Saturday, May 20
College Station
1:30 PM
Texas A&M
44-10
3
vs
1
Texas State
42-16
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Texas State
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
6
0
Texas A&M
0
0
0
0
1
2
X
3
11
1
Photo by: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M Rallies to Defeat Texas State, 3-1
May 20, 2017 | Softball
COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M softball team scored three runs in its final two at bats to defeat the Texas State Bobcats, 3-1, Saturday at the Aggie Softball Complex.
With the win, the Aggies advance to a NCAA Regional final for the eighth-consecutive year and 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
The Aggies (44-10) erased a 1-0 deficit in the fifth as Keeli Milligan led off the frame with a single up the middle and moved to second a Kaitlyn Alderink sacrifice bunt. Kristen Cuyos delivered a two-out single to left, scoring Milligan for her 41st RBI of the season.
In the sixth, Sarah Hudek laced a leadoff double to right and advanced to third on a Samantha Show sacrifice bunt. Milligan soared a go-ahead double over the left fielder, her second of the game, plating Hudek. A wild pitch allowed Milligan to move to third, before scoring on an Alderink infield single.
Texas State scored in the first inning on a Corrina Liscano bases-loaded walk.
Samantha Show notched her 18th victory of the season, tossing a six-hit complete game with three strikeouts. Texas State's Randi Rupp was saddled with the loss to move to 28-10.
The Aggies outhit the Bobcats, 11-6, marking the 18th game this season the Maroon and White have recorded 10 or more hits. Milligan led the team with a season-high three hits, while Alderink, Ashley Walters and Hudek each had two.
The Aggies will face the winner of the Texas-Texas State game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Coverage of tomorrow's game can be seen on WatchESPN and the ESPN app, while the network affiliate is to be determined. The game can be heard locally on Willy 1550AM.
Tickets may be purchased at the Kyle Field or Reed Arena box offices, online at www.12thman.com/tickets or by phone at 888-99-AGGIE or 979-845-2311.
Texas A&M Athletics is committed to providing the 12th Man with the safest environment possible at its athletic venues. Be prepared on game day by reviewing the 12-1-1 Gig 'Em Rule. Visit www.12thman.com/beclear for all information regarding the clear bag policy.
Information regarding the NCAA Regional can be found online at www.12thMan.com/NCAASoftball.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY POST GAME QUOTES
GAME THREE – MAY 20, 2017
JO EVANS, HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
"I'm proud of our ball club. I thought we really fought hard today. To get a win against a really great opponent like Texas State and against a great pitcher like [Randi] Rupp, just shows me that our ballclub's in the right place, that we're where need to be to get out and compete and win games. I think we did a nice job under pressure, defensively and offensively. We just kept knocking at the door and hoping we could finally get some runs on the board but I thought Sam [Show] threw great. She really got her composure together after that first inning and threw a gem of a ballgame."
On decision to stay with Samantha Show…
"Sam all season has shown us who she is as a competitor and a pitcher, so if I take her out in that first inning, she's going to think I don't have confidence in her. She's going to think that I don't think she's the person for the job and I think she's the person for the job. I also trust our defense that we're going to make plays behind her. So, we have all the pieces together. Our pitchers don't have to be perfect. Our offense needs to be that team that picks up a pitcher if they're not perfect. Sam's done, and our staff really, for the most part all year, has done everything we needed them to do. It's up to our offense to generate some enthusiasm and energy and momentum so that pitcher can go out there and feel at ease. Our kids took care of that. Sam took care of that early on and then just stayed with it and our offense started to come around."
On Keeli Milligan leading off and getting on base early in the game…
"Keeli's big for us and this season, she's had some real bright spots. She's stepped up big for us at times. I know there was a stretch there where that kid was getting the RBIs for us to win games, so she is that player. We talked about it as a staff and say, 'How're we going to make a run at this? We have to have Keeli Milligan in that leadoff spot and we need her to have that energy that she brings.' She's doing what she knows how to do. It's not foreign to her. She knows how to play like that. It's actually very instinctual for her and she's just staying out of her own way and letting herself have fun playing the game. To me, last night I thought she was really important in that game. That gets lost because of all the hits and such, but I thought she came out and made a statement about who she was going to be in that leadoff spot. Then today, there have been times where in situations we might want to put more of a power hitter in with runners in scoring position. You could see today the confidence that Keeli had and that we had in her that no, she's exactly the person we want up right now so really important for her to be doing what she's doing and she's having fun doing it."
