AggieJohn
05-21-2005, 05:36 PM
Eagle photo/Butch Ireland
Rocky Spencer stole two bases, had two hits and two RBIs in the Aggies’ 6-3 victory over McNeese State in the their opening game of the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA REGIONAL SOFTBALL
Friday’s Results
Penn State 5, Centenary 0
Texas A&M 6, McNeese St. 3
Today’s Schedule
Noon — Penn St. vs. Texas A&M
2:30 p.m. — Centenary vs. McNeese St.
5:30 p.m. — Penn St.-A&M loser vs. Centenary-McNeese St. winner
No Amanda Scarborough. No Sharonda McDonald. No problem.
Texas A&M jumped on the McNeese State Cowgirls for five runs in the first inning en route to a 6-3 opening-round victory at the NCAA Division I Softball Regional No. 5 at College Station on Friday.
The Aggies, 45-8, advance to play Penn State in the winners’ bracket final Saturday at noon at the Aggie Softball Field.
Penn State, 35-21, opened the four-team, double-elimination tournament with a 5-0 victory over the Centenary Lady Gents.
The fifth-ranked Aggies were playing at home for the first time this season without Scarborough, the Big 12 Conference’s Player of the Year who is recovering from a concussion. Scarborough, who is 26-1 pitching, missed the Big 12 Tournament last weekend as did all-conference center fielder McDonald, who is out with a knee injury.
Scarborough and McDonald were cheering Friday and their teammates gave them enough to shout about.
Starting pitcher Megan Gibson, 11-5, had a strong outing. She struck out six in six innings, keeping the ball low and off the plate.
“I thought Megan came out with a resolve to get things done and attack hitters,” A&M coach Jo Evans said. “I thought she did a nice job in making adjustments from the Big 12 Tournament.”
She didn’t allow a hit until the fourth. She eventually tired, allowing five hits and walking four. She threw 102 pitches in the sweltering heat as the heat index made it feel like it was 108 degrees. Gibson was lifted in the seventh after Nicole Edlund’s leadoff homer.
“I started getting exhausted from the heat, I think, not so much tired,” Gibson said.
Gorzycki, a sophomore right-hander, made her first collegiate save memorable.
Cowgirl Brooke Broadhead greeted her with a single. Gorzycki fell behind 3-0 on No. 3 hitting Beth Jordan, who had back-to-back doubles. Jordan lined a full-count pitch that A&M second baseman Joy Davis jumped to grab, and turned it into an easy double play, allowing the partisan crowd of 877 to start celebrating.
“I was hoping it was over her head,” McNeese State coach Chris Malveaux said. “A couple more inches, we probably have runners on second and third with no outs.”
Evans’ reaction was, “Get up J.D., get up,” she said. “But, we’re certainly not feeling panicky there. We’re up three runs, so we still don’t have the tying run at the plate.”
Gorzycki, who pitched well at the Big 12 Tournament, had her third straight solid outing.
“She [Gibson] was getting tired and we had someone in the dugout who could go out and throw strikes,” Evans said. “Lisa is somebody who can go in and throw strikes and keep the ball down. She can throw change-ups. I really didn’t want to throw her in that game, but I also didn’t want to let anything slip away.”
Gorzycki made it interesting.
“They hit the ball hard a couple of times,” Evans said. “But Lisa is a fighter. She seems not to notice if someone hits her hard, she just buckles down and gets it done.”
A&M grabbed a 4-0 lead on five hits and a walk before making an out. Jami Lobpries, starting in place of McDonald, singled. Jana James added a two-run double and Rocky Spencer an RBI single. A wild pitch made it 5-0.
“We know the first game is really important,” James said. “It sets the tone for the rest of the tournament.”
McNeese, 33-34, which recovered from a 9-24 start to make the 64-team NCAA Tournament, bounced back from the nightmarish first inning.
“I think we kinda got a little nervous,” McNeese State coach Chris Malveaux said. “It was a little nerve-wracking to begin with. The first couple of innings, the whole regional atmosphere, I think it kinda got to our players a little bit.
“[And] they took advantage of everything. It took us forever to get an out. If we’d have come out ready to play, it could be a totally different game.”
Spencer added an RBI single in the third inning, but A&M didn’t break the game open, failing to add runs after loading the bases with no outs.
Jordan’s two-run double in the fifth made it 6-2, but Gibson stayed in control by handcuffing McNeese’s No. 7 and No. 8 hitters, who were 0 for 6. The Cowgirls left the bases loaded in the fourth and stranded two more in the sixth.
