Softball: A&M picks up midweek win over Northwestern State 6-3

GAME #29: Texas A&M 6, Northwestern State 3
RECORDS: Texas A&M 22-7; Northwestern State 12-12
WP: Rachel Fox (7-5)
LP: Shelby Sells (3-5)
S: Abby Donnell (3)
BOX SCORE: LINK

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College Station - Sometimes all it takes to right the ship after a disappointing weekend is a strong midweek victory.

After a lackluster 1-2 series against South Carolina last weekend, the No. 15 Texas A&M softball team rebounded with a 6-3 win over the Northwestern State Demons on Tuesday night. With the victory, A&M improves to 22-7 on the year, while dropping the Demons to an even 12-12.

“Early on, you felt like one hit would break the game wide open,” said A&M head coach Jo Evans. “But that didn’t happen. I thought their team did a good job to keep fighting back.”

It didn’t take long for the scoreless tie to be broken, as NWSU second baseman Cali Burke knocked a solo-shot over the wall in left field to give the Demons an early 1-0 advantage. Although the ball was not hit too hard, an extremely strong wind to dead-center lifted it out of the park and into the trees behind left field.

Without recording a single hit, the Aggies evened the game in the bottom of the frame after a trio of walks and a hit by pitch. A&M looked to do more damage after the tying run as the bases remained loaded with no outs, but couldn’t bring anyone else home.

Evans was not pleased with her team’s inability to get a timely hit in the first, but did like the fact they answered in some form.

“[The game] could have had a whole different look and feel to it had we gotten up there with the bases loaded and been able to drive the ball,” stated Evans. “Credit our kids for at least answering back. [NWSU] went out and scored in the first and we answered right back.”

The Aggies did however get the timely hit they needed in the bottom of the second when A&M catcher Nicole Morgan lined a double into left-center field to score two. The two-RBI double gave Morgan 38 RBI on the year, adding to her team leading tally, and gave the Aggies a 3-1 lead after two.

One inning later, A&M first baseman Jenna Stark added to the lead with a solo homerun over the wall in left-center field. The four-bagger was Stark’s second of the season.

“She had a bad at-bat in her first AB, but the next time up she got all of it,” said Evans. “It’s nice to see her settle into the strike zone. She’s doing a nice job up there and has definitely turned a corner.”

The Demons made a small comeback in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs on a bloop single to right off the bat of Tara McKenney after A&M starter Rachel Fox gave up a walk and a single to start the inning.

A&M countered with two of their own in the bottom of the sixth off the bats of shortstop Taran Tyler and designated hitter Abby Donnell to end any threat of a midweek upset. Both Donnell and Tyler went 2-for-4 at the plate on Tuesday night and bumped their averages to .429 and .353 respectively.

“[Donnell] is going out there looking to hit,” said Evans of the freshman from Wichita Falls. “She’s getting pitches in her wheelhouse and is hitting the ball pretty hard. We always talk about getting opportunities and making the most of them and that kid has made the most of her at-bats.”

Now the Aggies head into another important weekend in SEC play as the Georgia Bulldogs come to town for a three-game series. The Bulldogs are currently riding a 10-game winning streak and sit at 3-0 in conference play, but have yet to play a single game in a true road environment.

“We definitely needed a win tonight,” concluded Evans. “You want to go into a series against a team like Georgia feeling good about yourself. Georgia is on a roll and has a lot of power in their lineup. It’s going to be a dogfight for sure.”