Aggies wrap up Texas A&M Invitational with 2-0 win over Central Arkansas
The Texas A&M softball team closed out the Texas A&M Invitational with a 2-0 victory over Central Arkansas on Monday afternoon, finishing the opening weekend with a 3-2 record.
Kayla Poynter started in the circle for the Aggies and held the Sugar Bears scoreless for six innings despite working in and out of trouble.
In the first inning, Poynter hit a batter and walked the cleanup hitter. Later in the frame, a hard-hit ball right back at Poynter got away from her. With the bases loaded and two outs, Poynter delivered a clutch strikeout to end the threat.
In the second inning, two hits to left field put base runners on the corners, but Poynter was clutch once again, tossing her third strikeout of the game to end the inning.
In the second, freshman Bre Warren hit a deep double off the center-field wall to put two runners in scoring position. Ashlynn Walls grounded to shortstop, scoring Trinity Cannon from third, giving A&M the lead.
Despite constant threats the entire game, the Sugar Bears could never successfully find home plate. UCA stranded nine runners in the contest.
The play of the game came in the sixth inning when Shaylee Ackerman drove in Kelbi Fortenberry from second with a long ball off the center-field wall. The Sugar Bears never recovered, giving the Aggies a winning record in 2021’s opening weekend.
Ackerman had a big weekend, adding a key insurance run today and hitting her first career homer on Sunday. Her improvement from last year is apparent, and Ackerman feels more confident this season.
“Last year, I felt like I rushed my process rather than trust my work,” Ackerman said. “This year, I came in with a different mentality. It's gonna happen when it’s gonna happen rather than me trying to rush everything.”
Head coach Jo Evans expects the best out of her team and is happy they responded following last night’s close loss to Texas Tech.
“I feel really good about how our team processed what we talked about after the game yesterday because I was really hard on them,” Evans said. “I was not easy on our kids yesterday whatsoever. I think it’s really important for our young team to learn how to win close games and keep a lead with some pressure. I thought we did that really well today.”
Aggie softball begins a three-game series with Tulsa on Friday at Davis Diamond. First-pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.