Oct. 20, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Junior pitcher Rhi Kliesing struck out 13 batters to lead the White team to a 4-3 victory in the first of a best-of-three Maroon and White Series Tuesday afternoon at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Kliesing threw a complete game and gave up seven hits and three runs, but fanned five of the last seven batters to secure the win for White.
Freshman Lauren Schwirtlich led off the contest with a single to left field and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Junior Kara Rau's two-out single to center then scored Schwirtlich and got the White team out to a quick lead. White tacked on a second run off of a Maroon error.
The Maroon squad evened the score in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer by junior Macie Morrow collected the RBI.
After two-and-a-half scoreless innings, junior and White catcher Missy Siegel led off the fifth with a double to center and scored after two wild pitches.
Maroon kept the game within reach when freshman Mel Dumezich blasted a solo home run to left center in the bottom half of the fifth to make the score 4-3.
White loaded the bases and threatened again in the top of the seventh, but two infield putouts by Maroon still left the team with a chance. Kliesing, however, struck out the side in the sixth and tallied her 13th and 14th K's to end the game.
Sophomore Rebecca Arbino started in the circle for Maroon and threw five innings, allowing nine hits and four runs, only three of which were earned. She added three strike outs and walked none. Dumezich relieved Arbino in the sixth for two innings of work. She gave up four hits and walked one.
White posted 13 hits, while Maroon recorded seven. Siegel led the White team going 4-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Tovar went 3-for-4, while junior Lindsey Sisk and Schwirtlich each added a pair of hits.
Senior Alex Reynolds and Dumezich went 2-for-4 to lead the Maroon squad.
The best-of-three series continues tomorrow at the Aggie Softball Complex with first pitch being thrown at approximately 3:45 p.m. Admission is free and is open to the public.