On not getting frustrated…
"We have a talented team. If we are putting pressure on ourselves and questioning whether we can score runs, that's a problem. So, for me in this tournament, I just really talked about us, you've heard me say it a million times, being the aggressor, expecting to get the big hit. There have been times, you're right, where we've gotten on our heels. We strand runners and then say 'Woe is me.' 'Woe is me' is not going to play in the College World Series. Our team, I think we've got a different mentality about how we should play the game and what's expected of us. We could've easily there, in the middle kind of go 'Ugh, here we go again.' We didn't do that and I'm pleased to see us turn a corner."
SAMANTHA SHOW, SOPHOMORE P/UT
On limiting damage and overcoming tough innings…
"I just took a deep breath. That first inning I was really shaky which I haven't been like that this whole season. It was honestly really new to me, so I had to push through it. After that first inning, I came back and talked to Coach Jo [Evans] and she calmed me down. Then, I went out and did what I knew how to do."
On Riley Sartain and Aggie defense…
"I love having Riley at third base. She's been just a wall over there. I have so much confidence in her making all the plays that I give her. It was really cool for her to make that play where they tried to squeeze on a, I think there was two strikes and I threw a changeup up and Riley was there in like a second and made the play. It takes a lot of pressure off me to know my defense has my back like that."
On not letting frustration get to her…
"We were hitting the ball hard. I think we were really squaring her up and that kind of gave us the confidence to keep taking hacks and seeing if the ball was going to drop or if we could just get a rally going. I think that's what helped us score three runs."
On Keeli Milligan helping teammates dye hair…
"She's the hairstylist. If you go into her kitchen, it's like all the colors are in her kitchen. It's all Keeli."
KEELI MILLIGAN, SOPHOMORE IF/OF
On her RBI double…
"It's really important to me to do well in Regionals because I feel like I haven't been the type of player that I know I can be all season. I've just been telling myself from the very beginning, 'I'm going to get hot when it really counts. I'm going to get hot when it really matters in Regionals,' and so I came out here and it's just so important to me to be that person to my team right now. I just want to be the person that my team wants up in that situation."
On approach against Randi Rupp and her go-ahead double…
"I knew it wasn't going to be an easy pop out for her. I knew she was going to have to chase it a little bit. As soon as I saw her do one circle out there, I knew that she was going to be chasing it for a little bit so she turned around. I saw her back and I was like, 'yep, here we go!' but we didn't even focus so much on the last time we played Texas State. We know this is a new game. It's basically a new team out here playing in Regionals. We knew what we were going to see out of her so we just stayed true to ourselves and we know we can hit pitches she's throwing. We just went out there and we just did what we knew how to do."
On if more teammates will dye their hair blue…
"I'll try to talk them into it. [Laughs] It just comes over you and then I have teammates that want to go out there and do it with me so we just all get them over at the house and we're getting all creative with it. If you want your hair done, come to me and I'll get it done."
TEXAS STATE POST GAME QUOTES
GAME THREE – MAY 20, 2017
RICCI WOODARD, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"Actually, I thought we played a great ballgame. We just didn't capitalize when we had some opportunities early in the game and they ended up capitalizing late in the game. I thought it was a pretty good ballgame all the way around."
On Randi Rupp pitching out of jams…
"I think the more you see a pitcher, the better you get usually. I think that's part of it. They started capitalizing on the pitches she was leaving up in the zone. I think she competed the entire game and they did a good job of making some adjustments late in the game."
On the play to end the first inning…
"Unfortunately, it hit her on the wrist but because she was wearing a watch, it sounded like it hit the bat knob because I thought it hit the bat knob too. She has a definite mark on her wrist where it hit, but it hit her on the watch, so she should've been on there anyway. Again, those things can go either way and I thought they made a good decision of just stepping on the plate and getting out of the inning."
ARIEL ORTIZ, JUNIOR SS
On seeing the ball well and making improvements later today…
"I think we just still need to keep working on strikes. That was my main focus because sometimes I get too anxious and I won't but today I was just picking a side of the plate and just trying to put a good swing on a good pitch."
With the win, the Aggies advance to a NCAA Regional final for the eighth-consecutive year and 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
The Aggies (44-10) erased a 1-0 deficit in the fifth as Keeli Milligan led off the frame with a single up the middle and moved to second a Kaitlyn Alderink sacrifice bunt. Kristen Cuyos delivered a two-out single to left, scoring Milligan for her 41st RBI of the season.
