Aggie softball sweeps Saturday double-header against Lamar & Binghamton
Well, it seems Aggie Softball may have finally found their rhythm. Coming off of two shutout wins yesterday, the Aggie invitational featured another double-header in which the Aggies won both games, and quite convincingly, to say the least.
Game 1: Texas A&M 7, Lamar 4
In what was arguably the most exciting game of the season so far, the Aggies were able to come out with the much-needed W and extend their first win streak of the season to three games.
The game started very slow for the Ags, as a few miscues from starting pitcher Payton McBride put the Cardinals up 2-0 at the end of the first. That slow start continued into the third inning when Cardinal second baseman Hannah Kinkade hit a bomb to extend Lamar’s lead to 3-0.
This prompted Head Coach Jo Evans to switch pitchers from McBride to Kayla Poynter.
It wasn’t until the 4th inning that the Aggie bats finally found some life.
A leadoff-double from Haley Lee followed by Jourdyn Campbell getting hit by a pitch quickly had the Aggies threatening in scoring position. Payton McBride followed by redeeming herself for her earlier pitching woes with an RBI double to put the Aggies on the board.
The momentum didn't stop there, as a base knock by Shaylee Ackerman and an RBI base hit from Ashlynn Walls tied up the game. The Lamar pitcher would then walk in a run to give the Aggies their first lead of the day.
However, the game was not under wraps by any means. Pitching struggles continued for the home team as Poynter walked three straight to tie the game up again at 4-4. Coach Evans would change pitchers a second time, bringing leadoff hitter Makinzy Herzog to the mound. Herzog pitched lockdown the rest of the game, giving up no hits and sitting down three, which is as many strikeouts as both previous pitchers threw combined.
The Aggies never looked back, and a big three-run inning in the 6th secured the series win over the Cardinals.
While disappointed in the sluggish start, Jo Evans was still satisfied with the way her team fought back.
“We just keep learning about ourselves and making adjustments, but I was really happy to see us respond when we got after them,” said Evans. “For us to go out there and score four to take the lead, I was just really pleased with our kids.”
Game 2: Texas A&M 10, Binghamton 2 (5 innings)
This game featured the Aggies firing on all cylinders. Despite a season of somewhat slow starts, the team came out hot to begin the second game of the day.
Makinzy Herzog led off the first inning with a double to left-center, followed up by a homer from Haley Lee to take a 2-0 lead early.
However, Binghamton was able to respond in the third inning due to an illegal pitching move from Aggie pitcher Ashley Daugherty that loaded the bases. The following Bearcat batter would float a ball over the shortstop’s head and bring home a couple of baserunners to tie the game up. Despite this, Daugherty would go on to pitch four innings and only give up three hits while fanning four batters.
The Ags didn’t let up offensively as RBIs from Haley Lee and Jourdyn Campbell, as well as a three-run bomb from Ashlynn Walls, put the Aggies up by five in the third. The solid offensive and defensive combo continued throughout the game until Makinzy Herzog walked it off in the 5th inning with a solo home run to lead the Aggies to the 10-2 run-rule victory.
A&M scored in every inning of the contest except one and out-hit the Bearcats 10-3.
The player of the game, and arguably the double-header, was undoubtedly Makinzy Herzog. The transfer from Florida State had herself a day, with a superb pitching performance in the first game and a total of five hits and three RBI’s through both games.
“It’s been really easy to fit in with them,” said Herzog on adjusting to life with her new team. “They’re a really fun group of girls, and I know it will be a good season.”
Aggie Softball is back in action tomorrow to finish off the Aggie Invitational with a matchup against St. John’s at 11:15 am.