Texas A&M
Missouri
Softball Bows Out of Big 12 Championship
May 12, 2006 | Softball
May 12, 2006
Megan Gibson went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI as the No. 16 Texas A&M softball team (33-17) was eliminated from the Big 12 Championship with a 5-3 loss to the Missouri Tigers on Friday afternoon at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
?What we take out of today?™s game is that we need to catch and throw,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?I thought our kids did a good job fielding the ball, but were unable to take advantage of the opportunities. I liked our fight today. We fought back after they scored and I see that as an encouraging thing. I like the way the bottom of the order started swinging the bat. We?™ll go home and get better.?
It was the Tigers (26-26) who scored first. They put up one in the first on a walk and two back-to-back singles by Micaela Minner and starting pitcher Jen Bruck.
In the top of the fourth Mizzou plated its second run. Bruck reached on another single, this one into left field and moved to second on a stolen base and third on a second to first out by Kathy Masterson, before crossing home on a fielder?™s choice suicide squeeze laid down by Andee Allen.
A&M was able to counter with a run of its own after Gibson walked and a sac bunt by Amanda Scarborough moved her to second. Holly Ridley then singled to center field recording her 22nd RBI of the season.
MU scattered three hits across the outfield in the sixth to score its third run of the game.
However, the Aggies evened the score at three in the bottom half of the inning. A bunt single by Sharonda McDonald started the inning, soon after she stole her 19th base of the season. Gibson earned her, team leading, 34th RBI of the season on a double down the left field line that scored McDonald. Amanda Scarborough added a single of her own to left field to bring Gibson home.
The Tigers were able to bounce back to take the lead in the seventh as Bruck recoded not only the win, but her third hit of the game and Masterson?™s single to second base allowed Missouri to score the go ahead run and another.
With the loss, Scarborough fell to 15-10 on the mound. She worked the complete game giving up five runs on nine hits. She walked two and struck out four.
?I was a lot more comfortable than yesterday,? Scarborough noted. ?We did give ourselves a chance to win, but we were unable to follow through with it. I think everything weird that possibly could have happened that game did; balls hitting gloves, balls dropping, nobody covering first on a bunt, those are all weird things that might happen in just a single game, but today they all happened [against us] in one game.?
Bruck improved to 24-20 on the season with the complete game victory. She allowed three runs on six hits; she gave up three free passes while striking out one Aggie batter.
Please check aggieathletics.com for the most up-to-date information regarding upcoming postseason games.
