Texas A&M Softball completes sweep of No. 12 Auburn, 7-1

Two at-bats and two two-run home runs comprised the offensive performance of senior first baseman Tori Vidales as the 11th-ranked Aggies (40-12, 13-8 SEC) beat No. 12 Auburn, 7-1, to complete a series sweep at Davis Diamond Sunday afternoon.

Vidales was absolutely locked in at the plate. After Keeli Milligan singled and stole second base in the first inning, Vidales launched a two-run shot over the center field wall. It was the first homerun in Davis Diamond history, and Vidales is now the record holder for the most total bases in Aggie history at 453.

“That’s awesome,” Vidales said of breaking the record. “One of my favorite stats is on-base percentage just because if I can get on base any way, any how – a walk, a hit, a hit-by-pitch – that just means I’m one step closer to getting across home plate.”

Vidales' second at-bat came in the bottom of the third and offered the same exact result, another two-run shot – this time over the left center field wall – driving in Sarah Hudek. The Maroon and White scratched across another run in the inning. After loading the bases, Kylie George raced home to score on a wild pitch.

The Aggies were firing on all cylinders offensively. Hudek, Milligan, Riley Sartain and Vidales all finished with two hits, and Kelbi Fortenberry had a base hit, too. As a team, A&M finished the day with 11 hits.

A&M scored again in the bottom of the fourth. After back-to-back hits from Milligan and Hudek, Ashley Walters drove in Milligan with a single to right field. A few batters later, Sartain drove an RBI single through the right side of the infield, bringing in Hudek.

The Tigers scored in the top of the sixth. After an error by Alderink and a single, Tannon Snow  doubled in a run to deep left field.

Lexi Smith (9-2, 1.46 ERA) was in the circle and pitched well with solid defense behind her. Smith worked six scoreless innings, logging three strikeouts and giving up one unearned run before turning the ball over to Payton McBride in relief. McBride finished the game by throwing a scoreless seventh inning.

Smith said sweeping Auburn was big for the team and the seniors given the opening of Davis Diamond this weekend.

“We knew this series was going to be really big for us. We knew we had to win this series because obviously they talk about RPI,” Smith said. “But we also wanted to bring Davis Diamond in the right way, and getting a sweep was bittersweet and it’s Senior Weekend, as well. And so getting to pitch on Senior Day, it was really, really fun. I just had to be relaxed and not get too amped up because emotions are high.”

 A&M made two big defensive plays at the plate to keep Auburn off the scoreboard in the top of the second. First, Kaitlyn Alderink fired a ground ball home to tag out a runner at the plate. Later in the inning, A&M catcher Ashley Walters threw to second to stop a stolen base and then got the ball back from Kristen Cuyos at short to tag out another runner at the plate.

Head coach Jo Evans said she was proud of how her team played in all areas of the game, saying this will help put the team one step closer to their goal of hosting a Super Regional at Davis Diamond.

“I’m really pleased with the way we played this weekend,” Evans said. “I thought our defense was phenomenal. I thought we had so many great plays and got out of some jams, and we pitched really well. I don’t have any complaints whatsoever about how we played defense, just really solid.”

The Ags will return to the diamond on May 5 when they travel to take on Alabama for a weekend series in Tuscaloosa. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network +.