In the sixth, Sarah Hudek laced a leadoff double to right and advanced to third on a Samantha Show sacrifice bunt. Milligan soared a go-ahead double over the left fielder, her second of the game, plating Hudek. A wild pitch allowed Milligan to move to third, before scoring on an Alderink infield single.
Texas State scored in the first inning on a Corrina Liscano bases-loaded walk.
Samantha Show notched her 18th victory of the season, tossing a six-hit complete game with three strikeouts. Texas State's Randi Rupp was saddled with the loss to move to 28-10.
The Aggies outhit the Bobcats, 11-6, marking the 18th game this season the Maroon and White have recorded 10 or more hits. Milligan led the team with a season-high three hits, while Alderink, Ashley Walters and Hudek each had two.
The Aggies will face the winner of the Texas-Texas State game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Coverage of tomorrow's game can be seen on WatchESPN and the ESPN app, while the network affiliate is to be determined. The game can be heard locally on Willy 1550AM.
Tickets may be purchased at the Kyle Field or Reed Arena box offices, online at www.12thman.com/tickets or by phone at 888-99-AGGIE or 979-845-2311.
Texas A&M Athletics is committed to providing the 12th Man with the safest environment possible at its athletic venues. Be prepared on game day by reviewing the 12-1-1 Gig 'Em Rule. Visit www.12thman.com/beclear for all information regarding the clear bag policy.
Information regarding the NCAA Regional can be found online at www.12thMan.com/NCAASoftball.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY POST GAME QUOTES
GAME THREE – MAY 20, 2017
JO EVANS, HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
"I'm proud of our ball club. I thought we really fought hard today. To get a win against a really great opponent like Texas State and against a great pitcher like [Randi] Rupp, just shows me that our ballclub's in the right place, that we're where need to be to get out and compete and win games. I think we did a nice job under pressure, defensively and offensively. We just kept knocking at the door and hoping we could finally get some runs on the board but I thought Sam [Show] threw great. She really got her composure together after that first inning and threw a gem of a ballgame."
On decision to stay with Samantha Show…
"Sam all season has shown us who she is as a competitor and a pitcher, so if I take her out in that first inning, she's going to think I don't have confidence in her. She's going to think that I don't think she's the person for the job and I think she's the person for the job. I also trust our defense that we're going to make plays behind her. So, we have all the pieces together. Our pitchers don't have to be perfect. Our offense needs to be that team that picks up a pitcher if they're not perfect. Sam's done, and our staff really, for the most part all year, has done everything we needed them to do. It's up to our offense to generate some enthusiasm and energy and momentum so that pitcher can go out there and feel at ease. Our kids took care of that. Sam took care of that early on and then just stayed with it and our offense started to come around."
On Keeli Milligan leading off and getting on base early in the game…
"Keeli's big for us and this season, she's had some real bright spots. She's stepped up big for us at times. I know there was a stretch there where that kid was getting the RBIs for us to win games, so she is that player. We talked about it as a staff and say, 'How're we going to make a run at this? We have to have Keeli Milligan in that leadoff spot and we need her to have that energy that she brings.' She's doing what she knows how to do. It's not foreign to her. She knows how to play like that. It's actually very instinctual for her and she's just staying out of her own way and letting herself have fun playing the game. To me, last night I thought she was really important in that game. That gets lost because of all the hits and such, but I thought she came out and made a statement about who she was going to be in that leadoff spot. Then today, there have been times where in situations we might want to put more of a power hitter in with runners in scoring position. You could see today the confidence that Keeli had and that we had in her that no, she's exactly the person we want up right now so really important for her to be doing what she's doing and she's having fun doing it."
On not getting frustrated…
"We have a talented team. If we are putting pressure on ourselves and questioning whether we can score runs, that's a problem. So, for me in this tournament, I just really talked about us, you've heard me say it a million times, being the aggressor, expecting to get the big hit. There have been times, you're right, where we've gotten on our heels. We strand runners and then say 'Woe is me.' 'Woe is me' is not going to play in the College World Series. Our team, I think we've got a different mentality about how we should play the game and what's expected of us. We could've easily there, in the middle kind of go 'Ugh, here we go again.' We didn't do that and I'm pleased to see us turn a corner."
