Texas A&M
North Dakota State
No. 21 Aggies Down Bison and Win Aggie Invitational
Mar 14, 2010 | Softball
March 14, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Freshman Meagan May was perfect at the plate with a pair of doubles and a home run and junior Kara Rau delivered an RBI single that sparked two runs and lifted Texas A&M softball to a 5-2 win over North Dakota State Sunday afternoon at the Aggie Softball Complex.
The Aggies were down 2-1 with two on and two outs in the bottom of the fifth when Rau was called to the plate as a pinch hitter. The League City, Texas, native delivered her second RBI hit of the weekend and the game-winning run crossed the plate as the attempt to throw out Rau went over the first baseman's head.
"Kara had a good at bat and knew the pitcher's strike zone," said A&M head coach Jo Evans. "She put the ball in play and gave us a chance. She's not our fastest player, but she was motoring down to first base. It was exciting to see Kara go out there and make something happen."
May (Spring, Texas) topped off her flawless 3-for-3 performance in the next inning with her 10th home run of the season that put the Aggies comfortably ahead of NDSU, 5-2.
A&M went 5-0 in the Aggie Invitational and improved to 22-6 on the year, while the Bison fell to 14-9 with the loss and finished second in the tournament.
"Offensively our team is doing a good job and getting good looks," commented Evans. "If one player is struggling the next one's going to come up and get her job done."
The Bison kicked off the game with three straight singles and scored first when Melissa Chmielewski hit a hard grounder past a diving senior Macie Morrow at shortstop. Lead-off hitter Nicole Rivera scored on the play to get North Dakota State out to a 1-0 lead.
The Aggies answered immediately in the bottom of the inning as Dumezich battled for a two-out base hit through the left side with the bases loaded. The Whiting, Ind., native scored May who doubled in her at bat.
"Every one of Mel's at-bats were quality today," Evans said. "She really battled and fought, and she fouled off I-don't-know how many pitches on the day with a full count."
A&M had scoring opportunities in the third and fourth innings, but the Bison broke through again in the fifth. A one-out walk and two base hits, including an RBI single through the right side by Elisa Victa, put NDSU back up by one.
The Aggies came right back in the bottom of the fifth. May walked to lead off the inning and with two outs, Dumezich drew a full-count walk. A wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position before two scored on Rau's infield single.
Dumezch relieved Arbino in the circle in the sixth and NDSU recorded back-to-back one-out singles off the freshman and moved both runners into scoring position. Dumezich, however, struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning unharmed and maintain A&M's edge.
"Mel came in and was in a big jam," explained Evans. "I loved seeing her fired up when she struck out the lead-off hitter. Mel went right at her."
Sophomore Kelsea Orsak led off the sixth with a walk and a two-out bomb to left by May gave the Aggies a pair of insurance runs going into the final frame.
Arbino (10-3) threw five innings for her third win of the weekend. She allowed two runs on five hits, walked two and fanned four. Dumezich picked up her first career save after two innings of relief work. She gave up two hits, walked one and struck out three.
"Becca did everything she was supposed to do today," said Evans. "Our pitchers were great this weekend, keeping the ball in the park and throwing a lot of ground balls. I'm really pleased with Becca and even if she wasn't as sharp, she recognized that she had pitches she could still throw to get outs."
Whitney Johnson (9-7) earned the loss after allowing five runs on four hits, walking six and adding six K's.
The next action on the diamond for the Aggies is on the road at the San Diego Classic II. A&M plays five games against five different teams Friday through Sunday. Stay logged on to AggieAthletics.com for coverage of all the contests.
