#23/24 Aggies Fall 6-1 to LSU in Series Opener

Saturday, April 18

Baton Rouge, La.

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

33-13, 8-8

LSU

40-5, 12-4

Texas A&M

LSU

Apr 18, 2015 | Softball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

BATON ROUGE, La. - The No. 23/24 Texas A&M softball team (33-13, 8-8 SEC) fell behind early against LSU (40-5, 12-4 SEC) Saturday night and dropped the first game of the weekend, 6-1.

Senior Rachel Fox got the start in the circle, fanning a single batter and allowing five runs on ten hits in her tenth loss of the season.

The Tiger offense got hot early, putting runners on base on back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first before scoring on a throwing error. With a runner on third, Fox struck out the next LSU offering and the Aggies ended the inning with three consecutive outs.

Trailing by one and with two gone, back-to-back singles to left field from junior Breanna Dozier and freshman Kristen Cuyos put the Aggies on base in the top of the second inning. Freshman Erica Russell drew the first walk of the game to load the bases but A&M was unable to capitalize and left them all stranded.

Neither team could put anything on the board in the second and third innings, despite the Aggies putting five on base on three hits from Cuyos, Dozier and sophomore April Ryan.

The Tigers tacked on two more runs in the home half of the fourth inning on RBI singles through the right side and up the middle.

A&M chipped into the LSU lead in the home portion of the fifth. Senior Brittany Clopton led off with a single that dropped in the right field hole and was joined on the bags as freshman Tori Vidales drew a walk. With two runners on and two gone, sophomore Celena Massey sent a laser into center field, giving Clopton the opportunity to show off her speed on the way home.

LSU answered the Aggie attack by widening the gap to four in a two-run inning, highlighted by a sacrifice fly and an RBI single up the middle, as well as a pair of stolen bases.

Behind 5-1 and going down in order, senior Lauren Ainsley entered the circle to relieve Fox in the bottom of the sixth. The Tigers hung their sixth run of the night on the Aggies after a wild pitch allowed a runner to cross home plate.

A&M was unable to mount a comeback and dropped the weekend opener 6-1 in Baton Rouge.

Coach Evans Post Game Sound
“We did a good job of battling out there. We took some walks, we hit the ball and we just couldn't get that timely hit early on. I thought we hit the ball on the nose a bunch and had a good approach. Their pitcher is throwing 70 mph out there and we didn't chase a lot of pitches. We took our walks, hit the ball hard and right at them. All in all, I felt like we competed at the plate. We went up there with a plan and, for the most part, stuck with it.”

Let's Hear a Hullabaloo
…for sticking to the plan. Sophomores April Ryan and Celena Massey, junior Breanna Dozier, freshman Kristen Cuyos and senior Brittany Clopton all recorded hits against LSU, hitting the ball hard and smart against one of the SEC's most dominant pitchers. The Aggies also drew four walks to get themselves on base whenever possible in a tough offensive situation. Gig 'em, ladies!

Up Next
The Aggies will face LSU in the second game of the series at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday on the SEC Network. Follow along with live stats at 12thMan.com and @AggieSoftball on Twitter for all the hits, pitches and everything in between during the 2015 softball season.