A&M improved to 13-1 on the season while Arizona fell to 12-3.
?It was a very well played game, a great team win. We saw great defense and pitching and our kids got more comfortable at the plate,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?I like the way we came out in the first inning attacking the ball. Our hitters have a lot of talent and ability and it?â„¢s going to be tough to shut them down two days in a row. I like the way we came out and put some pressure on them and took our walks when we could get them and then Hinshaw steps up with a really timely hit.?
After Hinshaw?â„¢s four-run blast in the top of the fifth that scored Holly Ridley, Bailey Schroeder and Macie Morrow, the Wildcats pushed a run across of their own, bringing the score to 4-1 in A&M?â„¢s favor.
?You can?â„¢t mess around with that kid (Hinsahw),? Evans said. ?She just did a nice job to stay loose and held her ground. She does a nice job in clutch situations and we can count on her to get the big RBI.?
In the bottom of the sixth, Chelsie Mesa?â„¢s first home run of the year, a two-run shot over the left field wall, brought the Wildcats within one run. However starting pitcher Megan Gibson retired the next four batters to secure the Aggie victory.
?I thought Gibson was terrific on the mound,? Evans concluded. ?She did a great job of keeping their hitters off balance, mixing speeds and really hitting her spots. You could see that she felt good out there, she was really loose. She and Patti (Wunderlich) worked really well together.?
Gibson (6-0) worked seven complete in the circle allowing three runs on five hits and two free passes. She struck out nine.
Taryne Mowatt was tagged with the loss, her third of the season. Two of Mowatt?â„¢s losses have come off Aggie home runs. She worked all seven innings, allowing four runs on three hits and walked three. Mowatt struck out 12 Aggie batters.
A&M shortstop, Morrow ended the evening 1-for-1 with two walks. Amanda Scarborough registered a hit, as well.
The final game of the three-game series is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Fans can follow live audio and stats through aggieathletics.com.