Softball: Aggies defeat Pittsburgh and North Carolina on opening day

BOX SCORE: LINK

BOX SCORE: LINK

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Game recap

COLLEGE STATION — On Friday, the No. 10 Texas A&M softball team defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers and the No. 23 North Carolina Tar Heels by scores of 7-3 and 1-0 respectively in the first games of the 2013 season at the Aggie Softball Complex. With the victories, A&M moves to 7-0 on the young season.

"We weren't as sharp as we have been," said A&M head coach Jo Evans. "But our kids didn't give up and really stayed in it until the end."

In the first game of the day, the Aggies broke a 3-3 tie with Pittsburgh in the bottom of the fifth when second baseman Jenna Stark ripped the ball up the middle, scoring right fielder Cassie Tysarczyk from second.

A&M third baseman Amber Garza added two more in the sixth on a triple to right field that allowed Tysarczyk and Aggie pitcher/designated hitter Mel Dumezich to score. Later in the inning, Garza would score on a sacrifice fly by Stark to give the A&M the 7-3 lead.

Lauren Ainsley picked up the victory for the Aggies and allowed only four hits and two earned runs in five innings of work. The sophomore hurler also struck-out five Panthers in the game.

Thirty minutes after the conclusion of game one, A&M was back on the diamond – this time against the No. 23 North Carolina Tar Heels.

With a strong wind blowing in towards the plate, the Aggies – a team with 15 home runs in five games coming into Friday – were forced to play 'small ball' in order to pick up the victory.

After four and a half scoreless innings, Garza drew a walk off of Tar Heels pitcher Lori Spingola. Stark then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Garza to second and sophomore left fielder Brittany Clopton found the alley in left-center field to score Garza and give the Aggies the only run of the game.

"You don't expect Clopton to get the game-winning RBI in that situation, but she did a really great job," said Evans. "It was just a perfectly executed inning. Clopton really battled. She really gathered herself within that at-bat and that was the difference in the game."

A&M wasn't out of the woods yet, however, as North Carolina threatened to answer the Aggies in the top of the sixth. After a pair of walks and an infield single, Dumezich found herself facing a bases loaded situation with only one out.

That's when the Indiana native showed why she was a 2012 All-American by striking out the next two North Carolina batters and getting out of the jam, and eventually the game, unscathed.

While Dumezich threw more pitches than she would have liked, she still finished with a strong game, recording seven strikeouts and six hits on seven innings in the circle.

"North Carolina did a good job to keep scrambling and getting runners on," said Evans. "I thought North Carolina did a nice job, but it was nice to see us really solidify ourselves on defense."

Also of note was the performance of Brenham product Emily Albus. The junior center fielder went 4-for-5 on the day and also picked up two walks for the Aggies.

A&M finishes off the 2013 Aggie Classic on Saturday and Sunday with games against North Carolina (3 P.M. Saturday), Pittsburgh (5:15 P.M Saturday) and Stephen F. Austin (12:15 P.M. Sunday).