COLLEGE STATION – Junior Lexi Smith delivered a lights-out relief performance helping Maroon to a 4-3 win, their first victory of the annual Texas A&M Softball Maroon and White Series.
Sophomore Samantha Show and junior Trinity Harrington earned the starts for White and Maroon, respectively, on the mound in the fourth contest of the six-games series. The two swapped sides from their respective teams from the first three games.
Trailing in the series 3-0, Maroon didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard. The first two batters of the ballgame reached base off of Show before Ashley Walters stepped in. The junior delivered a three-run dinger that put the White in an early hole and ended Maroon's 12-inning scoreless streak.
Maroon added to their lead in the second thanks to a long single from sophomore Riley Sartain that plated sophomore Kaitlyn Alderink. The 4-0 lead was the largest by any team in the series.
The White team responded in the third, as junior Kristen Cuyos had herself an epic inning starting with two stellar defensive plays in the top half of the frame. With the speedy sophomore Keeli Milligan on first and one away, Cuyos made an off-balance throw to get the second out. She then laid out for a grounder knocking down a potential RBI single before firing home to nab Milligan at the plate. In the bottom half, a catcher's interference and single brought Cuyos to the plate with two outs. The junior took Harrington deep drawing the White to within one run at 4-3.
Smith relieved Harrington for the Maroon team in the third. The junior dominated the White lineup for the next 3.1 innings, striking out the side in the fifth and retiring the first 8 batters she faced. In the final frame, Smith loaded the bases before inducing the game-ending fielder's choice. Smith finished with six strikeouts and didn't allow a base hit.
Among the bright spots for the White, junior Tori Vidales reached in three of five plate appearances. Freshman Payton McBride threw two scoreless frames in relief of Show, who was saddled with the loss.
Milligan led the Maroon offense as she reached five times in the ballgame, walking twice and singling on three occasions. The sophomore also swiped a pair of bases on the day.
The Aggies will back in action on Wednesday for game five at 4:30 p.m. from the Aggie Softball Complex.
Coverage of the game can be heard locally on WILLY 1550 AM or online at www.12thMan.com/listen.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
Head Coach Jo Evans quotes
On tonight's game…
"To me, Keeli Milligan set the tone for her team. Then you have Kaitlyn Alderink, who is only one-for-five, but ends up scoring two runs and a walk. Ashley Walters, who has been struggling to get some RBI this series, gets a big homerun. I think that really gave that team a boost to go out there early in the first inning and score, then back it up in the second inning with another score. Lexi Smith went out there and got some big strikeouts after challenging some of those top hitters. Some of the pitches she threw to Kristen Cuyos, Tori Vidales and Erin Houthoofd were really impressive."
On the close games of the series…
"I am happy to see them continue to compete. In all of my years doing the Maroon and White Series, I have never seen each team have a chance to win in the 7th inning. It is fun to see the games that close. They are fun to watch for both the fans and myself. It also allows me to see openings for improvement and to know our girls can get better."
Sophomore Samantha Show and junior Trinity Harrington earned the starts for White and Maroon, respectively, on the mound in the fourth contest of the six-games series. The two swapped sides from their respective teams from the first three games.
Trailing in the series 3-0, Maroon didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard. The first two batters of the ballgame reached base off of Show before Ashley Walters stepped in. The junior delivered a three-run dinger that put the White in an early hole and ended Maroon's 12-inning scoreless streak.
Maroon added to their lead in the second thanks to a long single from sophomore Riley Sartain that plated sophomore Kaitlyn Alderink. The 4-0 lead was the largest by any team in the series.
The White team responded in the third, as junior Kristen Cuyos had herself an epic inning starting with two stellar defensive plays in the top half of the frame. With the speedy sophomore Keeli Milligan on first and one away, Cuyos made an off-balance throw to get the second out. She then laid out for a grounder knocking down a potential RBI single before firing home to nab Milligan at the plate. In the bottom half, a catcher's interference and single brought Cuyos to the plate with two outs. The junior took Harrington deep drawing the White to within one run at 4-3.
Smith relieved Harrington for the Maroon team in the third. The junior dominated the White lineup for the next 3.1 innings, striking out the side in the fifth and retiring the first 8 batters she faced. In the final frame, Smith loaded the bases before inducing the game-ending fielder's choice. Smith finished with six strikeouts and didn't allow a base hit.
Among the bright spots for the White, junior Tori Vidales reached in three of five plate appearances. Freshman Payton McBride threw two scoreless frames in relief of Show, who was saddled with the loss.
Milligan led the Maroon offense as she reached five times in the ballgame, walking twice and singling on three occasions. The sophomore also swiped a pair of bases on the day.
The Aggies will back in action on Wednesday for game five at 4:30 p.m. from the Aggie Softball Complex.
Coverage of the game can be heard locally on WILLY 1550 AM or online at www.12thMan.com/listen.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
Head Coach Jo Evans quotes
On tonight's game…
"To me, Keeli Milligan set the tone for her team. Then you have Kaitlyn Alderink, who is only one-for-five, but ends up scoring two runs and a walk. Ashley Walters, who has been struggling to get some RBI this series, gets a big homerun. I think that really gave that team a boost to go out there early in the first inning and score, then back it up in the second inning with another score. Lexi Smith went out there and got some big strikeouts after challenging some of those top hitters. Some of the pitches she threw to Kristen Cuyos, Tori Vidales and Erin Houthoofd were really impressive."
On the close games of the series…
"I am happy to see them continue to compete. In all of my years doing the Maroon and White Series, I have never seen each team have a chance to win in the 7th inning. It is fun to see the games that close. They are fun to watch for both the fans and myself. It also allows me to see openings for improvement and to know our girls can get better."