No. 20 Aggies Drop Seventh-Inning Heartbreaker to No. 5 Texas

Wednesday, April 6

Austin, Texas

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

30-9, 0

Texas

32-3, 0

Texas A&M

Texas

Apr 06, 2011 | Softball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

April 6, 2011

Final Stats

AUSTIN, Texas - In its only lead of the night, No. 5 Texas (32-3, 5-0 Big 12) scored on a wild pitch for the seventh-inning walk-off run as the No. 20 Texas A&M softball team (30-9, 3-2 Big 12) fell 4-3 Wednesday at McCombs Field in the first softball game of the 2011 State Farm Lone Star Showdown.

"I thought our kids played really well and fought hard," head coach Jo Evans said. "It's those small little details that get you. We certainly had our chances tonight. I thought our kids did well and really played hard and in the end, you've got to keep your composure."

A&M had the lead or held the Longhorns to a tie through the top of the seventh. A solo bomb by freshman Amber Garza gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead in the top of the second as the ball cleared the fence at right center. The third baseman had two RBI on the night.

Texas' Torie Schmidt hit a leadoff single to left field in the bottom of the inning and took second on a sacrifice bunt before running home on an RBI single by teammate Taylor Thom to tie the game. With runners on second and third, Aggie sophomore Mel Dumezich struck out the final batter to end the inning and hold the opposition to a 1-1 draw.

A&M pulled ahead in the top of the third and held onto the 2-1 lead through the top of the fifth. Sophomore Brittany Walker started the half-inning with hard single up the middle. She was sent to second on a bunt single up the third base line by redshirt junior Natalie Villarreal.

Both runners took a base when freshman Rhi Kliesing drew a walk to load the bases, and with two outs, Longhorn ace Blaire Luna walked Garza for the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the fifth, Texas first baseman Lexy Bennett popped a ball to shallow left field that hung in the air as three Aggie players charged for the catch. Walker got her glove on the ball but dropped it as she collided hard with senior left fielder Kelsey Spittler. Junior Kelsea Orsak attempted to dive and recover the ball, but was unable to make the catch and Bennett earned a triple on the play.

With two outs, Longhorn third baseman Nadia Taylor lasered the second triple of the night down the right field line, scoring Bennett as the Longhorns once again tied the game.

Texas attempted to get their first lead of the night in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Thom singled up the middle and was pushed over to second when right fielder Taylor Hoagland took a ball four. Both runners were stranded, however, when Dumezich again fanned the final batter of the inning to hold the Longhorns to the second tie of the game.

In the top of the seventh, Luna walked Villarreal and Tysarczyk and was pulled from the game for the first time all season, replaced in the circle by freshman Rachel Fox.

"I thought our kids did a really nice job setting the table," Evans said. "Blaire Luna is not easy. I don't care how many strikeouts we had, we did a great job against her. I thought we had a nice approach. The strikeouts she had often were on a full count."

The reliever immediately walked Kliesing to load the bases, before freshman Emily Albus entered to run at first. With the bases loaded, Dumezich sent a line drive down the left field line that scored Villarreal from third for the 3-2 lead. A&M was unable to capitalize on any other base runners, and the inning ended with the Aggies ahead by one.

A solo leadoff home run down the left field line by Bennett in the bottom of the seventh tied the game for the third time. Catcher Amy Hooks walked and was replaced by Mandy Ogle at first. With one out, Schmidt reached on a fielding error and advanced to second as the ball fell into the A&M dugout, putting Ogle at third. The pinch runner ran home on a wild pitch where she was called safe for the winning run as Dumezich tried to tag her out.

From Whiting, Ind., Dumezich (16-6) took the loss after fanning seven batters in 6 1/3 innings in the circle and picking up an RBI on a long single. Fox (14-1) earned the win in 2/3 innings of work, giving up one hit and striking out one.

With the win tonight, the Longhorns earned half of a point for Texas in the 2011 State Farm Lone Star Showdown. The Longhorns lead the Aggies 7.5-5 in the all-sports event. For more information on the inter-school rivalry, log on to www.lonestarshowdown.net.

The 20th-ranked Aggies travel to Columbia, Mo., this weekend to take on Missouri in a two-game series. Saturday's contest will begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday's game is slated for an 11 a.m. first pitch. To learn more about A&M softball, go to AggieAthletics.com.