Saturday, May 27
Knoxville, Tenn.
4:00 PM
Texas A&M
46-11
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5
Tennessee
48-11
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Tennessee
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Texas A&M
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Photo by: Matt Osborne
Softball Forces Game Three with 6-5 Win over Tennessee
May 27, 2017 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Texas A&M softball team defeated Tennessee, 6-5, Saturday to force game three in the Knoxville Super Regional at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
The rubber match is set to begin at 2 p.m. CT Sunday and can be seen on ESPN. Radio coverage of the game can be heard locally on Willy 1550 AM.
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Aggies (46-11) plated four runs on five hits to take a 5-4 advantage. Kaitlyn Alderink and Tori Vidales led off the frame with back-to-back singles up the middle, before Ashley Walters plated Alderink on a single to center. Riley Sartain followed with a double, scoring Vidales. Sarah Hudek tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Miranda Miles, who pinch ran for Walters, to touch home as Samantha Show capped off the inning with a RBI double to left center.
The Volunteers (48-11) responded with an RBI infield single from Jenna Holcomb in the sixth to tie it, but the Aggies countered with a run of their own in the bottom half. Keeli Milligan was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Alderink. Vidales roped a one-out single to left center, scoring Milligan for her 45th RBI of the season.
For the second game in a row, Payton McBride stifled the Tennessee offense, allowing just two hits in 1.2 innings with a strikeout. McBride entered the game in the sixth with one out and the bases loaded, and forced an infield fly and a groundout to get out of the jam.
Tennessee grabbed an early lead in the first as Meghan Gregg homered to right center, but the Aggies quickly tied it as Kristen Cuyos singled home Milligan. The Volunteers scored two runs in the second on back-to-back RBI infield singles.
Caylan Arnold suffered the loss to move to 20-9 on the year. Arnold allowed two runs, two walks and three hits with a strikeout. Matty Moss tossed three innings of relief giving up four runs on five hits and two walks.
Trinity Harrington started in the circle for the Maroon and White, throwing 5.1 innings scattering nine hits, five runs, three earned with three strikeouts.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
Texas A&M Head Coach Jo Evans
(Opening statement)
"I am really proud of our team. We came to this regional to win it, and yesterday, we left here pretty disappointed because of how we played the game. I just felt like if we came out and fought, we could live with whatever the result was. I thought our team showed a lot of resiliency today. I thought we did a good job of bouncing back when we weren't perfect or had a mistake. The difference for us today was that, if we made a mistake, we shook it off. I thought that was a huge difference, and we played with so much heart. Offensively, we did a better job of attacking and being aggressive in the zone when they threw us something to hit. Trinity Harrington set the tone for us today on the mound. She came out and threw strikes and got ground balls. Payton McBride came out and finished the game. We needed our pitchers to go out and throw strikes today and challenge hitters, and I thought they did a good job at that."
(On trusting to bring in a freshman with bases loaded)
"We have a lot of confidence in her. Even if she gives up a hit, the only reaction from her is to get the ball and go again at the next hitter. Of our pitchers, she is the most trusting of our calls. They all trust us, but she understands that her only job is to stand there, wait to see what numbers are flashed up and then execute that pitch. She is really good at that. She doesn't think of any variables or what-ifs. It's very impressive to see her do that."
(On adjusting to Matty Moss' pitching)
"I think we got more aggressive. We stopped sitting around waiting for something to happen like if we will get walked or if she will throw a changeup. We started to take the game into our hands and be the aggressor at the plate. That made a world of difference. We have seen her a bunch. I came to the regional thinking if we could beat Moss then we have a good chance to win. She is a phenomenal pitcher, and we knew we would have to get through her to have a chance to win this thing. She is resilient and is used to throwing a ton of pitches, so I'm sure we will see her again tomorrow. I like the way we finally settled in, got aggressive and looked for pitches to hit early in the count."
Texas A&M Junior Infielder Tori Vidales
(On bringing in the go-ahead run)
"Mentally, I was just thinking about putting the barrel on the ball. A lot of times, you can go up being timid or thinking about past at-bats. I went in thinking about hitting the first strike and hitting it hard to where they couldn't get it. It worked out pretty well."
(On if she was surprised that UT pitched to her)
"I'm not really surprised. As a pitcher, you're supposed to get the hitter out, and there was already a runner on base. If you want two runners on, the top of the lineup did amazing today, coming up with big hits in big situations. We did a good job of coming in and hitting. Even if UT had walked me, I think they would have picked me up, and we would have scored regardless."
Texas A&M Freshman Pitcher Payton McBride
(On dealing with the pressure of coming in with bases loaded)
"I just wanted to put the ball in play and get outs. It's easy for me to do that when I know I have a really strong defense behind me, and they are going to get outs whenever they need to."
The rubber match is set to begin at 2 p.m. CT Sunday and can be seen on ESPN. Radio coverage of the game can be heard locally on Willy 1550 AM.
"You have to want it more than anything you've ever wanted!" -@Coach_Jo_Evans #12thMan @NCAAsoftball pic.twitter.com/6TTfwFYhDS
— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) May 28, 2017
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Aggies (46-11) plated four runs on five hits to take a 5-4 advantage. Kaitlyn Alderink and Tori Vidales led off the frame with back-to-back singles up the middle, before Ashley Walters plated Alderink on a single to center. Riley Sartain followed with a double, scoring Vidales. Sarah Hudek tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Miranda Miles, who pinch ran for Walters, to touch home as Samantha Show capped off the inning with a RBI double to left center.
The Volunteers (48-11) responded with an RBI infield single from Jenna Holcomb in the sixth to tie it, but the Aggies countered with a run of their own in the bottom half. Keeli Milligan was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Alderink. Vidales roped a one-out single to left center, scoring Milligan for her 45th RBI of the season.
