Texas A&M Softball: Aggies Regain Top Five National Ranking

Texas A&M Softball moved back into the top five after a 3-1 week that included a midweek win over Prairie View A&M and a series win vs. Missouri.

The ladies of Texas A&M Softball are on a roll. Currently sitting on 28-3 record, 7-2 in conference, they are 2nd in the SEC and 5th in the nation.

The pitching staff ranks 8th in the nation in ERA, sitting at 1.26 through 200 innings. All three starters rank in the top 50 that measure. In terms of offense, the Aggies come in at 36th as a team, batting .314.

Aggies Run-Rule Prairie View A&M

Junior Trinity Harrington took the circle to open Wednesday’s game vs. the Panthers of Prairie View A&M. She was absolutely dynamic, pitching a total of three innings without allowing a single base-runner. Harrington was relieved by freshman Payton McBride, who allowed one hit in two innings of work to close out the 15-0 run rule victory.

The Aggie offense was on fire, pounding out 15 runs on 12 hits. They put up runs in every single inning- four in the first, four in the second, two in the third, and five in the fourth. The large offensive output was assisted by four errors by the Panthers, making four of the Aggies runs go down as unearned.

Amongst the cavalcade of runs was home-town senior Reagan Boenker‘s first homer of the season. This two-run shot put the Aggies in double digits in the bottom of the 3rd.  Junior Tori Vidales also left the yard, her solo shot came in the 2nd inning.

Aggies Take The Series vs. Missouri

Texas A&M Softball improved to 7-2 in conference with a series win at home vs. old Big 12 foe Missouri. The Aggies outscored Mizzou 16-8 throughout the weekend. This put the Aggies at 2nd in the SEC, behind only Florida who is 7-1 in the league.

Friday’s Run-Rule Win

After a strong showing against PVAMU earlier in the week, Trinity Harrington took the circle to open the series vs. Mizzou. She pitched a complete game shut-out in the 5-inning run rule victory, allowing only 2 hits. She improved to 8-1 on the season, pushing her season ERA down to 0.71.

Offensively, the Aggie bats got going early and often on Friday night. Riley Sartain homered twice in the 8-0 win over the Tigers. Kristen Cuyos also smacked a two-run homer out in the 2nd inning.  Cuyos and Sartain both finished 2 for 3 on the day with 5 RBI between the two of them.

Struggles Across the Board Doom Aggies on Saturday

The struggles started in the circle for the Aggies on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore standout Samantha Show struggled, only lasting 2 innings in what would turn out to be her 2nd loss of the season. Show gave up 4 runs on 6 hits in those first two innings. Junior Lexi Smith took over, throwing the final 5 innings in which she only allowed 2 hits and a run that came off a solo-shot in the 6th.

Despite Smith’s ability to settle the game down, the hole proved to be too big for the Aggies to climb out of on Saturday. The ladies were outhit 8 to 5 and were only able to scratch one run across due to a double by Samantha Show.

Late Rally Pushes the Aggies Past Mizzou on Sunday

Trinity Harrington once again started in the circle for the rubber match vs. Missouri. While she had pitched well on Wednesday and Friday, Sunday was a different story. Harrington pitched only one inning in the matchup, but she faced 11 Tiger batters allowing 3 runs on 8 hits in the innings. Once again the Aggies would be playing catch-up down 3-1 after 2 innings.

Lexi Smith came in to replace a struggling Harrington and pitched 5 innings of shutout softball, allowing 4 hits across those five. She was the undisputed MVP in the circle for the Aggies on the weekend and earned the win in Sunday’s matchup, improving to 9-0 on the season.

Payton McBride continued her strong bullpen work, pitching the final inning of Sunday’s matchup and earning the save- thanks in part to a diving catch by Kristen Cuyos that ended the game.

The Aggies battled back on Sunday, not going down without a fight. A three-run shot by Sarah Hudek in the 3rd put the Aggies up for good and with the help of Smith’s strong bullpen work and a couple insurance runs off the bat of Tori Vidales, the series win was sealed.

What’s Next for the Aggies?

The ladies battled back on Wednesday night vs. Texas State behind a stellar pitching performance by Samantha Show and will now prepare for another SEC road series.

Next: Football to Host Friday Night Lights Tonight

Texas A&M will take on South Carolina Saturday, Sunday and Monday. South Carolina is 2-7 in SEC play and 22-12 overall. The series schedule is as follows:

• Saturday at 1pm on SEC Network
• Sunday at 4pm on ESPNU
• Monday at 6pm on the SEC Network

***STATS FROM AGGIE ATHLETICS, SEC SPORTS, NCAA***