Texas A&M
San Diego State
No. 20 Softball Blanks Aztecs; Wins San Diego Classic II
Mar 21, 2010 | Softball
March 21, 2010
SAN DIEGO - After eight scoreless innings against tournament host San Diego State, the No. 20 Texas A&M softball team exploded for four runs in the top of the ninth to snap the Aztecs' 10-game winning streak and extend their own run to 11 straight with a 4-0 shutout on Sunday at the San Diego State Softball Stadium.
The Aggies (27-6) won the San Diego Classic II as the only undefeated team in the tournament. SDSU fell to 4-1 on the weekend and 18-9 overall.
Sophomore pitcher Rebecca Arbino (15-3) continued her stretch notching her fourth win of the weekend and ninth victory in row.
"Becca was fantastic today and Meagan May was calling a great game," said A&M head coach Jo Evans. "I'm really proud of both of them. Becca has really matured, taking last year's experiences and learning from those and then really settling in and becoming the pitcher that she is. She's done such a terrific job handling runners on base. She wasn't flustered and was making great pitches."
Prior to the ninth inning, the Aggies moved two runners into scoring position and recorded two singles, while the Aztecs moved just three into scoring position.
The international tiebreaker rule went into effect in the ninth and senior Macie Morrow was placed on second base to begin the inning. Pinch hitter and freshman Sydney Shannon was called upon to sacrifice Morrow to third before the three Aggies laced extra base hits.
Freshman Rhi Kliesing then followed with a double over the center fielder's head to plate May. Senior Alex Reynolds then put the game out of reach with a two-run home run to center to put the Aggies ahead, 4-0.
"I was really proud of Sydney coming off the bench," said Evans. "She went up there and bunted the first pitch and that really set the tone for our team. It was nice to see Meagan up there and looking for the pitch she wanted to hit on the first pitch. It was also a big deal for Rhi and Alex to step up like they did."
Arbino continued her near-flawless game in the bottom half of the inning, forcing two ground outs and a soft-liner to Morrow at shortstop to secure her seventh shutout of the season.
From Clovis, Calif., Arbino scattered five hits in nine innings, walked one and struck out four for her second nine-inning shutout of the weekend. She threw 27 scoreless innings in San Diego to lead the Aggies.
SDSU pitcher Samantha Beasley allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, walked two and added a career-high 21 K's in the loss.
"We put on two clinics on today," commented Evans. "One was a hitting clinic, how not to approach the plate, and the second was how to handle a tiebreaker, and how if you trust in your defense and your pitching, you're going to have a chance to win a ball game and that's what our team did."
Texas A&M is back at the Aggie Softball Complex for three straight next week, welcoming No. 9 Georgia Tech on Wednesday and Kansas on Saturday and Sunday for the start of Big 12 play. First pitch against the Yellow Jackets is at 6:30 p.m.
