Aggies plate school-record 25 runs in annihilation of A&M-Commerce
Texas A&M more than doubled the run-rule minimum in the final game of the Texas A&M Invitational, annihilating Texas A&M-Commerce, 25-0, setting a school record for runs scored in the process.
The Aggies forced five different Lion pitchers to pitch in the afternoon ballgame. Nearly every one of the A&M-Commerce pitchers saw the field, and some of them did so twice.
“We set a goal we wanted to try and get that starting pitcher out by the third inning,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford said.
Mission accomplished.
The A&M offense saw a pitching change in the bottom of the first, second and third innings. The Lions used five of six possible pitchers. Only freshman right-handed pitcher Destiny Martinez did not see the circle.
Meanwhile, A&M pitcher Emiley Kennedy threw the entirety of the five-inning game and tossed a complete-game shutout.
Freshman and College Station native Aiyana Coleman hit her first collegiate career home run in the first inning. The three-run homer soared up and over the scoreboard in left field.
“It just made me realize how much I really wanted to hit and how much I should take advantage of each opportunity I was given,” Coleman said. “Coach Ford giving me the opportunity to do it today. It just felt really good.”
That blast accounted for just three of Coleman’s five RBIs.
In the bottom of the third, the Fightin’ Farmers scored 13 runs and pushed their lead to 21-0. Junior Trinity Cannon, in particular, scored a pair of runs in about 20 minutes.
A&M’s bats could not be stopped as they registered 22 hits. A complete team effort, 11 different Aggies had a hit while 12 scored at least one run, and 13 recorded an RBI. The Aggies hit four total home runs, with Koko Wooley, Gracyn Coleman and Allie Enright also leaving the yard.
“They should be mentally, emotionally, physically exhausted because [the players] gave everything [they] could in that game,” Ford said.
The blowout victory capped off a 6-0 weekend in the Texas A&M Invitational that saw the Aggies outscore their opponents 68-3.
“On to the next, on to the next,” Ford said. “It’s just that mentality of like never giving up, just being relentless in that pursuit.”
A&M will travel to the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational next weekend, with the Aggies’ next game scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 16, against No. 3 Oklahoma State. The Aggies and Cowgirls will face off in Clearwater at 9 a.m.