Texas A&M
Louisiana Tech
Evans Earns 800th Win on Sunday
Mar 08, 2009 | Softball
March 8, 2009
Louisiana Tech Box Score | Stephen F. Austin Box Score
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M head softball coach Jo Evans earned her 800th career win on Sunday with an 11-0 run rule of Louisiana Tech at the Aggie Invitational presented by the City of College Station. The Aggies (18-9) fell in the final game of the tournament, 8-4, to Stephen F. Austin, but still took home the invitational title after a 4-1 weekend.
In Evans 800th win, freshman Rebecca Arbino earned her second shutout this weekend allowing only four hits and no walks, while added three K's. Junior Alex Reynolds led the offense going 2-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Senior Erin Glasco put the Aggies on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first with a hard-hit liner to left. Freshman Rhi Kliesing laced a two-run single to right center for a quick 3-0 lead.
A&M was sharp on defense and retired the Lady Techsters on line-drive doubles plays in the second and third innings.
Reynolds tacked on a run in the bottom of the third driving a solo home run to left center.
In a seven-run fourth inning, freshman Taryn Broussard and junior Bailey Schroeder led off with back-to-back singles before freshman Eden Morris's sacrifice fly to deep center scored pinch runner Holly Ridley. Reynold's RBI single to left plated another Aggie before Schroeder hit a two-run single to center to give A&M an 11-0 lead.
"We did a great job against Tech," said Evans. "We swung the bats really well, we were aggressive and we put pressure on them and knocked their pitcher out early. It was great to see our team go out there and be aggressive. I love the way they played the game."
After a scoreless first inning against Stephen F. Austin, the Ladyjacks plated five unearned runs on two outs in the top of the second. An Aggie error extended the inning and five consecutive hits, including a two-run double off the left-center wall by Kendal Harper, gave SFA a 5-0 lead.
A&M took back one run in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single to left by Broussard. The Lake Jackson, Texas, native scored Tovar, a pinch runner for Glasco who reached after being hit by a pitch.
Arbino relieved starter Kliesing in the third, but SFA still added three runs off of five hits in the inning.
The Aggies plated a second run in the bottom of the third from Reynolds' sacrifice fly to left that scored Orsak.
Arbino forced three SFA groundouts in the fourth frame before Kliesing reentered in the circle and helped keep the Ladyjacks scoreless the last three innings.
After Morris singled in the sixth, Schroeder launched a two-run homer to left to make the score 8-4.
"In our practice on Thursday, Bailey got up and was the last hitter of our scrimmage and she knocked a grand slam in the exact same place," Evans said. "We know she can do that and I'm happy that she stepped in and made the most of her opportunity.
"We had two innings against SFA where we just didn't pitch well. Give them credit they went up there and were very aggressive. We threw the ball on the plate and they hit it hard. Offensively we had our chances. They scored eight, it's tough to score nine in a game, but I feel like we had a lot of opportunities."
Kliesing picked up the loss after giving up five unearned runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out three in five innings of work. Lauren Leutge, who threw a perfect game against Kent State on Saturday, earned the win in the circle.
On the day, Broussard went 4-for-6 with two RBIs, while Schroeder was 3-for-6 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
The Aggies next travel to the FAU Parents' Weekend tournament March 13-15 in Boca Raton, Fla. Follow all the A&M softball action live on AggieAthletics.com.
