Aggies stay perfect in Davis Diamond Classic with convincing wins over LA Tech, Montana

Texas A&M remained perfect in the Davis Diamond Classic on Saturday, taking down Louisiana Tech and Montana in back to back games to move to 4-0 on the weekend. The Aggies are now 15-3 overall and will look for the weekend sweep in one last game on Sunday. 

Game one: Texas A&M 7, Louisiana Tech 2

This may sound like a broken record at this point, but Makinzy Herzog is very good.

The junior pitcher absolutely dominated in game one, making game-changing plays on both sides of the ball throughout the game. Herzog would end the first game 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs, including the go-ahead run in the fifth inning that sealed the win. She also recorded a save, going into the circle in the sixth inning and giving up no runs while sitting down two batters. 

Herzog was in a bit of a slump earlier in the season but has obviously figured it out and made adjustments. 

“Me and coach Snider have been working really hard,” said Herzog. “Just a lot of reps and working on timing has been big for me. We figured that out and it helped a lot with my hitting.” 

After a back and forth first couple of innings, the score was knotted up at two heading into the fifth. Mariana Torres would hit a single up the middle, making it home on the next at-bat after Herzog hit an RBI double off the left field wall to give the Aggies the lead.

The Maroon and White broke things open in the sixth, after back-to-back singles from Morgan Smith and Torres would open things up for Herzog to get her final hit and the Aggies’ final run of the game to go up 7-2. The Bulldogs never recovered, pushing the Aggies’ record to 3-0 at the Davis Diamond Classic.

Game two: Texas A&M 6, Montana 0 

The second game went almost perfectly for the Aggies, as they dominated the Grizzlies in all facets of the game. 

The Aggie bats were on fire to start off game two, as the home team quickly went up 1-0 before Montana even logged their first out. At the conclusion of this game, the Ags would have eight different players with a hit, totaling seven doubles, a triple and a two-run bomb from Kelly Martinez in the sixth. Martinez went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs, playing a huge role in the Aggies’ dominant performance and fifth straight win. 

“I’m happy for (Martinez) to go out there and nearly hit for the cycle,” said head coach Jo Evans. “She did some really good things for us tonight. We are just getting better every game.” 

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Kelsey Broadus also had a great game one, improving to 3-1 in the circle on the season. 

Starting pitcher Kayla Poynter tossed a great game, giving up no runs and moving to 4-0 on the season. She gave up five hits en route to the win, but Jo Evans is ready to ignore that stat completely.

“I thought Kayla Poynter looked really good,” said Evans. “That is definitely the best she’s thrown all year. She had complete command of her pitches and the strike zone. She gave up five hits, but it didn’t feel like it. I feel like we are really starting to come into our own defensively.” 

Evans is satisfied with the progress but knows they’re not done improving yet. 

“Great teams can win when they’re not playing their very best. I’m not saying we’re a great team, but we’re starting to be a good team. Not to be hard on our ball club, but we still have a lot to prove. We’ve been able to win games that last year we maybe wouldn’t have won. I’m pleased with the confidence I've seen.”

The Aggies return to play tomorrow, closing out the Davis Diamond Classic at 10 a.m. against Montana.