Friday, April 23
Starkville, Miss.
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
7
at
5
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Mississippi State
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Aggies Open Series with 7-5 Victory Over Bulldogs
Apr 23, 2021 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Texas A&M softball team picked up a 7-5 win to open the series against Mississippi State on Friday night at Nusz Park.
The Aggies took the lead in the top of the third after back-to-back solo shots by Makinzy Herzog and Morgan Smith. Herzog records her ninth home run, while Smith registers her second of the season. Kelbi Fortenberry gave the Maroon & White an insurance run in the top of the fourth with an RBI.
Mississippi State was able to pull within one after a solo shot by Fa Leilua and a RBI single by Madisyn Kennedy.
In the top of the fifth, Herzog registered her second hit of the night and scored on a double by Bre Warren, marking her second double of the night.
Haley Lee broke the game open with a three-run shot over the centerfield wall in the top of the sixth. This marks the junior's 20th home run of the season. The Kingwood, Texas, native ties Mel Dumezich '12 and Tori Vidales '18 for third place in home runs in a single season. Lee also moves to third in the nation with home runs in a single season with the current record sitting at 23.
The Bulldogs fought back in the bottom of the seventh after Fa Leilua registered her second home run of the game, which was a two-run shot over the left-centerfield wall. Carter Spexarth followed her performance with a solo shot of her own to pull within two, 7-5.
Lee, Herzog and Warren paced the offense with two hits apiece with Morgan Smith finishing with one.
In the circle, Makinzy Herzog (11-3) earned her 11th win of the season. The junior tossed the complete 7.0 frames, yielding five runs, on seven hits while fanning one and walking two.
Texas A&M's three home runs in tonight's game is the 13th multi-home run game of the season. The Maroon & White have launched three home runs in back-to-back games, last completing this achievement on Tuesday against Houston.
The Aggies improve to 30-13 on the season and 7-9 in conference play, while the Bulldogs drop to 24-20 on the season and 0-13 in league play.
KEY INNINGS
T3| Makinzy Herzog homered down the right field line. Morgan Smith homered to straight away centerfield. A&M 2, MSU 0
T4| Ashlynn Walls, Rylen Wiggins and Trinity Cannon all drew walks to load the bases. Kelbi Fortenberry grounded out and Walls scored on the play. A&M 3, MSU 0
B4| Fa Leilua hit a solo shot over the left field fence. Carter Spexarth and Mia Davidson were hit by a pitch. Brylie St. Clair pinch ran for Spexarth. Paige Cook laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance St. Clair and Davidson to second and third. Madisyn Kennedy hit a hard ground ball back to the pitcher and St. Claire scored. A&M 3, MSU 2
T5| Makinzy Herzog singled through the left side. Bre Warren doubled to the left field wall to score Herzog. A&M 4, MSU 2
T6| Trinity Cannon was hit by a pitch and Kelbi Fortenberry walked. Haley Lee hit a three-run shot to centerfield. A&M 7, MSU 2
B7| Kiki Edwards was hit by a pitch. Fa Leilua hit a two-run shot to left-center. Carter Spexarth homered to centerfield. A&M 7, MSU 5
Top Offensive Players:
Haley Lee| 2-for-4, HR
Makinzy Herzog| 2-for-4, HR
Morgan Smith| 1-for-4, HR
Bre Warren| 2-for-4, RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Makinzy Herzog (11-3) – 7.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 SO, 2 BB
WHAT THEY SAID
Head Coach Jo Evans
Opening Statement…
"I thought our kids did a nice job of just staying in the fight. We came out early swinging and we were aggressive. We hit a couple of balls hard and we're just patient. Makinzy Herzog just going up there and getting the big home run and then Morgan Smith right after on her first pitch going yard. It just really makes a statement that anybody in our lineup can do that. I love the way we just continued to score every inning. You look at it and it was four innings in a row that we were able to score and you look at Haley Lee starting off the game with her base hit. She was challenged in her other at-bats, but then she steps up when we needed her most to hit that long ball. I really thought that Herzog did a nice job tonight. That's a tough lineup. That's a team that is going to hit home runs, especially here – the ball flies. I'm just really proud of her for holding her ground."
