Aggies power past Louisiana Tech with late surge
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Powered by two home runs in the fifth inning, No. 24 Texas A&M surged past Louisiana Tech, 6-3, Wednesday night. The win marked No. 100 all-time at Davis Diamond, which opened on April 27, 2018.
Junior Julia Cottrill blasted a two-run home run to left field, while junior Rylen Wiggins followed a few batters later with a two-run home run to center field as the Aggies scored four runs in the fifth inning to take control of the game, 6-3.
Bre Warren, a junior from College Station, provided defensive help making two two-out diving catches to end the third and fifth innings that stranded a total of five Lady Techsters.
Sophomore Emily Leavitt (5-4) earned the win in 4.0 innings of relief allowing no runs and only one hit, while striking out five.
Texas A&M (17-10) found the scoreboard first after Cottrill hit a sac fly to score sophomore Koko Wooley in the opening frame, before Louisiana Tech (18-10) answered back with three runs in the third inning. The Maroon & White chipped at the deficit in the fourth when freshman Gracyn Coleman scored senior Star Ferguson on a sac fly to center field, before the Aggies opened it up in the fifth and called it a night sitting the Lady Techsters down in order in the seventh.
UP NEXT
The Aggies travel to Lexington for a three-game series against No. 11 Kentucky at John Cropp Stadium beginning Friday at 5:30 p.m. All three games can be streamed on the SEC Network+.
TOP AGGIE PERFORMERS
Julia Cottrill - 1-for-2, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Rylen Wiggins - 1-for-2, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Aiyana Coleman - 3-for-3, 2 2B
Emily Leavitt - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
SCORING SUMMARY
B1 | Koko Wooley stole second after a leadoff walk and later scored after a sac fly via Julia Cottrill. LA TECH 0, TAMU 1
T3 | Bail Wright homered to left center. Alyssa Dean pinch ran for Bail Wright after being hit by pitch. Dean advanced to third after a walk and a single, followed by a Kate Cooper walk to score Dean. Cooper later scored following a pair of fielder's choices and a walk by Carol Easom. LA TECH 3, TAMU 1
B4 | Star Ferguson pinch ran for Aiyana Coleman after she doubled to left center. Ferguson advanced to third after a sac bunt by Rylen Wiggins, followed by a Gracyn Coleman sac fly to score Ferguson. LA TECH 3, TAMU 2
B5 | Keely Williams walked, followed by a two-run home run from Julia Cottrill. Coleman hit her second double of the night and advanced to third on a throwing error before being pinch ran for by Allie Enright. Rylen Wiggins blasted a two-run home run to center field. LA TECH 3, TAMU 6
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Trisha Ford
On Bre Warren's defense...
"Bre [Warren] has made some big catches for us in the outfield this year. The rule is don't dive on a ball down the line but at some point, we talk about in practice, that time comes in a game and it's going to be do or die. You know the rule, but at some point, you have to also risk it. I thought it was a good risk because the ball wasn't tailing a whole lot. Bre gets good reads on the ball."
Junior Outfielder Bre Warren
On her multiple diving catches...
"It's tough after not playing for over a year. As I've gotten comfortable, I feel like it's just more of getting settled into my routine. It's just instinct. If the ball was tailing more towards me, I probably wouldn't have dove, but I felt confident in my ability to get the ball."
Junior Catcher Julia Cottrill
On her dinger off the scoreboard...
"It was a sigh of relief. I feel I've made good contact with the ball these last couple of weeks. I just haven't been getting the hits we need. That's how softball goes. Just being able to go out there and feel confident was nice for it to pay off."