Aggies Split One-Run Games in Tempe

Friday, February 10

Tempe, Ariz.

12:00 PM

Texas A&M

0-1

BYU

1-1

Brigham Young

Texas A&M

Feb 10, 2012 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Texas A&M Athletics

TEMPE, Ariz. - Sophomore Nicole Morgan hit a game-winning home run to complete the Aggies' six-bomb tally as the No. 15 Texas A&M softball team (1-1) fell, 3-2, to BYU (1-1) and upset No. 9 Stanford (1-1), 10-9, on day one of the 2012 season at the Kajikawa Classic.

"I'll say that I love our fight," head coach Jo Evans said. "I thought our kids fought really hard. We were completely out of our game against BYU. That just goes to show you - you can be as athletic as you can be, but if you can't make some adjustments at the plate, it's going to be a long day."

Senior Natalie Villarreal led the team with two long balls against the Cardinal. The left fielder had five RBI vs. Stanford. Junior Mel Dumezich (1-0) pitched nine innings on the day, fanning nine batters in two games and earning the win against the Cardinal.

The Aggies rallied after a 3-0 first-inning deficit against BYU in game one, but fell short as they trailed the Cougars, 3-2, through the seventh inning.

A three-RBI home run by Cougar right fielder Delaney Willard pushed BYU out to a quick lead in the top of the first. Aggie junior Sydney Shannon also cleared the fence, leading off in the fourth inning. The right fielder's solo bomb topped left-center, causing the BYU center fielder to crash through the temporary fencing in an attempt to make the catch.

A&M left nine runners on base through seven innings and led the Cougars in hits, 6-to-4. Villarreal and junior Brittany Walker led off in the first inning with a pair of base hits but were each left stranded. In the bottom of the second, sophomore Amber Garza also singled and advanced as far as third base on a sacrifice bunt by Shannon and a wild pitch.

Junior Meagan May drew three walks vs. BYU, including a hit-by-pitch in her last time up to bat. In the bottom of the fifth the catcher took a ball four and took second on a pop out. A passed ball gave May time to get to third before a single by Garza plated the 2-3 run.

"I thought BYU did a good job of hanging on," Evans said "We could do some things better and we knew that. After the game we talked about it. We talked about our approach at the plate and how we needed to be more aggressive in the attack and we did that today against Stanford."

A&M stranded two more runners through the end of the game as the Cougars held on to their one-run lead. Senior hurler Lindsey Sisk (0-1) suffered the loss for the Aggies after striking out three batters in five complete innings of work. BYU's Caroline Umphlett (1-0) took the win with no strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched. This marks the first loss for the Aggies in a season opener under Evans' tutelage.

A&M bounced back from the BYU loss quickly, however, facing No. 9 Stanford just an hour later. Despite an error-riddled defensive, the Aggies came out strong on offense and fought through a 10-9 upset over the Cardinal.

"We gave ourselves every chance to lose this game," Evans said. "We were not good on defense. Let's just say that. But we fought and I thought our hitters were terrific."

The Aggies' hitting started in the top of the second after an error in the first gave Stanford a 1-0 jump. Morgan led off in the second with a walk and was pushed to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Shannon. With two outs, Dumezich powered a single into left-center that gave Morgan room to score the equalizer.

A walk by senior Kelsea Orsak put runners at first and second before Villarreal's first home run of the day earned three RBI as it cleared the fence in center field and the Aggies took a 4-1 lead.

After two three-up, three-down half innings, A&M struggled through a three-run bottom-of-the-third that saw the Cardinal tie the game. Each run was unearned as the Aggies drew two errors before the three-RBI home run.

Sisk fought hard to draw a walk in the fourth before a long ball over left-center by Dumezich tugged the Aggies to a 6-4 lead. Orsak singled to the right-field gap and stole second behind Dumezich's homer, but was left on the bags. The senior center fielder was 2-for-2 on the game with a pair of base hits and a walk.

"I don't know if I've ever seen us better at the plate in terms of our two-strike hitting. I thought our two-strike approach was great. What Natalie Villarreal did in the very first at-bat set the tone for the entire day. She took I-don't-know-how-many pitches and ended up drawing a walk. That gives a pitcher fits. I thought our kids fought so hard and I'm so proud of them."

More errors in the bottom of the inning helped put Cardinal bodies on the bases before a home run, a triple and a double gave Stanford an 8-6 lead, but the Aggies never gave up the fight, slowly working themselves back into the game.

May led off in the top of the fifth with a resounding home run over center field to narrow the scoring gap to an 8-7 Stanford lead. Morgan drew a walk with one out and was replaced on the base paths by sophomore Kaydee Rayburn but the pinch runner couldn't reach the plate.

The Aggies once again took possession of a lead in the top of the sixth. Orsak singled perfectly between the left infielders before Villarreal plated a pair of runs on her final home run of the day, a bomb to right-center.

An error and a triple tied the game for the last time in the bottom of the inning as the Cardinal scored the 9-9 run.

With one out on the board in the top of the seventh Morgan soloed down the left field line, clearing both the outfield fence and the fence around the complex on the way to give A&M a 10-9 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

Dumezich fanned the Cardinal's pinch hitter before the Aggie defense sent the next two batters back to the dugout in the A&M upset victory. Dumezich (1-0) earned the win while Stanford's Teagan Gerhart (1-1) drew the loss with seven strikeouts thrown in 6.1 innings of work.

The Aggies will continue on with Kajikawa Classic play tomorrow evening, facing No. 8 Arizona at 5 p.m. CST before ending the day with an 8 p.m. CST contest vs. San Jose State. Both games will be broadcast live on 95.1-3 The Zone HD and AggieAthletics.com. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com.