Texas A&M
Louisiana-Lafayette
Lobpries Drives Aggies to 2-1 Victory over ULL
May 30, 2008 | Softball
May 30, 2008
Texas A&M senior centerfielder Jami Lobpries drove in the first run of the game and came around to score what would prove to be the winning run in the fifth-seeded Aggie softball team's (56-7) 2-1 victory over the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (52-14) in front of a record setting crowd of 8,230 on Friday night at the 2008 Women's College World Series.
"I thought that our defense was terrific today and we made every play that we were supposed to make," A&M head coach Jo Evans said. "I thought that Megan Gibson was really good on the mound, she was really crisp. Again, defensively we made the plays that we needed to make. I was pleased with our kids' composure. We didn't panic and we understand that we can score. We really kept our poise in that situation to be able to come back and score a run."
Jamie Hinshaw led-off the fourth inning with a bunt single and moved to third on a liner into the right-centerfield gap by Holly Ridley. With one out Lobpries sent a flyball into leftfield that scored Hinshaw. The RBI was Lobpries 30th of the season and gave A&M a 1-0 lead that held until the sixth.
ULL was able to score much like A&M did with leadoff hitter Vallie Gaspard reaching on a bunt single. Gaspard advanced to scoring position on Holly Tankersley's walk. The Cajuns loaded the bases on ULL's second single of the inning, a ball that found the hole between third and short. Gabriele Bridges logged an RBI off a sac fly to centerfield.
A&M would plate the winning run in Lobpries in the top of the seventh when the Wharton, Texas product reached on a high-chopped single up the middle. With two outs and Rhiannon Kliesing up to bat, Lobpries stole second and a muffed throw back to the mound by Cajun shortstop Brooke Brodhead allowed an alert Lobpries to swipe third. With a 2-2 count, Kliesing lined a single into shallow centerfield to scratch across the go-ahead run.
Gibson was able to earn her 40th victory of the season after working herself out of a bases-loaded jam in sixth and retiring the side in the seventh. She allowed just one run on the night, giving up four hits while striking out six. In her last 56 innings of work, the three-time All-American has allowed just five runs for a 0.89 ERA. She has now worked seven-straight games with a sub-one ERA.
"ULL definitely has one of the better lineups that I have faced in a while," Gibson said. "They are slappers and I try to pitch away and try to get ground balls. They are big hitters and I am really just tying to keep them off balance. I used my changeup a lot and trying to make something happen with ground balls or fly balls."
Ashley Brignac (31-7) shouldered the loss for ULL. The freshman worked all seven innings, surrendering two runs on five hits. She struckout four Aggie batters and walked one.
The Aggies' 56th win of the year ties a season-best set by the 1987 and 1994 teams.
A&M's next game is slated for Sunday at 12 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNHD. First pitch can be heard locally in Bryan/College Station on Sports Radio 1150 the Zone. Live stats will be available on aggieathletics.com.
