Friday, February 23
Cathedral City, Calif.
2:30 p.m.
Texas A&M
11-1
3
vs
1
Oregon
10-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Texas A&M
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
3
3
0
Oregon
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
5
2
Sixth-Ranked Aggies Pick Up Wins Over No. 5 Oregon, No. 19 Cal
Feb 23, 2018 | Softball
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The No. 6 Texas A&M softball team rallied to defeat No. 5 Oregon, 3-1, before defeating No. 19 California, 5-1, Friday on day two of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
Against the Ducks, Lexi Smith stifled the Oregon (10-2) offense, which entered the tournament ranked third in the nation in scoring. The Temple, Texas, native allowed just one run on five hits and struck out seven.
In the third, the Ducks quickly loaded the bases with a single, walk and bunt single and later scored on a bases-loaded walk by Shannon Rhodes. Smith got out of the jam with two popups and a three-pitch strikeout, and retired the next 11 batters she faced.
The Aggies (12-1) mounted their comeback in the sixth as Keeli Milligan, who pinch hit for Erica Russell, drew a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kelbi Fortenberry. After Tori Vidales was intentionally walked, Ashley Walters hit a RBI single to center, and an error by the center fielder allowed Vidales and Walters to come around and score.
The win marked the sixth time the Aggies have won when trailing or tied in the fifth inning or later this season.
In game two, Kaitlyn Alderink gave Texas A&M a 1-0 lead in the third with a RBI single to center, scoring Milligan. The next inning, Kristen Cuyos launched her first homer of the year over the left field wall giving the Aggies a 3-0 advantage.
Walters extended the lead in the fifth, singling home Alderink with a shot to right center.
After Cal scored a run in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-1, the Aggies got the run back in the bottom half of the frame as Russell dropped a single into shallow right, which allowed Fortenberry to touch home.
Maddie MacGrandle earned the win to move to 3-0 on the year as the freshman struck out six in six innings of work.
Top Offensive Players:
Kelbi Fortenberry | 3-6, R
Ashley Walters | 2-6, R, 2 RBI
Keeli Milligan | 1-2, 3 BB, 2 R, 2 SB
Pitching Breakdown:
Lexi Smith (W, 2-0, 0.54 ERA) | 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 7 K
Maddie MacGrandle (W, 3-0, 1.42 ERA) | 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, BB, 6 K
ON DECK
The Aggies close out the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic against No. 1 Washington at 12 p.m. CT.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can follow the Aggies wherever they go by following @AggieSoftball on Instagram and Twitter or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TAMUSoftball.
Against the Ducks, Lexi Smith stifled the Oregon (10-2) offense, which entered the tournament ranked third in the nation in scoring. The Temple, Texas, native allowed just one run on five hits and struck out seven.
In the third, the Ducks quickly loaded the bases with a single, walk and bunt single and later scored on a bases-loaded walk by Shannon Rhodes. Smith got out of the jam with two popups and a three-pitch strikeout, and retired the next 11 batters she faced.
The Aggies (12-1) mounted their comeback in the sixth as Keeli Milligan, who pinch hit for Erica Russell, drew a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kelbi Fortenberry. After Tori Vidales was intentionally walked, Ashley Walters hit a RBI single to center, and an error by the center fielder allowed Vidales and Walters to come around and score.
The win marked the sixth time the Aggies have won when trailing or tied in the fifth inning or later this season.
In game two, Kaitlyn Alderink gave Texas A&M a 1-0 lead in the third with a RBI single to center, scoring Milligan. The next inning, Kristen Cuyos launched her first homer of the year over the left field wall giving the Aggies a 3-0 advantage.
Walters extended the lead in the fifth, singling home Alderink with a shot to right center.
After Cal scored a run in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-1, the Aggies got the run back in the bottom half of the frame as Russell dropped a single into shallow right, which allowed Fortenberry to touch home.
Maddie MacGrandle earned the win to move to 3-0 on the year as the freshman struck out six in six innings of work.
Kelbi Fortenberry | 3-6, R
Ashley Walters | 2-6, R, 2 RBI
Keeli Milligan | 1-2, 3 BB, 2 R, 2 SB
Pitching Breakdown:
Lexi Smith (W, 2-0, 0.54 ERA) | 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 7 K
Maddie MacGrandle (W, 3-0, 1.42 ERA) | 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, BB, 6 K
The Aggies close out the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic against No. 1 Washington at 12 p.m. CT.
Fans can follow the Aggies wherever they go by following @AggieSoftball on Instagram and Twitter or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TAMUSoftball.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Smith, Lexi (2-0)
L: Kleist, Megan (3-2)
Batting:
RBI: Walters, Ashley 1
SH: Fortenberry, Kelbi 1 ; Show, Samantha 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vidales, Tori 1 ; Walters, Ashley 1 ; Milligan, Keeli 1
Batting:
RBI: Rhodes, Shannon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bowden, Shaye 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
SS
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballC
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