No. 17 Softball Rolls in Season Opener
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The 17th-ranked Texas A&M softball team (1-0) defeated Long Beach State (1-1,) 8-0, in a run-rule shutout on opening day, Friday at UCLA's Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament.
The Aggies chased two pitchers with three home runs and a pair of bases-loaded walks against Long Beach State in the first game of the season.
Senior pitcher Mel Dumezich (1-0) struck out seven batters on the way to her first victory of the season, handing LBSU their first loss. Junior Nicole Morgan started the scoring frenzy in the in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run over left-center field.
Dumezich added a second home run in the next at-bat to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead.
A leadoff bomb by junior Cassie Tysarczyk in the bottom of the fourth flew far over center field and brought the lead to 4-0. With the bases loaded, Morgan earned her third RBI of the game with a walk that upped the ante to 5-0. Dumezich also added an RBI walk to lead 6-0 after the fourth.
Five innings was all the team needed, as back-to-back RBI singles by senior Meagan May and Morgan ended the game in an 8-0 run-rule. Morgan had four RBI on the day, while Dumezich was 1-for-1 with a home run, two walks and two RBI. Junior Emily Albus was 3-for-four with two singles, a walk and two runs scored.
LBSU's Erin Jones-Wesley (1-1) took her first loss of the season after allowing four runs on five hits in three innings. Dumezich spent all five innings in the circle, fanning seven and allowing no runs on two hits and no walks.
Friday's late game with UCLA was cancelled due to weather. A&M will be back in action Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (CT) against Cal State Bakersfield. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieSoftball.
