Aggies End OU Series with 4-0 Shutout

Saturday, April 14

COLLEGE STATION

3:00 PM

Texas A&M

28-13, 8-5

(#6) OKLAHOMA

35-5, 11-2

Oklahoma

Texas A&M

Apr 14, 2012 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 14^th-ranked Texas A&M softball team (29-13, 9-5 Big 12) ended the three-game conference series vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (35-6, 11-3 Big 12) with a 4-0 shutout victory during a Saturday doubleheader at the Aggie Softball Complex.

The Aggies fell to the Sooners in the first game of the doubleheader and the second game of the series, 5-2 before bouncing back for the series finale victory. Oklahoma took the series, 2-1, despite the loss in game three. This was the first series loss for A&M.

Tomorrow's game was combined with today's originally-scheduled 3 p.m. game for a doubleheader due to forecasted thunderstorms on Sunday.

"I'm proud of the way that we came back," head coach Jo Evans said. "I was not pleased with our effort in the first game today. You can't come out like that and think you're going to win. I thought that was a big game for us and for us to not handle ourselves better was frustrating.

"I talked to our kids after the first game about how you have to love the challenge. You have to love to be in a situation where there's a team that, on paper, is supposed to beat you and love the opportunity to turn it around and beat them. I didn't think that we did that in the first game. I wasn't pleased with that, but we came out and did exactly what we were supposed to do in the second game."

A&M was unable to score until the seventh inning in game two, but the two-run rally wasn't enough for a victory.

Oklahoma took advantage of a base hit, a double and a Keilani Ricketts home run in the top of the first to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. The long ball hit the top of the wall in left field and bounced over.

The Aggies put runners on the bags in each of the first two innings but couldn't capitalize as they stranded three runners in the first and second combined. Junior Meagan May pounded a single up the middle in the first. Junior Brittany Walker, who reached on a fielder's choice, and senior Lindsey Sisk, who put a base hit in the centerfield gap, were left stranded in the bottom of the second.

The third inning gave OU another run as four consecutive batters reached base. The 4-0 run was plated on a single to left-center by right-fielder Brittany Williams.

Junior Mel Dumezich, who had reached base on a walk but was thrown out on a fielder's choice in the second inning, reached again in the fourth. Her infield single was hit directly at OU pitcher Gascoigne but was hit too hard for a play to be made as the first baseman took first.

Ricketts hit her second home run of the game, a solo bomb over right field that pushed the Sooners' lead out to 5-0.

A home run by senior Lindsey Sisk in the bottom of the seventh gave the Aggies two runs when the designated player and Walker, who reached on her second fielder's choice of the game, crossed home. The long ball over left-center wasn't enough for a rally, however, and OU took a 5-2 victory in game one.

Sisk (5-4) suffered the loss after giving up four earned runs on six hits and walking two batters. Sooner hurler Michelle Gascoigne (14-1) earned the win after striking out five batters and allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks.

After four-and-a-half scoreless innings in game two, sophomore Nicole Morgan popped an RBI single into right-center field to give the Aggies a 3-0 fifth-inning lead over the Sooners.

"Of course Ricketts is a great pitcher and she's going to get her outs," Evans said. "I just know that we have to be mature enough to understand that it may take us a little while to score, but it's not the end of the world - we can do that. We showed our patience [in the second game]. After five innings, we finally set the table. Our effort was so much better in the second game today."

The bases were loaded with senior Natalie Villarreal on third, sophomore Emily Albus on second and sophomore Allison Garrett on first. Villarreal reached on a bunt single and a fielder's choice put Albus on base before May took first on a hit by pitch. Garrett entered to run for May as Morgan cleared the bases with the one-out single.

"It was a perfect situation for us right there," Evans said. "It was full count, our runners are going and we have a chance to score from first base on that with Allison Garrett. It was our execution that made that inning happen for us, with Kelsea Orsak getting herself on as a leadoff, and Natalie Villarreal coming up and laying down a perfect bunt and ends up getting a base hit out of it. Then Meagan May goes out there and gets herself on and then it gets exciting. And then Nic, what a great job she did up there with two strikes on her. That's a lesson to everybody. You don't have to hit it over the wall, you've got to make something happen for us. Their outfield was playing deep all day long."

The Aggies didn't stop the momentum there, though. Dumezich led off in the bottom of the sixth with a solo bomb over left field to up the lead to 4-0. Sisk singled down the left-field line and was replaced on the bases by sophomore Taran Tyler to chase Ricketts from the circle.

Dumezich retired the side in order in the top of the seventh, catching the final batter swinging as she picked up her third complete-game conference shutout of the season.

The right-hander tossed seven complete shutout innings, striking out nine batters and allowing no runs on no walks and six hits. Ricketts (20-5) suffered just her fifth loss of the season, giving up four earned runs on seven hits while striking out four in five innings of work.

"[Mel had] six hits and none of them are over the wall because she's not throwing anything belt-high and up," Evans said. "I thought that she and Meagan were really smart in that game. They did a good job of keeping the ball down. She threw down enough that then the up-pitch was tough for them. I thought she and Meagan did a really great job of mixing pitches, both sides of the plate, throwing in a few changeups there and then going up, but being ahead in the count so that you can go up. She was ahead most of the time and I thought she looked comfortable out there."

The Aggies travel to Texas Tech this week for a Tuesday doubleheader and a single game Wednesday. The action on both days begins at 5 p.m. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.