Aggies Push Home Streak to 30

Saturday, February 18

COLLEGE STATION

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

6-2

NORTH CAROLINA STATE

3-5

North Carolina State

Texas A&M

Feb 18, 2012 | Softball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Juniors Meagan May and Sydney Shannon each had solo home runs as the No. 15 Texas A&M softball team (6-2) took North Carolina State (3-5) with a 3-2 victory Saturday on day two of the Aggie Classic.

With the win, A&M is now on a program-best and current national-best 30-game home winning streak that dates back to April of 2010. In 2011 the team was undefeated at the Aggie Softball Complex.

The Aggies forced NCSU to make four errors on the night and A&M hurler Lindsey Sisk (3-1) only allowed as many hits and two unearned runs in seven innings of work for the victory. The Aggies committed two errors and batted four hits for three runs on the night.

"I love the way our kids came out and took advantage of our opportunities," head coach Jo Evans said. "They made some mistakes that I'm sure are uncharacteristic of their ballclub, too, and we took advantage of it. I love seeing our kids aggressive on the base paths and it's always nice getting a run early."

The Pack took the first bite with a pair of singles in the top of the first inning but both runners were stranded on the third out.

Senior Natalie Villarreal took advantage of a three-error inning by NCSU, reaching on an error by the second baseman on the leadoff and speeding to second in the next frame on a throwing error by the shortstop. A pair of walks by May and sophomore Amber Garza loaded the bases before an error in left field gave Villarreal time to run home for the 1-0 lead.

Shannon's bomb over right field opened the bottom of the second inning as the Aggies stretched to a 2-0 lead. Freshman Brittany Clopton and senior Kelsea Orsak each had singles in the next two at bats and got as far as third before being sent back to the dugout.

The Aggies' third-and-final run of the night came in the bottom of the fourth when May homered over left field after a series of hard-hit foul balls in previous at bats.

With A&M leading 3-0, NCSU threatened to make a comeback in the top of the sixth. Designated player Katie Mansilla beat out an infield single and scored on a pair of A&M errors. She was followed across the plate by third baseman Scout Albertson who reached on an error and scored on an illegal pitch. Both of NCSU's runs were unearned.

Shannon ended the night with a single to tie her career high with two hits. The junior was 2-for-3.

"We really felt like we needed to shuffle up the lineup a little bit," Evans said. "Our kids that we've been having on a regular basis are just not really seeing the ball well. We just thought that it was time to make something happen and give some of these other kids opportunities and see how they handle it. When Sid rounded third after that home run I said, 'Are you trying to tell me something?' She went up there and did a great job tonight. She ended up going 2-for-3 and really looked comfortable at the plate."

North Carolina State's Emily Weiman (3-5) suffered the loss after giving up three runs on four hits in six innings of work. She and Sisk each struck out seven batters.

The Aggies' game vs. UTSA has been moved to a 2:30 p.m. Sunday start at the Aggie Softball Complex. A&M will start the day tomorrow with a 12:15 p.m. game vs. Tulsa. Both contests will be broadcast live on Sports Radio 1150 AM and AggieAthletics.com. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com.