Texas A&M
18-6
Mississippi Valley State
5-13
Home Runs Scorch Devilettes, Aztecs on Day Two
Mar 12, 2011 | Softball
March 12, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - A flurry of home runs once again helped the 22nd-ranked Texas A&M softball team to a pair of wins Saturday in day two of the Texas A&M Invitational.
A&M (19-6) cleared the fence six times in the 15-1 defeat of Mississippi Valley State (5-13) and added three bombs in the 7-1 victory over San Diego State (10-13). The team totals 14 home runs this weekend.
"Our kids are doing a great job," head coach Jo Evans said. "What I was the most proud of was coming back from last week. We were not feeling good about ourselves and we've been waiting to hit stride. We believe we have so much talent and we needed to figure out a way to get everybody to step up and perform and we've done that this weekend."
The Aggies sped out to an early 11-0 lead in the bottom of the first in game one against the Devilettes, on a three-RBI home run by sophomore Meagan May. Junior Natalie Villarreal led off the inning with a double down the left field line that slammed into the wall.
Kliesing chipped a pitch up to the third baseman, but the shortstop tried to make the play and picked up an error when she collided with the third baseman and both dropped the ball, putting Kliesing on first. May homered over right-center and scored Kliesing and Villarreal along with her for a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Amber Garza doubled to left-center and flew home on an RBI single by freshman Nicole Morgan. With the bases loaded, Villarreal powered a grand slam out of the park to push the Aggies ahead 8-0.
A&M grabbed two more runs on a two-RBI triple by May that scored sophomore Brittany Walker and Kliesing. Both runners had reached on singles. May crossed the plate on a single by Garza for the 11th run of the inning.
Morgan led off the bottom of the second with another hit to left field, this time going yard for her third home run of the season. Senior Kara Rau added a fourth four-bagger to the game when she hit a laser over right-center in the third inning.
"I was so happy for Kara to step up there and get the big home run," Evans said. "Kara's such a great kid and she doesn't get a ton of playing time for us, but I'm excited for her. She works hard every day and always cares about our team and puts our team first. For a kid like that to get to come off the bench and hit a home run, it just makes you feel really good."
In the fourth, sophomore Sydney Shannon brought the tally to five home runs on the night with a shot over the fence in left. Senior Missy Siegel found the same spot in the half-inning and the Aggies ended the game with six long balls.
The Devilettes added a home run of their own when Rashundra Brass cleared the wall at left field in the top of the fourth. That was MVSU's sole run, however, and the game ended with a 15-1 A&M victory.
Aggie hurler sophomore Mel Dumezich (10-4) took the win, fanning eight batters and giving up one run in five innings. Devilette right-handed pitcher Kimberly Spivey suffered the loss. She gave up 11 runs, two of them earned, in 0.2 innings pitched.
A three-run homer in the bottom of the first of game two pushed the Aggies out to another early lead. Freshman Cassie Tysarczyk aimed a long double down the first base line with one out. May joined her on the bags, drawing a walk to reach first.
Garza connected for her third home run of the season, topping the fence in right-center to score three runs for a 3-0 lead.
SDSU's Kristin May had a solo home run in the top of the next inning, but the Aztecs were unable to rally for a win.
In the bottom of the second, A&M surged ahead with another three-RBI long ball. Villarreal hit the bomb, scoring Spittler and Walker to push the Aggies ahead 6-1.
The Aggies reached their final 7-1 stretch when Kliesing capped the home run count at three on the game, nine on the night and 15 on the weekend with a laser over the fence at the right field line.
Redshirt junior Lindsey Sisk (9-2) earned the win, striking out five batters and allowing one run in seven complete innings in the circle. SDSU's Samantha Beasley (3-5) suffered the loss, giving up six earned runs on 10 hits and fanning seven batters in 5.1 innings of work.
The No. 22 Texas A&M softball team will face Louisiana Tech tomorrow in the final day of the Texas A&M Invitational. First pitch is set for 12:15 p.m. For more information on Aggie softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dumezich, Mel (10-4)
L: SPIVEY,Kimberly (3-8)
Batting:
HR: BRASS,Rashundra 1
RBI: BRASS,Rashundra 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BRASS,Rashundra 1
Batting:
2B: Villarreal, Natalie 1 ; Garza, Amber 1
3B: May, Meagan 1
HR: Villarreal, Natalie 1 ; Siegel, Missy 1 ; Rau, Kara 1 ; May, Meagan 1 ; Morgan, Nicole 1 ; Shannon, Sydney 1
RBI: Villarreal, Natalie 4 ; Siegel, Missy 1 ; Rau, Kara 1 ; May, Meagan 5 ; Garza, Amber 1 ; Morgan, Nicole 2 ; Shannon, Sydney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Villarreal, Natalie 2 ; Walker, Brittany 1 ; Siegel, Missy 1 ; Kliesing, Rhiannon 2 ; Rau, Kara 1 ; May, Meagan 2 ; Garza, Amber 1 ; Morgan, Nicole 2 ; Shannon, Sydney 2 ; Albus, Emily 1
SB: Garza, Amber 1
HBP: Shannon, Sydney 1 ; Tovar, Andrea 1
