Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Softball Suffers 6-0 Loss to No. 11 Oklahoma
Apr 10, 2010 | Softball
April 10, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 20 Texas A&M softball team suffered a 6-0 loss at the hands of No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon at the Aggie Softball Complex.
The Aggies (32-10, 4-3 Big 12) committed four errors on the afternoon and were outhit 13-3 by the Sooners (30-9, 4-2 Big 12).
"Oklahoma put some hits together on the day, but if we would have made some defensive plays it would have at least kept us close," commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. "If you take care of business, then you don't feel like you have to string together six, seven, or eight hits to get back in the game."
The Aggies kept Oklahoma off the scoreboard in the first two frames, forcing the team to leave the bases loaded in the second, but in the third OU broke through.
The first two Sooners reached base via a walk and a hit by pitch before an A&M error allowed the first run to cross the plate. Lindsey Vandever followed with a three-run home run to get Oklahoma out to a 4-0 lead.
In the fourth, OU scored two more after an errant Aggie throw leaked into the outfield on a double steal.
A&M had reached base in every inning except the third, but it was not until the fifth that freshman Lauren Schwirtlich broke up Ricketts' no-hitter with a one-out slap single to left. Freshman Bailey Schroeder were on base before Schwirtlich's hit, but A&M ended the inning with the bases loaded after freshman Meagan May laced a hard line drive right into the glove of Amber Flores at second.
The Aggies put a pair of base runners on in the sixth when senior Alex Reynolds drew a walk and Dumezich tallied the second A&M hit which went to shallow center field.
Schwirtlich capped off a 2-for-4 performance by dropping a single into right center with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but the Aggies were held scoreless for just the second time all season.
Freshman Keilani Ricketts (19-8) struck out a season-high 15 and gave up just three hits for the win in the circle. She also walked four and hit two batters.
Sophomore Rebecca Arbino (18-7) was saddled with the loss after giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits, walking two and striking out two in four innings of work. Junior Rhi Kliesing threw three innings in relief and gave up four hits, two walks and fanned four.
"I feel good about Rhi and what she did to help our team today," said Evans. "She went out there, shut them down, and was really terrific in the circle."
The Aggies play the second of the two-game series against Oklahoma at the Aggie Softball Complex tomorrow at noon.
"We have to let this go and understand we didn't play our best," Evans said. "If we're going to beat a good team like Oklahoma we have to be able to make adjustments at the plate, be aggressive and have a lot more intensity about the way we approach the game tomorrow. "
