Stephen F. Austin
Texas A&M
Ladyjacks Knock Off No. 17 Texas A&M
3/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 8, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Stephen F. Austin tied a season-high with 13 base hits and got a solid pitching performance from sophomore Lauren Luetge Sunday, as the Ladyjacks took an 8-4 win over No. 17 Texas A&M in the final game of the Texas A&M Aggie Invitational.
With the win, SFA moves to 12-14 on the season and finishes the three-day A&M tournament with a 4-2 record. The Ladyjcks' only losses in the event came against Louisiana Tech.
Sunday's loss marked the Aggies' only defeat in their tournament, and the eight runs SFA put up are the most scored on A&M (17-9) since a 9-4 loss to Arizona on Feb. 28.
SFA jumped out to a big lead with five runs on five hits in the second inning. All five runs came with two out. After Jessica Arana reached on a fielder's choice, and Ashley Struchtemeyer reached on an error, Benet Higgs drew a two-out walk to load the bases.
Monica Hirsch then ripped a single up the middle, scoring Arana. Kendal Harper then doubled to left-center, bringing in two runs. The next batter, freshman Kayla Gutowski, came through with a single to right, bringing home Harper and Hirsch. Junior Briana Bishop followed with a single, but A&M got out of the inning on a fly ball.
The Aggies countered with a run in the bottom half, but SFA was back in the scoring column with three more runs in the third.
After one-out singles by Struchtemeyer and Kari Hugie, Benet Higgs doubled to the gap in left-center, bringing home a run. Hirsch followed with an infield single, and Harper laced a base knock back up the middle to score Hugie. Gutowski then drew a walk to bring Higgs across the plate and give SFA an 8-1 advantage.
A&M scratched again in the bottom half to make it an 8-2 game, but Luetge worked around trouble in the fourth and fifth to keep the margin at six runs.
The Aggies cut into SFA's lead with a single and a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth that chased Luetge from the circle for classmate Monika Covington. She worked quickly, getting the next two batters out to escape further damage.
A&M loaded the bases with two out in the seventh, thanks to a hit batsman, an error and a single, but Covington got a strikeout to end the game, giving SFA its first win over a ranked opponent in two seasons under head coach Gay McNutt. All three outs in the final inning were recorded by strikeout.
Luetge improved to 4-6 with the win. She worked five-and-one-third innings, scattering seven hits and four earned runs. She issued three walks and posted three strikeouts, and her strong showing against A&M came on the heels of the perfect game she tossed against Kent State Saturday.
Harper finished 2-for-2 with a run scored and three RBI. Gutowski also drove in three. Hirsch went 3-for-5 and drove in a run, and Struchtemeyer was 2-for-4.
In the Ladyjacks' first game Sunday, SFA took an early 2-0 lead over Louisiana Tech, but the Techsters put up three runs in the second inning and a fourth in the third to take a 4-3 win.
In the first inning, Harper drew a one-out walk and stole second to get into scoring position. She came around to score when the next batter, Gutowski doubled up the middle. Bishop followed with a single through the left side of the infield, then stole a base to put runners at second and third, but the inning ended with consecutive strikeouts.
Struchtemeyer led off the second inning with a home run to stake SFA to a 2-0 advantage, but the Techsters got a three-run homer in the bottom half to move into the lead.
The Ladyjacks loaded the bases with two out in the third, but Louisiana Tech escaped damage with an inning-ending strikeout.
The Techsters padded their lead in the bottom half with a leadoff home run.
SFA stranded two more runners in the fourth before adding a run in the fifth inning. After Arana reached on a fielder's choice, and Struchtemeyer drew a walk, Higgs got a two-out single up the middle to load the bases. Hirsch pushed Arana across the plate with a fielder's choice to bring the Ladyjacks to within a run at 4-3. The inning ended on a strikeout with the bases loaded, and SFA was unable to threaten in either of the last two frames.
SFA outhit Louisiana Tech, 7-6, but left 11 runners stranded. Gutowski was 2-for-3 to lead the way.
Covington (8-7) worked six innings in taking the loss. She was touched for four earned runs on six hits and three walks. Covington recorded five strikeouts.
The Ladyjacks will be back in action Wednesday, when they host Louisiana-Monroe in a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
-- SFA --
