Lessentine tosses no-hitter, A&M's offense cruises in run-rule of George Washington

Game #18: No. 5 Texas A&M 12, George Washington 0 (5 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (17-1, 0-0), George Washington (7-4, 0-0)
WP: Sydney Lessentine (4-0)
LP: Anna Reed (4-1)
Box Score

Coming off a doubleheader win on Thursday, No. 5 Texas A&M softball remained undefeated in the Texas A&M Invitational as it cruised to a 12-0 drubbing of George Washington in run-rule fashion.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Sydney Lessentine pitched all five innings and struck out 11 batters on the way to her first career no-hitter, the first by an A&M freshman since Rhiannon Kliesing did it in 2008.

The Alamogordo, New Mexico native frequently mixed in change-ups that flummoxed the Revolutionaries' hitters.

“Lessentine threw lights out,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford said. “I thought she got better as the game went on. Phenomenal job of pounding the zone, making the ball move.

“She threw her off speed. We threw a lot of them in full counts. I was trying to put more and more pressure on her and thought she responded really well.”

The Aggies drew blood early with a sophomore Mya Perez homered over the center field wall, her fifth of the season.

The bomb brought Kennedy Powell home after she singled, reaching second on an error and third on Mac Barbara’s groundout.

For the Revolutionaries, Lessentine repeatedly forced George Washington to strike out looking, racking up eight Ks in a row.

Another freshman standout, Frankie Vrazel, gave the Maroon & White a 4-0 advantage in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run bomb over the right field wall, her first career home run.

“I was really excited,” Vrazel said. “I was expecting a pitch that was more up in the zone because she had thrown me balls in the dirt pretty much. It was an amazing feeling, so I’m looking forward to more.”

The offense did not stop there in the fourth. 

Powell kept the Davis Diamond crowd roaring with a triple to right field that brought Koko Wooley and Allie Enright home to balloon the lead to six for the Aggies. 

A&M tacked on another run to keep the momentum rolling when Powell scampered home after a wild pitch from RHP Chloe Greene.

After Greene walked Perez and Johnson, the bases were loaded for A&M and up stepped freshman KK Dement.

The young phenom sent the crowd into a frenzy as she launched a grand slam over the right-center fence to make it 11-0.

“We’re talking about these freshmen so much,” Ford said. “Lessentine, Frankie and then KK having two rough at-bats and keeping her composure and coming back with a fantastic at-bat on her last at-bat. I think it says a lot. I’m excited about, obviously, our team this year, but I’m also excited about the future of A&M softball.”

Left fielder Kramer Eschete put the cherry on top of the victory with a single down the left field line that brought Vrazel around the bases to bring the A&M lead up to 12-0.

The Aggies will return to Davis Diamond on Saturday, March 1, where they’ll take on No. 13 Texas Tech. Preseason All-American Emiley Kennedy will get the start in the circle.

“Kennedy has gotten all of our extremely difficult games, but that’s the responsibility of being the kid, the face of the program,” said Ford. “She’s itching to get out there, and I’m excited to see her go out. I’m hoping we are going to have a really electric crowd tomorrow night and make some noise.”