No. 19 Texas A&M run-rules State to open Easter-weekend set at Davis
No. 19 Texas A&M returned back to Davis Diamond after a series loss to Tennessee the weekend prior.
With a week full of practice, the ladies in Maroon & White took the first game of the series against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday night, 9-1.
The Aggie pitching staff had another impressive showing in the circle.
Starting pitcher Emily Leavitt tallied two strikeouts giving up only two hits and one run through 4.2 innings. Shaylee Ackerman relieved her and held on to the momentum created in the circle.
Ackerman also produced two strikeouts, giving up only one hit through 1.1 innings.
The offense followed suit, bringing in two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Mississippi State committed their first of three errors on a throw that led to Koko Wooley scoring the first run of the game.
“I thought we did a good job early on. Coming out the first inning, I think that’s key for us honestly,” head coach Trisha Ford said. “We throw up a zero on defense and then put pressure on them by putting two runs up in the first inning.”
Julia Cottrill was responsible for part of the Aggies' success tonight.
In the bottom of the third inning, she brought in Wooley with a single to left field. Later in the game, she also brought Keely Williams home with a ground ball to the pitcher.
Cottrill also scored on of a Aiyana Coleman double in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“That’s my job,” Cottrill said. “I’m not trying to do too much. I’m really just trying to keep it simple and get the run across.”
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Aggies called the game and sent the Bulldogs packing for the night.
Bre Warren and Allie Enright managed to get on base and into scoring position quickly, just in time for Amari Harper to plate both runners with a double.
After a Williams sacrifice fly, Harper also found herself in scoring position. Wooley singled to right field for the Aggies' eighth run of the night. Trinity Cannon walked the game off with a sacrifice fly of her own to score Wooley.
The Aggies are now one game under .500 in the SEC with two more games left in the series against Mississippi State.
“Looking back from previous games, we’ve been playing high-level teams. Now looking towards the future, we’re not playing as great of teams,” Williams said. “We still want to have the mindset of hunting and being hunted.”
The Aggies will continue the series against Mississippi State on Sunday. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. and can be streamed on SEC Network.