Herzog tosses no-hitter, Aggies sweep first day of Texas A&M Invitational
Game 1: Texas A&M 9, Kansas 1 (Six Innings)
by James Hernandez
Behind senior pitcher Makinzy Herzog's second career no-hitter, Texas A&M opened the Texas A&M Invitational on Friday with a 9-1 run-rule over Kansas in six innings.
“It felt awesome, just kind of had to not think about it because when you tend to think about it, that’s when they usually end up getting a hit,” Herzog said. “My defense just did really well behind me.”
Herzog didn’t hesitate to set the tone early in the circle with two strikeouts in the first inning.
The Maroon & White’s early defensive domination soon translated to an even stronger performance at the plate.
An RBI triple from sophomore Trinity Cannon and an RBI single by Rylen Wiggins pushed the Aggies to a commanding 4-0 advantage after only one inning.
In the top of the second, Herzog was able to recover a deflection, but Haley Lee subsequently collided with Herzog, resulting in the ball slipping out her glove as the Jayhawks’ only run of the game came unearned.
With two outs, senior Morgan Smith singled up the middle with Lee sliding headfirst to secure another run.
The one-sided slugfest wasn’t quite over yet.
Wiggins launched a 230-foot bomb directly over the centerfield wall in the bottom of the third to extend A&M’s lead to 6-1.
Soon after a pitching change, Smith picked up an RBI double with a fly to left-center to score two more in the fourth.
Despite the late defensive effort from Kansas, an eventual run-rule was imminent as a passed ball allowed Wooley to score, lifting the Aggies to their seventh victory of the season.
Game 2: Texas A&M 4, Missouri State 1
by Kay Naegeli
Missouri State’s Daphne Plummer scored on a wild pitch to start the first inning of the second contest for the Aggies. Koko Wooley then made an impressive defensive grab to end the inning and prevent the Bears from garnering any momentum.
“She makes plays like that in practice where you just shake your head and ask, ‘How did she do that?’” A&M head coach Jo Evans said. “She gets tremendous reads off the bat.”
In response, with bases loaded, Wiggins reached on a passed ball. All runners advanced. and Lee scored an unearned run to knot the score.
In the second, Wooley launched a triple to the outfield. However, the Aggies were not able to capitalize as Lee struck out for the first time of the season.
In the bottom of the third, an RBI double by Rylen Wiggens scored Morgan Smith as the Aggies took the lead.
Mayce Allen’s improvement during the off-season is beginning to reflect on the field. Last season, she played in one game. Just this week, Allen has hit two home runs — one against Sam Houston on Wednesday, and one tonight in the bottom of the fourth.
“I was just commenting to our team that last year Mayce had two at-bats on the season,” Evans said. “Here she is this year, doing what she’s doing. That’s from hard work, making adjustments as a hitter and not giving up. She fought to get herself in the lineup.”
Strong defense by the Aggies held the Bears to one run, and an RBI single by Lee finalized the score at 4-1.
“We’ve got a really solid defense,” Evans said. “I thought we did a great job of taking care of the ball and making plays.”
Up Next
The Aggies will return to Davis Diamond for a Saturday afternoon doubleheader starting with Stephen F. Austin at 2 p.m. and Pittsburgh following the conclusion of the first game.