Rocky Spencer stole two bases, had two hits and two RBIs in the Aggies’ 6-3 victory over McNeese State in the their opening game of the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA REGIONAL SOFTBALL
Friday’s Results
Penn State 5, Centenary 0
Texas A&M 6, McNeese St. 3
Today’s Schedule
Noon — Penn St. vs. Texas A&M
2:30 p.m. — Centenary vs. McNeese St.
5:30 p.m. — Penn St.-A&M loser vs. Centenary-McNeese St. winner
No Amanda Scarborough. No Sharonda McDonald. No problem.
Texas A&M jumped on the McNeese State Cowgirls for five runs in the first inning en route to a 6-3 opening-round victory at the NCAA Division I Softball Regional No. 5 at College Station on Friday.
The Aggies, 45-8, advance to play Penn State in the winners’ bracket final Saturday at noon at the Aggie Softball Field.
Penn State, 35-21, opened the four-team, double-elimination tournament with a 5-0 victory over the Centenary Lady Gents.
The fifth-ranked Aggies were playing at home for the first time this season without Scarborough, the Big 12 Conference’s Player of the Year who is recovering from a concussion. Scarborough, who is 26-1 pitching, missed the Big 12 Tournament last weekend as did all-conference center fielder McDonald, who is out with a knee injury.
Scarborough and McDonald were cheering Friday and their teammates gave them enough to shout about.
Starting pitcher Megan Gibson, 11-5, had a strong outing. She struck out six in six innings, keeping the ball low and off the plate.
“I thought Megan came out with a resolve to get things done and attack hitters,” A&M coach Jo Evans said. “I thought she did a nice job in making adjustments from the Big 12 Tournament.”
She didn’t allow a hit until the fourth. She eventually tired, allowing five hits and walking four. She threw 102 pitches in the sweltering heat as the heat index made it feel like it was 108 degrees. Gibson was lifted in the seventh after Nicole Edlund’s leadoff homer.
“I started getting exhausted from the heat, I think, not so much tired,” Gibson said.
Gorzycki, a sophomore right-hander, made her first collegiate save memorable.
Cowgirl Brooke Broadhead greeted her with a single. Gorzycki fell behind 3-0 on No. 3 hitting Beth Jordan, who had back-to-back doubles. Jordan lined a full-count pitch that A&M second baseman Joy Davis jumped to grab, and turned it into an easy double play, allowing the partisan crowd of 877 to start celebrating.
“I was hoping it was over her head,” McNeese State coach Chris Malveaux said. “A couple more inches, we probably have runners on second and third with no outs.”
Evans’ reaction was, “Get up J.D., get up,” she said. “But, we’re certainly not feeling panicky there. We’re up three runs, so we still don’t have the tying run at the plate.”
Gorzycki, who pitched well at the Big 12 Tournament, had her third straight solid outing.
“She [Gibson] was getting tired and we had someone in the dugout who could go out and throw strikes,” Evans said. “Lisa is somebody who can go in and throw strikes and keep the ball down. She can throw change-ups. I really didn’t want to throw her in that game, but I also didn’t want to let anything slip away.”
Gorzycki made it interesting.
“They hit the ball hard a couple of times,” Evans said. “But Lisa is a fighter. She seems not to notice if someone hits her hard, she just buckles down and gets it done.”
A&M grabbed a 4-0 lead on five hits and a walk before making an out. Jami Lobpries, starting in place of McDonald, singled. Jana James added a two-run double and Rocky Spencer an RBI single. A wild pitch made it 5-0.
“We know the first game is really important,” James said. “It sets the tone for the rest of the tournament.”
McNeese, 33-34, which recovered from a 9-24 start to make the 64-team NCAA Tournament, bounced back from the nightmarish first inning.
“I think we kinda got a little nervous,” McNeese State coach Chris Malveaux said. “It was a little nerve-wracking to begin with. The first couple of innings, the whole regional atmosphere, I think it kinda got to our players a little bit.
“[And] they took advantage of everything. It took us forever to get an out. If we’d have come out ready to play, it could be a totally different game.”
Spencer added an RBI single in the third inning, but A&M didn’t break the game open, failing to add runs after loading the bases with no outs.
Jordan’s two-run double in the fifth made it 6-2, but Gibson stayed in control by handcuffing McNeese’s No. 7 and No. 8 hitters, who were 0 for 6. The Cowgirls left the bases loaded in the fourth and stranded two more in the sixth.