No. 21 Aggies Squeeze Past Jayhawks, 3-2

Saturday, April 30

Lawrence, Kan.

4:00 PM

Texas A&M

35-13, 0

Kansas

31-21, 0

Texas A&M

Kansas

Apr 30, 2011 | Softball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

April 30, 2011

Final Stats

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Senior Kelsey Spittler was 3-for-4 with three singles as the No. 21 Texas A&M softball team (35-13, 7-5 Big 12) pushed past Kansas (31-21, 2-15 Big 12), 3-2, Saturday in game one of a two-game conference series at Arrocha Ballpark.

"I'm really pleased that we could finish that one," head coach Jo Evans said. "On the road, that gets a little tricky. I thought [sophomore] Mel [Dumezich] went out there and fought really hard. That's a kid that's not 100 percent right now and for her to go out there and fight like that was really gutsy."

A second-pitch leadoff home run in the top of the second by freshman Nicole Morgan gave the Aggies an early 1-0 lead. The solo bomb cleared the fence in right field. Spittler singled to the second baseman behind Morgan but was later thrown out at second on a fielder's choice. Sophomore Brittany Walker had a bunt single, and Dumezich reached on a walk, but three runners were left stranded in the inning.

The Jayhawks answered with a long ball of their own in the bottom of the third. Left fielder Maggie Hull hit the scoreboard in left-center with a game-tying homer.

In the top of the fifth, sophomore designated player Meagan May led off with her third walk of the game. Morgan reached first on a ball four behind her before Spittler hit her second base hit of the game, to left field, scoring May in the act.

A&M pushed out to a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth when Villarreal, who reached on a walk, scored on a single over the second baseman's head into right field by senior Rhi Kliesing. Spittler hit a third single of the game, through the left side, in the top of the seventh but was unable to get a run out of it.

"[Kelsey has] been hot," Evans said. "She's not over-swinging. She's not trying to do too much with it. She's just going out there and taking what the pitcher will give her and that's what a good hitter will do."

Kansas attempted to rally in the bottom of the seventh when first baseman Laura Vickers scored on an RBI single by Hull, but the Aggies held a runner at third for the last two outs as Dumezich struck out the final batter looking.

The right-handed pitcher (21-8) fanned five batters and allowed two earned runs on six hits for the win. KU's Allie Clark (13-8) dropped the one-run decision after striking out seven batters and giving up three earned runs on seven hits.

After the final game of the series tomorrow at noon, the Aggies will return home to host No. 3 Texas in a single game as a part of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown. The game is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start and will be televised nationally on FSN Southwest.