Clean Sweep: Fourth-ranked A&M Eagles take two from Texas College
TYLER, Texas — Stephanie Chico and Anna Westberry each tossed shutouts and freshman Grace Cantu launched her first collegiate home run Tuesday during A&MTexarkana’s two-game sweep of a much-improved Texas College program.
The fourth-ranked Eagles (21-2 overall, 6-2 RRAC) put the Steers away, 10-0, in a five-inning opener, then scored late in the closer to take a 4-0 win and close out the Steers (14-9, 3-7).
TAMU-T 10, TEXAS COLLEGE 0
A&M-Texarkana jumped on the hosts early in the opener, scoring three runs in the first, adding two more in the third and five in the fourth while totaling 14 hits. Chico (5-0) scattered six hits (all singles) across five innings and struck out two to stay unbeaten in the circle. Her shutout performance helped her season ERA fall to 1.87.
Katie Slamer opened the scoring with an RBI double while Patti Swimley and Sarah Velasquez drove in runs to make it 3-0. In the third, Cantu blasted a pitch over the fence in right-center to make it 5-0. Slamer added another runscoring double in the fourth, Baylee Stautzenberger singled home a run, and Swimley drove in a run to make it 8-0. Alyssa Gillen and Velasquez each added RBI singles to round out the scoring.
Stautzenberger and Macey Cutsinger each had three hits, while Swimley and Slamer each had two. Stautzenberger also scored three runs.
TAMU-T 4, TEXAS COLLEGE 0
The ladies didn’t have an issue with making solid contact in the second game but hitting it somewhere other than into the gloves of Texas College defenders was another thing. The Eagles managed just four hits thru the first five innings, although they did reach three additional times on errors by the hosts. However, they were unable to plate a single run and the game was scoreless entering the sixth.
Cantu walked to leadoff the sixth frame, Macie Reeves singled, and Riley Haney walked to load the bags with just one out. That’s when Cameron Alardin drilled a double down the right field line, scoring what would be the game-winning runs for a 2-0 lead. Molly Harrison added another on a sac fly. Swimley doubled home a run in the seventh for some insurance.
Westberry (9-1) fanned 11 batters and gave up just four hits in a 99-pitch complete game shutout, dropping her season ERA to just 0.84.
Reeves and Cantu each had two hits in the game, with Reeves adding a stolen base.