No. 18 Aggies use five-run third to cruise past Sam Houston, 7-3
Game #16: No. 18 Texas A&M 7, Sam Houston 3
Records: Texas A&M (15-1), Sam Houston (6-9)
WP: Shaylee Ackerman (4-1)
LP: Abigail Young (4-1)
Box Score
No. 18 Texas A&M took home its 15th win of the season on Tuesday night at Davis Diamond, defeating Sam Houston, 7-3.
With head coach Trisha Ford utilizing what she calls a “Shaylee Sandwich,” righty Shaylee Ackerman started in the circle but was replaced by Brooke Vestal after one inning.
While Vestal took over the next three innings, she surrendered a home run to Kylei Hobbs in the third inning as Sam Houston struck first.
Ackerman was reintroduced in the fifth inning to finish what she started. Walking none, she allowed two hits and two runs with four strikeouts.
“Our pitching did a heck of a job,” Ford said. “That was set in stone. It was a hard switch. I told the pitchers beforehand.
“We called it the ‘Shaylee Sandwich.’ So, Shay was going to throw the first inning. We were going to switch, let Brooke throw two to three innings, kind of depending on how things go. Then, I wanted Shaylee to have to come back in. Practicing for some things that might come up later on in the year.”
The Aggies committed an uncharacteristic three errors, which allowed one run for the Bearkats as Hobbs scored after two fielding errors and a throwing error in the fifth. Hobbs had previously reached after singling up the middle to score Morgan Holliday.
Ford reiterated the importance of playing clean defense to her team moving forward.
“I told them ‘It’s time to focus up. Let’s get after it. Let’s play Aggie softball,’” Ford said. “That was not Aggie softball tonight. I think we really need to refocus and kind of get back on track and play our game.”
Capping off an explosive five-run third inning, Trinity Cannon smashed a two-run homer to left field. The Aggies received insurance in the sixth when Rylen Wiggins hit her fourth home run of the season. Overall, Wiggins finished 2-for-3 to lead the Aggies at the plate.
“I’ve been talking with [Jeff] Harger a little bit, watching some film with him, and that’s something that I and Allie (Enright) always do together,” Wiggins said. “And after last Thursday, I went up alone because I was pretty frustrated with myself, and he reminded me, ‘Hey, we need you on the lineup. We need you to keep doing what you’re doing. You're helping the team.’ And I guess that kind of just calmed me down a little bit. So, I have a little bit more of a clear mind, so I’m not pressing as much.”
Although the Aggies came out with the win, Ford is still looking to see improvement in the team’s performance ahead of this weekend’s tournament.
“It’s playing how we play no matter who is on the other side. So we can be playing Oklahoma. We can be playing Sam Houston. We’ve got to have the same energy,” Wiggins said. “We’ve got to perform the same exact way in both games. I think that’s what she’s seeing. She feels a little bit of a shift between how we play and who we’re playing… I know we can do it. I know we’ve been doing it.”
A&M heads to Fullerton, California, to participate in the Judi Garman Classic starting on Thursday against Michigan. First pitch is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT.
