Texas A&M Softball: Aggies sweep College Station regional
By John Tee
The Texas A&M softball team took advantage of their rest before the College Station regional and ended up sweeping the field.
Following a disappointing end to the season that saw the Texas A&M softball team get swept by Alabama and then immediately go one-and-done at the SEC Tournament, it was clear that although the Aggies were basically a lock for the postseason, they needed some rest. After all, a road trip immediately followed by another is probably quite exhausting.
A week ago, the Aggies were picked as the 15th overall seed and a regional host in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament. They got Prairie View A&M, McNeese State and Baylor in their field. Turns out, the Aggies really needed that roughly two weeks of rest after the grinding end of the regular season. The result: an offensive fireworks-filled sweep of the College Station Regional.
In Game 1, the Aggies basically dealt the knockout blow to Prairie View from the start and didn’t let on. Sarah Hudek got things started, followed by Tori Vidales with a home run that still hasn’t landed. Kaitlyn Alderink’s RBI single made it 4-0 by the end of the first.
The Aggies didn’t get anything in the second but scored three more runs in the third and two more in the fourth to make it 9-0. As a result, the game didn’t even make it past the fifth inning.
In Game 2, the Aggies again put up a crooked number in the first but McNeese answered back with a run of their own. After that, it was all Aggies all the way, with runs scored in every single inning except the fifth. By the end of the fourth, it was already 8-1, and against a team that beat Baylor in the first round.
However, the game didn’t make it to seven innings, as Kristen Cuyos put up a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to make it 10-1. Lexi Smith, who had replaced Trinity Harrington earlier due to the strike zone, held McNeese to no runs in the bottom half of the frame to ensure the mercy rule.
Game 3 was a little more eventful. Baylor actually took an early lead thanks to RBIs in the first and second innings. The Aggies tied it up in the third inning on the backs of Tori Vidales and Kelbi Fortenberry, but Baylor immediately took another lead and made it 3-2 on an RBI double the next half of the frame.
Something must have happened in the A&M dugout in the fifth inning. The Aggies took the lead on a Kelbi Fortenberry RBI double and the proceeded to put up one hell of a crooked number. By the time Kristen Cuyos, Erica Russell and Samantha Show were done, it was 9-3 Aggies, and the game was basically put to sleep at that point.
The Aggies and Bears both got one run each after that, but the final score held at 10-4. Trinity Harrington’s final strikeout in the bottom of the seventh put the exclamation point on it.
Overall, the regional could not have gone better. The Aggies outscored the rest of the field 29-5, proving two weeks of rest makes a huge difference. Compare that to last year when the Aggies scored 14 runs against Texas Southern and then only beat Texas State and Texas in 3-1 each. This was an outstanding offensive display in all three games, and the Aggies will need that type of output going forward.
Next: People you didn't know went to Texas A&M
Why? Because they’re matched up with Florida and travel to Gainesville this Thursday. I’ll go ahead and say that if they pull that one off, that might be the biggest upset of the year in A&M sports. I like fried alligator, especially fried alligator tails. I hope the Aggies oblige me.
***stats and info from 12thman.com***