Aggies capitalize on Tulsa's mistakes in weekend opener, winning 9-5
What a game.
Opening a three-game series, Texas A&M softball pulled out a 9-5 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Friday. This was a game of ups and downs, but the home team made up for their mistakes, improving to 4-2 on the season.
Makinzy Herzog started for the Aggies but had a rough beginning. After the leadoff batter beat an infield single, Herzog walked the next two batters to load the bases in the first frame.
Fortunately, Herzog delivered a clutch strikeout when it mattered, allowing the Aggies to get out of the inning, only giving up one run on a sacrifice fly.
However, the Golden Hurricane continued to take advantage on offense, extending their lead after a bunt and a double in the second.
The Aggies seemed to have no answers offensively until an error and a walk allowed two Aggies to get on base with one out.
Ashlynn Walls then stepped to the plate and boomed one to deep center. The ball bounced off the center fielder's glove and over the wall, giving the Aggies the lead.
Walls has had long bombs in her career before, but none quite as unique as this.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a home run that made me so anxious,” Walls said. “Not knowing if it was for sure going over or staying in. I honestly thought she might've caught it.”
Mistakes plagued both teams but especially Tulsa, who committed three errors on the evening.
Bre Warren led off the home half of the fourth, popping up what looked like an easy out for the Golden Hurricane’s left fielder, but the ball went just under her glove, allowing Warren to advance to third with no outs. An RBI groundout allowed Warren to score, putting the Aggies up 4-2.
Next, Kelbi Fortenberry grounded to shortstop, looking like an easy out for the visitors. However, the shortstop booted the ball, failing to successfully scoop the ball. As a result, the Aggies took a three-run lead into the fifth.
While the Aggies had all the momentum at this point, Tulsa never stopped fighting.
Mistakes plagued A&M as Tulsa brought the score within one with two outs in the fifth.
Blunders continued to hurt the Golden Hurricane, allowing the Aggies to push the lead to 7-4 in the sixth inning. A&M then broke it open, posting two more insurance runs on a Herzog double, locking down the victory.
“We had so many quality at-bats this game. That was something we knew we needed to improve on heading into this series.” said head coach Jo Evans on her team settling into the season. “It was nice to see us take care of business and take advantage of their mistakes to score.”
The Aggies and Golden Hurricane will be back at Davis Diamond tomorrow for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.