Game #17: No. 15 Texas A&M 8, Houston 1
Records: Texas A&M (11-6, 0-0), Houston (11-4, 0-0)
WP: Sydney Lessentine (5-1)
LP: Nevaeh Brown (1-1)
Box Score
No. 15 Texas A&M softball returned to Davis Diamond in winning fashion, as the Aggies took down the Houston Cougars 8-1 in on Thursday night to open the Texas A&M Invitational.
After two weekends of coast-to-coast play, the Maroon & White led off week four with a comfortable win back in Aggieland.
“I thought it was good to come home,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford said. “It’s good to play in front of the 12th Man, get the bubbles going, and feel the energy.”
A&M jumped out to an early lead, as Micaela Wark hit an RBI single, and Ariel Kowalewski recorded an RBI double, giving the Aggies a 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the first.
The bats remained on fire for the Maroon & White as Mya Perez hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field in the second inning, resulting in two runs scored due to a Cougar throwing error. Perez also mashed a two-run homer over the center field wall in the sixth, ultimately sealing the game for the Aggies.
The Aggies recorded eight hits and seven RBIs, only striking out once.
“Our game is built so much around momentum,” Ford said. “There are so many ways for you to win the innings, win at bats, win pitches. Those are things that compound and get you wins and crooked numbers each inning.”
Sydney Lessentine threw a complete game, recording a season-high eight strikeouts against the Cougars, allowing only one walk.
In the top of the second, Houston right fielder Madox Mitchael battled at the plate for 13 pitches and reached on a hit by pitch.
Lessentine walked the next batter, leading to a sac-fly to right field that scored Houston’s only run of the night.
“Lessentine got better as the game went on,” Ford said. “The first couple of innings, she labored a little bit, but she battled through it, which is big. And then I felt like it was smooth sailing from there.”
In the top of the fifth, Maddie Sauni and Perez appeared to collide on a pop-up across the first base line by Houston pinch hitter Ronnie Esparza. Perez went down for a moment after the play.
“Everybody’s fine,” Ford said. “But Mya was playing behind the base. It was a tough play for Maddie and a tough play for Mya. Nobody called it, but I was just happy we caught the ball. That does, you know, make my heart skip a beat though.”
The Maroon & White hope to continue adding numbers to the win column, with five games left to play in the tournament.
“Tomorrow, we’re gonna face two tough opponents, Louisiana and Kennesaw,” Ford said. “Louisiana has played some really tough teams really closely. So they’re scrappy. We just have to answer them back and keep fighting.”
The Aggies will continue the Texas A&M Invitational on Friday, Feb. 27, with a doubleheader against Kennesaw State at 4:30 p.m. and Louisiana at 7 p.m.