SAMANTHA SHOW, SOPHOMORE P/UT
On limiting damage and overcoming tough innings…
"I just took a deep breath. That first inning I was really shaky which I haven't been like that this whole season. It was honestly really new to me, so I had to push through it. After that first inning, I came back and talked to Coach Jo [Evans] and she calmed me down. Then, I went out and did what I knew how to do."
On Riley Sartain and Aggie defense…
"I love having Riley at third base. She's been just a wall over there. I have so much confidence in her making all the plays that I give her. It was really cool for her to make that play where they tried to squeeze on a, I think there was two strikes and I threw a changeup up and Riley was there in like a second and made the play. It takes a lot of pressure off me to know my defense has my back like that."
On not letting frustration get to her…
"We were hitting the ball hard. I think we were really squaring her up and that kind of gave us the confidence to keep taking hacks and seeing if the ball was going to drop or if we could just get a rally going. I think that's what helped us score three runs."
On Keeli Milligan helping teammates dye hair…
"She's the hairstylist. If you go into her kitchen, it's like all the colors are in her kitchen. It's all Keeli."
KEELI MILLIGAN, SOPHOMORE IF/OF
On her RBI double…
"It's really important to me to do well in Regionals because I feel like I haven't been the type of player that I know I can be all season. I've just been telling myself from the very beginning, 'I'm going to get hot when it really counts. I'm going to get hot when it really matters in Regionals,' and so I came out here and it's just so important to me to be that person to my team right now. I just want to be the person that my team wants up in that situation."
On approach against Randi Rupp and her go-ahead double…
"I knew it wasn't going to be an easy pop out for her. I knew she was going to have to chase it a little bit. As soon as I saw her do one circle out there, I knew that she was going to be chasing it for a little bit so she turned around. I saw her back and I was like, 'yep, here we go!' but we didn't even focus so much on the last time we played Texas State. We know this is a new game. It's basically a new team out here playing in Regionals. We knew what we were going to see out of her so we just stayed true to ourselves and we know we can hit pitches she's throwing. We just went out there and we just did what we knew how to do."
On if more teammates will dye their hair blue…
"I'll try to talk them into it. [Laughs] It just comes over you and then I have teammates that want to go out there and do it with me so we just all get them over at the house and we're getting all creative with it. If you want your hair done, come to me and I'll get it done."
TEXAS STATE POST GAME QUOTES
GAME THREE – MAY 20, 2017
RICCI WOODARD, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"Actually, I thought we played a great ballgame. We just didn't capitalize when we had some opportunities early in the game and they ended up capitalizing late in the game. I thought it was a pretty good ballgame all the way around."
On Randi Rupp pitching out of jams…
"I think the more you see a pitcher, the better you get usually. I think that's part of it. They started capitalizing on the pitches she was leaving up in the zone. I think she competed the entire game and they did a good job of making some adjustments late in the game."
On the play to end the first inning…
"Unfortunately, it hit her on the wrist but because she was wearing a watch, it sounded like it hit the bat knob because I thought it hit the bat knob too. She has a definite mark on her wrist where it hit, but it hit her on the watch, so she should've been on there anyway. Again, those things can go either way and I thought they made a good decision of just stepping on the plate and getting out of the inning."
ARIEL ORTIZ, JUNIOR SS
On seeing the ball well and making improvements later today…
"I think we just still need to keep working on strikes. That was my main focus because sometimes I get too anxious and I won't but today I was just picking a side of the plate and just trying to put a good swing on a good pitch."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Show, Samantha (18-6)
L: Rupp, Randi (28-10)
Batting:
2B: Ortiz, Ariel 1
RBI: Liscano, Corrina 1
SH: Naivar, Kimberlin 1 ; Young, Jaelyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McDowell, Christiana 1
Batting:
2B: Milligan, Keeli 2 ; Alderink, Kaitlyn 1 ; Walters, Ashley 1 ; Hudek, Sarah 1
RBI: Milligan, Keeli 1 ; Alderink, Kaitlyn 1 ; Cuyos, Kristen 1
SH: Alderink, Kaitlyn 1 ; Show, Samantha 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Milligan, Keeli 2 ; Hudek, Sarah 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
SS
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P/UT
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballFall Ball Press Conference: Trisha Ford
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NCAA Regional Day 3: Liberty Postgame
Sunday, May 18
Highlights: Texas A&M 5, Liberty 6
Sunday, May 18
