No. 19 Softball Drops First Game of Mississippi State Series 7-0

Friday, March 13

Starkville, Miss.

5:30 PM

Texas A&M

20-6, 2-2

Mississippi State

19-5, 2-2

Texas A&M

Mississippi State

Mar 13, 2015 | Softball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 19 Texas A&M softball team dropped a 7-0 game to Mississippi State in the first game of the Aggies' first SEC road series on Friday. With the win, the Bulldogs (19-5, 2-2 SEC) lead the three-game series, 1-0, and the Aggies (20-6) fall to 2-2 in conference play.

The Aggies struggled offensively against the Bulldogs, picking up six hits but were unable to scratch any across home plate. Senior Rachel Fox (12-4) suffered her first conference loss in the circle after giving up seven earned runs on as many hits. Fox walked two batters and struck out five through five innings of work.

Both teams went scoreless in the first but Mississippi State struck early, scoring five in the bottom of the second. With two early outs, the Bulldogs rallied to put runners on the corners before a double to the center field warning track sent them both speeding home. A single and a two-base error allowed MSU to score the third run of the inning and a two run homer sent the final two across home plate.

A walk and a home run over the center field wall stretched the Bulldogs' advantage to 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth.

Texas A&M had a couple of bright spots offensively as sophomore Abby Donnell and freshman Ashley Walters both connected with two hits apiece.

Senior pitcher Lauren Ainsley came on in the sixth inning and got the Aggies out of the inning quickly, taking MSU's batter down in order with one strikeout.

Coach Evans Post Game Sound
“I thought Lauren Ainsley looked really good. Her timing was on and everything about her looked really comfortable and solid. She looked like she does when she's feeling really good. I wanted her to get some work in, she hasn't pitched in a long time. We weren't planning on her getting in today but when we got the opportunity we needed to get her in there. I love seeing her make the most of it, she went out there and gave us three up, three down to get us off the field and give us a chance to hit.”

Let's Hear a Hullabaloo…
… for consistently battling at the plate. Sophomore Abby Donnell and freshman Ashley Walters both notched multiple hits against MSU. Donnell is pacing the ball club, hitting .400 right now, and Walters has pushed her way up to fourth at .328. Gig 'em, Ashley and Abby!

Coach Evans on Donnell and Walters:
“Ashley Walters is going up there and competing every game. Sometimes it isn't pretty and then she steps right back in the next time and get a solid hit. I'm proud of her because she's worked really, really hard. Abby Donnell is probably our most consistent hitter right now. That's a kid that battles and finds a way to get herself on base. I'm really pleased with what she's doing. We put her in the two hole when Masek went down and she's done a nice job there.”

Up Next
The Aggies will take on the Bulldogs in the second game of the series Saturday afternoon with a 1:05 first pitch. The game can be heard on 1510 AM and the RadioAggieland app, as well as being broadcast on SEC Network +. Live stats can be found at 12thman.com and TAMUstats.com on your mobile device. Follow the Aggies on Twitter @AggieSoftball for all the latest updates, hits and pitches from the 2015 season.