Texas A&M
Sam Houston State
Aggies Battle to 2-1, 14-inning Victory
Feb 11, 2009 | Softball
Feb. 11, 2009
HUNSTVILLE, Texas - The fifth-ranked Texas A&M softball team battled to a 2-1, 14-inning victory over Sam Houston State on Wednesday evening at the Bearkat Softball Complex.
After getting down 1-0 to Sam Houston (4-1) early in the game, senior Holly Ridley came through with a solo home run in the top of the seventh that evened the score at one apiece. Seven innings later, fellow senior Erin Glasco laced an RBI double that scored junior Alex Reynolds and give the Aggies (4-1) the go-ahead run.
"After you battle 14 innings it's just great to come away with a win," said head coach Jo Evans. "It was a hard-nosed performance by our team and it says we're not going to quit. It was also great to see the two seniors step up. Holly's home run was a difference maker for us and gave us a chance to win the game. Erin had been hitting the ball hard, but at people all game and she found a way to gut it out and get a hit."
Sophomore Rhi Kliesing threw all 14 innings to earn her third win of the season. She struck out 11 to match a career high mark.
"I was proud of Rhi and thought she really did a good job to keep her poise," Evans said. "She was able to throw strikes and get huge outs. I thought she really stepped up and was a great leader for us tonight. She had a gutsy performance."
In the first two innings, Kliesing fanned four and A&M kept the Bearkats out of scoring position. In the bottom of the third, Hailey Wiginton hit a triple to center field and Alex Surrant followed with a line-drive single to right field to score Wiginton and give SHSU a 1-0 lead.
The Aggies were retired in order three straight innings, but in the top of the seventh with one out, Ridley ripped a solo home run to left field to tie the game at one apiece. A&M made quick work of Sam Houston in the bottom of the inning to move into extra innings.
After a scoreless eighth frame, Villarreal was hit by the first pitch of the ninth inning but a strikeout and a lineout double play to first base ended the frame quickly for the Aggies.
In the bottom of the inning, Janaye Richardson and Kendra Spivey singled before Wiginton walked to load the bases with no outs. Down 3-1 in the count, Kliesing came back to force two straight fly outs and a strikeout to leave three Bearkats on the bases.
In the top of the 10th, Reynolds drove the first pitch of the inning to right and Glasco was hit by the pitch before junior Macie Morrow sacrificed both runners into scoring position. SHSU pitcher Brandi Crnkovic managed to keep the A&M batters off balance for the next two outs. Kliesing and the Aggie defense came back to retire Sam Houston in order in the bottom of the inning.
Scoreless 11th and 12th frames and a three-up, three-down 13th for both teams moved the game into the 14th inning, the longest A&M softball game since March 4, 1994 when the Aggies went 15 innings for a 3-2 win against McNeese State.
With one out in the top of the 14th, Reynolds singled to right before Glasco ripped a double to left center to plate the Tomball, Texas, native from first and give the Aggies their first lead of the game, 2-1.
The Bearkats put runners on in the bottom of the inning and Casie Everitt made it all the way to third base, but a relentless A&M defense held strong and sophomore Kelsey Spittler caught the final out of the inning in left field.
"Crnkovic pitched a good game," said Evans. "She kept our hitters off balance, but defensively we made a lot of good plays to get out of innings."
A&M travels to Baton Rouge, La., this weekend for the second of 12 straight away games. The Aggies play five contests at the Easton Tiger Classic, the first of which is against Sam Houston State on Friday.
