Aggie softball beats Iowa State in five innings
It didn't take the Texas A&M softball team long to catch fire against Iowa State on Saturday afternoon, with the Cyclones providing plenty of kindling and matches.
A&M took advantage of five free bases to score seven runs in the first two innings with just four hits on the way to an 8-0 thumping of Iowa State at the Aggie Softball Complex.
The game ended in the fifth inning because of the run rule, halted appropriately when a bases-loaded walk forced in the final run. It was A&M's third walk of the inning and seventh of the game.
"I thought our discipline really was the difference in the game today," A&M coach Jo Evans said.
The 21st-ranked Aggies (29-8, 2-1) got a one-hitter from sophomore pitcher Melissa Dumezich to dominate an Iowa State team (16-12, 1-2) that split its first Big 12 series with 17th-ranked Oklahoma State. Last year the Cyclones pushed A&M to eight innings before dropping their series opener.
A crowd of 832 on a warm, cloudy afternoon had no reason to ponder extra innings Saturday. The Aggies established their superiority quickly against ISU pitcher Rachel Zabriskie, a senior from Round Rock McNeil.
After the first two batters were retired, A&M scratched out a run on a hit batter, a walk and a bloop single by freshman Amber Garza. Zabriskie (10-7) walked the next batter to load the bases, prompting a visit from the pitching coach.
A&M senior Kelsey Spittler banged the next pitch off the fence in right-center for a double that knocked in three runs.
"I have been in a slump and I'm still working out of it," said Spittler, who began the game with a .224 batting average that was lowest among A&M starters. "I got in there and knew I had seen this pitcher before and we had people on base, so it was time to step up and do my job."
The Aggies stretched the lead to 7-0 during a strange second inning. A double by Natalie Villarreal and a single by Cassie Tysarczyk put runners on first and third with one out. A&M scored three runs without another hit, using two walks, two wild pitches and an illegal pitch by reliever Lauren Kennewell.
"We've struggled with pitch selection earlier in the season," Spittler said. "Coach has stressed making them throw good pitches, that walks are good. It clicked in our heads and we're swinging at good pitches now, and that's paying off."
Iowa State's only hit was a leadoff double by Erica Miller in the fourth. The Cyclones loaded the bases with two outs in the third inning with a strikeout on a wild pitch, a walk and an error, but Dumezich (16-5) enticed the next batter to fly out.
Spittler started the bottom of the fifth with a single and moved up on a one-out bunt. Kennewell walked the next three batters to force in the game-ending run.
The series will conclude with a single game at noon Sunday.