COLLEGE STATION – The 11th-ranked Texas A&M softball team defeated No. 12 Auburn, 1-0, in a pitcher’s duel Saturday afternoon at Davis Diamond.
Samantha Show tossed the first seven-inning complete game of her career, allowing just two baserunners on a hit and a walk. The East Bernard, Texas, native retired the last 12 batters she faced.
With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, Texas A&M's (39-12, 12-8 SEC) Kristen Cuyos stepped up to the plate with two-outs and produced a walk-off single up the middle, allowing Kylie George to touch home to clinch the series.
The Aggies outhit the Tigers, 5-1, as Cuyos, Tori Vidales, Ashley Walters, Riley Sartain and Kelbi Fortenberry each recorded a hit.
Auburn’s (38-13, 11-11 SEC) Makayla Martin was saddled with the loss giving up five hits, two walks and one run in 6.2 innings of work.
KEY INNINGS
B7| Riley Sartain recorded a two-out single down the left field line before Kelbi Fortenberry followed suit. Cuyos delivered the game-winning single up the middle, plating George, who pinch ran for Sartain. A&M 1, AU 0
Top Offensive Players:
Kristen Cuyos | 1-for-2, RBI, BB
Pitching Breakdown:
Samantha Show (11-4, 2.09) – W, 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 8 K, 1 BB
AGGIE NOTES
· Samantha Show tossed the first one-hit seven-inning complete game shutout of her career
· Tori Vidales recorded another total base, giving her 445 total bases for her career. She needs three to pass Megan Gibson (2005-08) to become the record-leader in that category.
WHAT THEY SAID
Texas A&M Head Coach Jo Evans
On the walk-off win…
“It was great. We loved it. I told our kids going into that inning that we couldn’t give any more chances to Auburn, and that you won’t believe what it is going to feel like when we walk off right here. I am really proud of our kids. The fans were great. They did a good job of getting us in it in the seventh inning and staying with us. I thought it was a terrific game. It was a pitchers’ duel and a fun game to watch. I thought both teams played well, and the pitchers threw really well. It was great to come away with a win. I feel comfortable because there were some kids that hit the ball hard today. We struck the ball well. I didn’t think that we had a bunch of throw away at bats at all. We were hitting them right at people. If you can get that hit to fall then it is contagious, and you can start getting things going. We just couldn’t make that happen for a while. I feel like we can hit throughout our entire lineup. When you have Kristen Cuyos down there in the eight hole and Sam Show in the nine, you know you can hit. I am really proud of our kids.”
On Samantha Show’s performance…
“The difference today was that Sam threw her change up for a strike. Early she threw it often, and it made all of her other pitches that much better. She was just a lot sharper. She was in the strike zone, and she didn’t walk people. She only walked one, and that is phenomenal. We would win a lot of games if our pitcher only walked one batter. I am really proud of Sam. I thought she showed a great presence on the mound. She didn’t get rattled or emotional. She just dug in. I thought the difference in the ball game was how she got us out of that first inning. They got a hit, but then we got a big strikeout, a groundout to first base, and another big strikeout to end the inning. Sam was really terrific today.”
On the chance to sweep Auburn…
“It is huge. When you take a series on a Saturday that is a really big deal. Then when you have a chance to sweep on Sunday obviously that is a huge deal. I am proud of our kids. We came here with more of a chip on our shoulder this weekend. I don’t think we have been as tough minded as we needed to be or recognizing how talented we are. I think we are finally showing this weekend how talented we are, that we can hit throughout our lineup and how good our defense is. We also have the pitching to win the games, so I feel like we are putting it all together.”
On Kristen Cuyos…
“You can’t always look at a batting average to decide who to use. She looks really comfortable. When we were at LSU, we made a decision when Sam was pitching to have Sam in the batting lineup and Kelbi (Fortenberry) to hit for Kristen. The next game when she came in, she got a hit. Then we come here this weekend and she gets a huge hit for us. I am loving the way she is playing. She is really comfortable on defense and making some plays. It is carrying over to her confidence offensively.”
Senior Kristen Cuyos
On her game-winning hit…
“All game she had been throwing us low and out. Her drop ball is a phenomenal drop ball, so we knew to cheat up on the plate a little bit to take that pitch away and send it down the middle. I saw that it was a 2-0 count, which is a great hitter’s count, so I just hit it as hard as I could and found a hole. It is a great feeling, but it is all about our team and the win for the team.”
On clinching the series…
“I am speechless. The crowd this weekend has been amazing. It has been a great opening weekend. We did it for the 12th Man. That’s what it’s all about. You do it for your fans and your team. It’s not about you, it’s about your team.”
On Samantha Show…
“Sam (Show) did a great job. She threw a tremendous game, so we just knew we had to have Sam’s back, so we did the best we could. You just saw her keeping batters off balance, and when you can do that, you will be a dangerous, dangerous pitcher.
Junior Samantha Show
On the series win…
“It is huge. We got the win of the series, and we just came out here and were resilient and knew that in the early innings when we were putting good contact on the ball and it was just going right to them or they were making great plays that we needed to keep that going. Also, with my defense behind me, I couldn’t be more proud.”
On her change up…
“It has been pretty good for me this year. It hasn’t been that consistent before, but I have been working really hard in the bullpen with Coach Dill.”
On a complete game and eight strikeouts…
“It is pretty cool. I wasn’t focused on that whatsoever. I was just trying to get my team back in the dugout, so we could score some runs. All I did today was took some deep breaths and focused on Ashley (Walters) behind the plate and went after batters.”
ON DECK
The Aggies return to action in the series finale against the Auburn Tigers, Sunday, at 1:00p.m. at Davis Diamond.