Texas A&M
Utah
No. 5 Softball Posts Two Victories in San Diego
Mar 15, 2008 | Softball
March 15, 2008
The fifth-ranked Texas A&M softball team (27-4) opened up the San Diego Classic II with a pair of victories (3-1, 9-0) over Utah (12-11) and the University of San Diego (5-13) on Friday at the USD Softball Complex.
In the afternoon game, it was the designated visiting team, Utah, who posted the first run, which would prove to be the Utes?™ only run of the ballgame, in the first inning. With one out, Kelly Matthews reached on a walk and was sacrificed into scoring position by Kristie Keller. Designated player Angie Boardman stroked a double into the left-centerfield gap for the RBI.
A&M quickly followed with a run of its own in the bottom portion of the frame. Aggie shortstop Macie Morrow started things off with a single up the middle. Jami Lobpries laid down a sac bunt to advance the speedy Morrow into scoring position. A passed ball following a strikeout allowed Megan Gibson to reach base and move Morrow over to third. Senior third baseman Jamie Hinshaw lined a ball hard at Kara Foster playing first base. Foster was barely able to get her glove on the ball as she tipped it into foul territory, allowing Morrow to score and Hinshaw to reach safely on the infield single.
Lobpries would come around to score the go-ahead run in the third inning after being hit by a pitch with one out on the board. Back-to-back singles by Gibson and Hinshaw loaded the bases for Erin Glasco who hit a deep sac fly into leftfield to score Lobpries.
The Aggies would add a little insurance in the sixth inning when first baseman Alex Reynolds blasted a double into leftfield. Freshman second baseman Natalie Villarreal drove Reynolds home with a one-out single.
In the third, fourth and sixth innings, Utah had runners in scoring position with less than two outs, but Gibson and the Aggie defense managed to shut down any scoring threats the Utes tried to build.
Gibson would go the distance on the mound for A&M, working seven complete, picking up her 15th win of the season. The senior gave up just four hits while tying a season-best with 10 strikeouts.
?Gibson looked really good in the cirlce,? A&M head coach Jo Evans said. ?She gave up a couple of hits early, but it was no big deal; she really buckled down and got the job done. Utah got a timely hit in the first inning and the walk she gave up kind of hurt her, but I thought she looked good. She really got better as the game went on. She was in total control on the mound. You could really see she was comfortable with what Erin was calling. I thought they worked well together today.?
Freshman Brittany Parker (3-6) suffered the loss for Utah, giving up three runs on seven hits. She struckout five A&M batters, only allowing one walk.
?I was just glad to get this (Utah) game out of the way, basically,? Evans commented. ?I wanted the kids to play it and then go ?'oh yeah, we remember how it feels to play this game.?™ I know our kids will continue to get better and better and get fired up to play the game. You have to play the game with a certain amount of energy and I thought we were a little too relaxed in the first game.?
Gibson was responsible for driving in five of the Aggies?™ nine runs in the nightcap against San Diego. The All-American crushed two homeruns, her eighth and ninth of the season, in her first two at-bats of the game to pace A&M to a six-run lead in just the first two innings.
?It was nice to see us come alive offensively against San Diego,? Evans said. ?Macie got out there and set the tone with hitting the ball really well. I liked seeing Lobpries getting her walks and Gibson hitting the longball. Gibson?™s first two at-bats, she was right on the ball. She just crushed the ball. It was nice to see us hit throughout the line up.?
The Aggies would continue to put runs on the board, scoring a single spot in each of the next three frames.
In the third inning, Glasco sent a ball back up the middle and was replaced at first by Andrea Tovar. A walk drawn by Bailey Schroeder and back-to-back singles by Reynolds and Villarreal plated the freshman pinch runner.
Lobpries would score her second run of the game, third of the day, in the fourth inning after drawing a leadoff walk. Hinshaw lined the ball at second baseman Celese Soto who turned and tried to throw Lobpries out at second but shortstop Carey Casciola bobbled the ball allowing both Lobpries and Hinshaw to reach. With two outs Schroeder went opposite field, hugging the right field line for a single that would score Lobpries from second.
A&M?™s final run of the game came in the top of the fifth off another leadoff walk. This time sophomore outfielder Mandy Gegen took her free pass to start things off. With one out Lobpries drilled the ball into the right-centerfield gap for her first triple of the season.
With the 9-0, Rhi Kliesing improved to 8-2 on the season. The freshman worked five complete in the circle giving up just two hits. She struck out six Torero batters as she picked up her fifth shutout of the season.
?It was a good team win for us,? Evans ended. ?Overall, I thought our team looked really sharp in the second game. I thought Rhi was great on the mound. She was really like ?'all in a day?™s work,?™ she goes out there and throws strikes and throws ground balls, gives our defense a chance to make plays.?
Surrendering six runs in just an inning and two-thirds of work, Alyssa Luna (2-3) shouldered the loss for San Diego. She walked one and struck out one. Jennifer Ellenbeck worked the remaining three and one-third innings allowing three runs off five hits. Ellenbeck walked four while striking out three.
Gibson finished the evening having gone 3-for-7 at the plate with two runs scored and five RBIs. Gibson now has a team-leading 31 RBIs on the season. Villarreal posted four hits in six trips to the plate, scoring once and driving in two runs, bringing her to a team second-best 20 RBIs in 2008.
The Aggies will return to action in the San Diego Classic II on Saturday with a 4 p.m. game against Cal State Fullerton at the SDSU Softball Stadium. Fans can listen to the game on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone.
