No. 10 Aggies Remain Unbeaten, Down Pitt 9-5

COLLEGE STATION-The 10^th-ranked Texas A&M softball team remained unbeaten on the season, pounding out 12 hits Saturday evening en route to a 9-5 win over Pittsburgh before 1,217 fans at the Aggie Softball Complex.

 

With the victory, the second of a come-from-behind variety on the day, the Aggies (9-0) are off to their best start since 2007. A&M rallied to defeat No. 23 North Carolina 3-1 in its first game of the afternoon.

 

"Coming back twice today shows we have a lot of fight in our team," head coach Jo Evans said. "We need to do a better job defensively-we put ourselves in a couple of jams-but I'm encouraged by how our team fought back, didn't press, didn't give up and found a way to win. I always feel like it's the sign of a good team that you can not play your best and still win. That shows we have a lot of different weapons out there and different ways we can win ballgames."

 

That held true in the victory over the Panthers, with eight different A&M batters-highlighted by a 3-for-4, 3-RBI performance by Emily Albus-collecting hits in the game.

 

A&M fell behind early after Pitt (1-3) took advantage of two Aggie errors in the top of the first, scoring twice off starter Lauren Ainsley.

 

Texas A&M would answer quickly however, jumping on Panther starter Savannah King (0-2) one inning later with a six-hit, five-run outburst. The big blow of the frame came off the bat of second baseman Jenna Stark, who brought home Mel Dumezich and Amber Garza with a long home run to left field. The three-run shot was her first of the year and put the Aggies on the board.

 

Albus would add an RBI single and Cassie Tysarczyk would plate another after an outfield error off her base hit, making the score 5-2.

 

Albus extended the lead in the next inning, lining a two-out, two-run double off the base of the wall in left to score Alex Masek and Brittany Clopton.

 

Tysarczyk made the score 8-2 in the fourth, blasting a home run into the street past the right-field fence-her third long ball of the season.

 

Pitt scored three off reliever Kristen Davenport in the fifth to cut the Aggie lead to 8-5 but would get no closer. A&M tacked on another run on a Dumezich RBI groundout in the sixth.

 

Ainsley (3-0) totaled six innings of work in the game, allowing two unearned runs, four hits and three walks while fanning five.

 

Texas A&M will conclude the Aggie Classic on Sunday when the Aggies face SFA at 12:15 p.m. Pitt will battle North Carolina in the day's first game at 10 a.m. Fans can listen to the Aggie/SFA game locally on SportsRadio 1150 The Zone.