Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Softball
Softball: A&M takes game one from #4 Tennessee 4-1
GAME #40: Texas A&M 4, Tennessee 1
RECORDS: Texas A&M 28-12, 9-7; Tennessee 33-6, 9-4
WP: Rachel Fox (11-6)
LP: Ellen Renfroe (22-3)
S: None
BOX SCORE: LINK
College Station - In a tight conference race, it is of utmost importance to take care of business on your own field, even against the best teams in the country.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M first baseman Jenna Stark hit the second Aggie homer of the night in the bottom of the fourth inning.
RECORDS: Texas A&M 28-12, 9-7; Tennessee 33-6, 9-4
WP: Rachel Fox (11-6)
LP: Ellen Renfroe (22-3)
S: None
BOX SCORE: LINK
College Station - In a tight conference race, it is of utmost importance to take care of business on your own field, even against the best teams in the country.
Behind a stellar night in the circle from A&M starter Rachel Fox and a pair of homeruns from Cassie Tysarczyk and Jenna Stark, the No. 21 Texas A&M softball team defeated the No. 4 Tennessee Lady Vols by a score of 4-1 at the Aggie Softball Complex on Friday night. The win was the first against Tennessee in school history (1-5).
“I think we have been playing well as of late but let a few games slip away from us,” said A&M head coach Jo Evans. “Tonight we came out very aggressive and showed great tenacity and intensity.”
I think we have been playing well as of late but let a few games slip away from us. Tonight we came out very aggressive and showed great tenacity and intensity.
With one out in the bottom of the first, A&M left fielder Brittany Clopton laced a triple into the gap in left-center field. In the next at-bat, catcher Nicole Morgan took a pitch off the leg and was awarded first base which set up a potential scoring opportunity for Tysarczyk.
After Tennessee starter Ellen Renfroe worked the count full, Tysarczyk blasted the 3-2 offering over the wall in right to give the Aggies an early 3-0 advantage. The homer was the sixth of the season for Tysarczyk and moved her into a tie for second on the team in RBI at 32.
“Cassie is the one we want up there in that situation,” stated Evans. “I know in her mind she was thinking, ‘All I have to do is hit a fly ball right here’. The one that went yard was just a bonus. She did a great job in that at-bat.”
In the top of the fourth, the Lady Vols managed to cut into the A&M lead on a solo-shot to left field off the bat of shortstop Madison Shipman, making the score 3-1. Later in the inning, Tennessee left fielder Melissa Davin reached first on an error at third base by A&M third baseman Reagan Boenker, but Boenker made a nice play one batter later to end the frame.
In for the injured Amber Garza, Evans was pleased by the freshman’s ability to play her position.
“She really did a solid job,” said Evans of Boenker. “Of course we miss Garza and always want her in our lineup, but we refer to these as golden opportunites. That’s what Reagan Boenker has right now and she did a good job.
With the A&M lead down to two runs, the Aggies went right back to work in the bottom of the fourth. Looking at an 0-1 count with two outs already on the board, A&M first baseman Jenna Stark found the sweet spot of the ball and launched a shot over the scoreboard in left field to push the lead back to three runs at 4-1.
The Aggies’ ability to immediately answer the Lady Vols was crucial in picking up the victory.
“Jenna Stark’s homerun was a huge difference maker,” said Evans. “They cut the lead to two and could have been feeling good about themselves, but instead in the exact half inning we go out and Stark hits the homerun.”
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M first baseman Jenna Stark hit the second Aggie homer of the night in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Apart from the three big swings that led to the three homeruns in the game, the pitching was solid from both sides.
Fox showed great command of the strike zone all night and produced possibly the best complete game of her Aggie career. In total, the redshirt junior struck out eight batters and gave up just four hits, one walk and one earned run in her seven innings of work.
“She was terrific,” Evans said of Fox. “At Kentucky (last weekend), I thought she threw the game of her career, but tonight she surpassed that. She was ahead of hitters all night and looked in complete control.”
Although it was nice to get the series off to a strong start against one of the nation’s top teams, the Aggies will need to duplicate their performance one more time this weekend in order to take the series. The teams play again on Saturday at 4 p.m. and on Sunday at noon.
“I want us to use this win for confidence,” concluded Evans. “We expect to see Renfroe again tomorrow. We expect them to throw their ace at us every time. We have them by the throat and want to stay there. I don’t want to see us relax in any way.”
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