Extra-Innings Thriller Results in 4-3 Win Over No. 6 Texas A&M

Saturday, February 24

Palm Springs, CA

10:00 AM

University of Washington

15-0

Texas A&M

12-2

Washington

Texas A&M

Extra-Innings Thriller Results in 4-3 Win Over No. 6 Texas A&M

February 24, 2018 | Softball

Box Score

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Noelle Hee and Taylor Van Zee came up big in the ninth inning to push No. 1 Washington softball to a 4-3 win over No. 6 Texas A&M in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday.

With Amirah Milloy on second in the top of the ninth, Hee came in to pinch hit. She hit the ball hard to the short stop, who mishandled the ball and sent Milloy home to go up 3-2. Van Zee followed that up with line drive to right field. Kelly Burdick, back in running for Hee, had stolen second and sprinted all the way home, pushing the lead to 4-2. The defense would allow one run in the bottom of the ninth before getting the third out and taking the 4-3 win.

The Huskies remain unbeaten at 15-0 to start 2018. Senior third baseman Van Zee notched her 150th career RBI in the second inning as part of her 3-for-5 effort on the day. She is one of 13 Huskies to ever reach that number in their careers. In the circle, Gabbie Plain and Samantha Manti split the time, tossing four and five innings, respectively. Plain had five strikeouts while Manti had two to go with her win. Manti is now 4-0 on the year.

The Aggies (12-2) got on board early, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. However, the Dawgs answered back right away in the top of the second. Back-to-back RBI singles from Kelly Burdick and Van Zee brought in a run each to even up the game at 2-2.

After a tough three up, three down outing in the top of the fourth, the defense and pitching had to come up big for Washington in the bottom frame. A single, a walk and a hit by pitch loaded up the bases for Texas A&M with one out. The second out came when the batter stepped out of the box. Tough pitching from Plain forced an easy grounder for Taryn Atlee to handle, escaping the inning without allowing any runs.

Washington left runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings. Amirah Milloy was walked in the top of the sixth. She stole second and had time to steal third after the Aggies bobbled the ball, putting her in scoring position. However, Burdick grounded out to end the frame. In the top of the seventh, Bates had a bunt single. A passed ball allowed her to take second and a fly out gave her time to tag up and reach third. Another runner was left stranded, however, as the Dawgs were not able to bring her home.

The Aggies led off with a single to right field to start the bottom of the seventh. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second and a ground out moved her to third. Samantha Manti, who came in to pitch in the fifth, and the Husky defense stayed strong. A long fly ball to center field was handled well by Burdick to send it to extra innings.

Due to the international tiebreaker rule, both teams started with runners on second in the eighth inning. Kaija Gibson started on second for the Huskies, but she was caught stealing. Atlee reached on an error, but she was left on base. The Aggies got runners to second and third in the bottom of the eighth, but smart defense kept the game going to the ninth.

After the runs scored in the top of the ninth to make it 4-2, the defense had to hold off the Aggies. A single up the middle scored one run for the Aggies and the defense tightened up. Bates tossed out the lead runner on the next hit, which proved to be key as the following Texas A&M player singled. With runners on first and second, Van Zee took care of the ground out for the third out, sealing the 4-3 win.

Later on Saturday, Washington will face Nebraska in the tournament. It is schedule for 3 p.m. PT with live stats and live streaming available on the softball schedule page.