For the second game in a row, Payton McBride stifled the Tennessee offense, allowing just two hits in 1.2 innings with a strikeout. McBride entered the game in the sixth with one out and the bases loaded, and forced an infield fly and a groundout to get out of the jam.
Tennessee grabbed an early lead in the first as Meghan Gregg homered to right center, but the Aggies quickly tied it as Kristen Cuyos singled home Milligan. The Volunteers scored two runs in the second on back-to-back RBI infield singles.
Caylan Arnold suffered the loss to move to 20-9 on the year. Arnold allowed two runs, two walks and three hits with a strikeout. Matty Moss tossed three innings of relief giving up four runs on five hits and two walks.
Trinity Harrington started in the circle for the Maroon and White, throwing 5.1 innings scattering nine hits, five runs, three earned with three strikeouts.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
.@Coach_Jo_Evans' comments following Saturday's win over Tennessee #12thMan pic.twitter.com/cUre4RFm1t
— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) May 28, 2017
"I think our whole lineup fought really hard." -@TorvilleSlugger #12thMan #ncaasoftball pic.twitter.com/GVJw7LhX7V
— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) May 28, 2017
"I'm so proud of us for keeping our composure." -@rileysartain #12thMan #ncaasoftball pic.twitter.com/QKOdDP7K9R
— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) May 28, 2017
.@CujoTheBeast17 on the electric atmosphere Saturday: #12thMan pic.twitter.com/BaItUtCpC7
— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) May 28, 2017
"I'm so proud of them. I couldn't ask for any better teammates." -Trinity Harrington #12thMan pic.twitter.com/yyPtXqUgXs
— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) May 28, 2017
"I knew that each and every batter going up there would get the hit." -@pmcbride13 on her teammates. #12thMan #NCAAsoftball pic.twitter.com/xYmkc6yW4V
— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) May 28, 2017
Texas A&M Head Coach Jo Evans
(Opening statement)
"I am really proud of our team. We came to this regional to win it, and yesterday, we left here pretty disappointed because of how we played the game. I just felt like if we came out and fought, we could live with whatever the result was. I thought our team showed a lot of resiliency today. I thought we did a good job of bouncing back when we weren't perfect or had a mistake. The difference for us today was that, if we made a mistake, we shook it off. I thought that was a huge difference, and we played with so much heart. Offensively, we did a better job of attacking and being aggressive in the zone when they threw us something to hit. Trinity Harrington set the tone for us today on the mound. She came out and threw strikes and got ground balls. Payton McBride came out and finished the game. We needed our pitchers to go out and throw strikes today and challenge hitters, and I thought they did a good job at that."
(On trusting to bring in a freshman with bases loaded)
"We have a lot of confidence in her. Even if she gives up a hit, the only reaction from her is to get the ball and go again at the next hitter. Of our pitchers, she is the most trusting of our calls. They all trust us, but she understands that her only job is to stand there, wait to see what numbers are flashed up and then execute that pitch. She is really good at that. She doesn't think of any variables or what-ifs. It's very impressive to see her do that."
(On adjusting to Matty Moss' pitching)
"I think we got more aggressive. We stopped sitting around waiting for something to happen like if we will get walked or if she will throw a changeup. We started to take the game into our hands and be the aggressor at the plate. That made a world of difference. We have seen her a bunch. I came to the regional thinking if we could beat Moss then we have a good chance to win. She is a phenomenal pitcher, and we knew we would have to get through her to have a chance to win this thing. She is resilient and is used to throwing a ton of pitches, so I'm sure we will see her again tomorrow. I like the way we finally settled in, got aggressive and looked for pitches to hit early in the count."
Texas A&M Junior Infielder Tori Vidales
(On bringing in the go-ahead run)
"Mentally, I was just thinking about putting the barrel on the ball. A lot of times, you can go up being timid or thinking about past at-bats. I went in thinking about hitting the first strike and hitting it hard to where they couldn't get it. It worked out pretty well."
(On if she was surprised that UT pitched to her)
"I'm not really surprised. As a pitcher, you're supposed to get the hitter out, and there was already a runner on base. If you want two runners on, the top of the lineup did amazing today, coming up with big hits in big situations. We did a good job of coming in and hitting. Even if UT had walked me, I think they would have picked me up, and we would have scored regardless."
Texas A&M Freshman Pitcher Payton McBride
(On dealing with the pressure of coming in with bases loaded)
"I just wanted to put the ball in play and get outs. It's easy for me to do that when I know I have a really strong defense behind me, and they are going to get outs whenever they need to."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McBride, Payton (2-1)
L: Caylan Arnold (20-9)
Batting:
2B: Aubrey Leach 1
HR: Meghan Gregg 1
RBI: Aubrey Leach 1 ; Jenna Holcomb 2 ; Meghan Gregg 1 ; Haley Bearden 1
SH: Brooke Vines 1 ; Chelsea Seggern 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Meghan Gregg 2 ; Haley Bearden 1 ; Chelsea Seggern 1 ; CJ McClain 1
Batting:
2B: Sartain, Riley 1 ; Show, Samantha 1
RBI: Vidales, Tori 1 ; Cuyos, Kristen 1 ; Walters, Ashley 1 ; Sartain, Riley 1 ; Hudek, Sarah 1 ; Show, Samantha 1
SH: Alderink, Kaitlyn 2
SF: Hudek, Sarah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Milligan, Keeli 2 ; Alderink, Kaitlyn 1 ; Vidales, Tori 1 ; Miles, Miranda 1 ; Sartain, Riley 1
HBP: Milligan, Keeli 1 ; Russell, Erica 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ SoftballSS
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
OF/1B
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P/UT
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
C
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