Game #9: No. 8 Texas A&M 11, James Madison 0 (5 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (6-3, 0-0), James Madison (2-4, 0-0)
WP: Sydney Lessentine (3-0)
LP: Kirsten Fleet (1-1)
Box Score
Game #10: No. 8 Texas A&M 5, Northwestern 5
Records: Texas A&M (7-3, 0-0), Northwestern (4-6, 0-0)
WP: Sidne Peters (3-0)
LP: Mason, Marina (1-3)
Save: Taylor Pannell (1)
Box Score
A storm was brewing in Clearwater, Fla., on Sunday morning, but some fans heard a different crack of thunder.
No. 8 Texas A&M closed out the Shriner Children’s Clearwater Invitational with a doubleheader, defeating James Madison University 11-0 shutout, before pulling off a 6-5 comeback win against Northwestern.
Even with an 8 a.m. CT start against the Dukes, it didn’t take long for A&M’s bats to get hot.
Senior Taylor Pannell set the Aggies off on the right foot, making way for sophomore Sydney Lessentine, who closed the game out with 2.2 innings and four strikeouts.
A second-inning surge put five on the board for the Aggies, as KK Dement and Piper White scored from a single by sophomore DeeDee Baldwin to open the scoring.
Frankie Vrazel, Baldwin and Ariel Kowalewski scored off a series of soaring singles from Kennedy Powell, Kowalewski and preseason All-American Mya Perez.
Powell has been the only player to score at least one run in every game so far this season. The veteran Aggie went 1-for-3 against the Dukes, adding one run to the board and pushing her average to .484 on Sunday morning.
The Aggies kept a strong lead in the game, as they brought in two more thanks to a home run from Kelsey Mathis, followed by a run from Micaela Wark, giving A&M a 7-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, A&M collected its final four runs of the game after a home run by Kowalewski.
By noon, the diamond turned into a wind tunnel as dirt swept through the air, setting the Aggies up for a rocky game vs. Northwestern.
Sophomore Kate Munnerlyn held her own against the windy conditions, striking out two of the three batters she faced to open the game.
However, a five-run third for Northwestern chased her after 2.1 innings as Sidne Peters took over.
Needing to comeback, Kowalewski and Perez picked up RBIs, but the Aggies trailed 5-2 after the third.
Still, they chipped away as Powell singled in the fourth, and Wark homered in the fifth.
With two innings left, the Maroon & White continued to fight against the storm moving in, without letting any Wildcats on base in the top of the sixth.
With their comeback on the horizon, Powell scored off of Perez’s game-tying RBI single before Edwards drove in Kowalewski.
Amidst the windy conditions, Pannell tossed a scoreless seventh to ensure A&M’s six unanswered runs held up.
The Maroon & White will take their 7-3 record to the other coast, as they open the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Thursday, Feb. 19, against the Oregon Ducks.