ON DECK
Texas A&M softball continues with SEC action at Mississippi State, Saturday with first pitch slated for 2:00 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can follow the Aggies wherever they go by following @AggieSoftball on Instagram and Twitter or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieSoftball.
The Aggies took the lead in the top of the third after back-to-back solo shots by Makinzy Herzog and Morgan Smith. Herzog records her ninth home run, while Smith registers her second of the season. Kelbi Fortenberry gave the Maroon & White an insurance run in the top of the fourth with an RBI.
Mississippi State was able to pull within one after a solo shot by Fa Leilua and a RBI single by Madisyn Kennedy.
In the top of the fifth, Herzog registered her second hit of the night and scored on a double by Bre Warren, marking her second double of the night.
Haley Lee broke the game open with a three-run shot over the centerfield wall in the top of the sixth. This marks the junior's 20th home run of the season. The Kingwood, Texas, native ties Mel Dumezich '12 and Tori Vidales '18 for third place in home runs in a single season. Lee also moves to third in the nation with home runs in a single season with the current record sitting at 23.
The Bulldogs fought back in the bottom of the seventh after Fa Leilua registered her second home run of the game, which was a two-run shot over the left-centerfield wall. Carter Spexarth followed her performance with a solo shot of her own to pull within two, 7-5.
Lee, Herzog and Warren paced the offense with two hits apiece with Morgan Smith finishing with one.
In the circle, Makinzy Herzog (11-3) earned her 11th win of the season. The junior tossed the complete 7.0 frames, yielding five runs, on seven hits while fanning one and walking two.
Texas A&M's three home runs in tonight's game is the 13th multi-home run game of the season. The Maroon & White have launched three home runs in back-to-back games, last completing this achievement on Tuesday against Houston.
The Aggies improve to 30-13 on the season and 7-9 in conference play, while the Bulldogs drop to 24-20 on the season and 0-13 in league play.
T3| Makinzy Herzog homered down the right field line. Morgan Smith homered to straight away centerfield. A&M 2, MSU 0
T4| Ashlynn Walls, Rylen Wiggins and Trinity Cannon all drew walks to load the bases. Kelbi Fortenberry grounded out and Walls scored on the play. A&M 3, MSU 0
B4| Fa Leilua hit a solo shot over the left field fence. Carter Spexarth and Mia Davidson were hit by a pitch. Brylie St. Clair pinch ran for Spexarth. Paige Cook laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance St. Clair and Davidson to second and third. Madisyn Kennedy hit a hard ground ball back to the pitcher and St. Claire scored. A&M 3, MSU 2
T5| Makinzy Herzog singled through the left side. Bre Warren doubled to the left field wall to score Herzog. A&M 4, MSU 2
T6| Trinity Cannon was hit by a pitch and Kelbi Fortenberry walked. Haley Lee hit a three-run shot to centerfield. A&M 7, MSU 2
B7| Kiki Edwards was hit by a pitch. Fa Leilua hit a two-run shot to left-center. Carter Spexarth homered to centerfield. A&M 7, MSU 5
Top Offensive Players:
Haley Lee| 2-for-4, HR
Makinzy Herzog| 2-for-4, HR
Morgan Smith| 1-for-4, HR
Bre Warren| 2-for-4, RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Makinzy Herzog (11-3) – 7.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 SO, 2 BB
Head Coach Jo Evans
Opening Statement…
"I thought our kids did a nice job of just staying in the fight. We came out early swinging and we were aggressive. We hit a couple of balls hard and we're just patient. Makinzy Herzog just going up there and getting the big home run and then Morgan Smith right after on her first pitch going yard. It just really makes a statement that anybody in our lineup can do that. I love the way we just continued to score every inning. You look at it and it was four innings in a row that we were able to score and you look at Haley Lee starting off the game with her base hit. She was challenged in her other at-bats, but then she steps up when we needed her most to hit that long ball. I really thought that Herzog did a nice job tonight. That's a tough lineup. That's a team that is going to hit home runs, especially here – the ball flies. I'm just really proud of her for holding her ground."
Texas A&M softball continues with SEC action at Mississippi State, Saturday with first pitch slated for 2:00 p.m.
Fans can follow the Aggies wherever they go by following @AggieSoftball on Instagram and Twitter or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieSoftball.