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Updated 5:31 AM on Monday, April 30, 2007

Texas A&M stunned by Tech

By LARRY BOWEN
Eagle Staff Writer

The wheels came off for the Texas A&M softball team Sunday. The first place to look for the lug nuts is the Texas Tech bat bag.

Enlarge photo

Buy this photo Eagle Photo/Butch Ireland Texas A&M's Lisa Gorzycki is safe at first as the ball gets away from Texas Tech first baseman Jennifer Bowers in the Aggies' 6-2 loss on Sunday.

Tech stunned the fifth-ranked Aggies with four runs in the sixth inning to beat A&M 6-2 and eliminate the Aggies from the race for the Big 12 championship.

The Raiders had lost 12 of their first 13 conference games, including a 5-0 shutout by A&M on Saturday. However, Tech looked every bit as intense as the contending Aggies in a combative game played before a crowd of 1,287 at the Aggie Softball Field.

A&M (39-8, 12-5) had a chance to get a share of the Big 12 crown by beating the Raiders and winning its regular-season finale at Baylor on Tuesday. Instead, the Aggies saw Senior Day spoiled with their second home loss of the season.

"It was a disappointing day for us and a great day for Tech," A&M coach Jo Evans said. "We needed to take care of our business. We didn't do it, and that's disappointing. We don't deserve to win the conference."

Tech (19-26, 2-12) did not play like a team mired in next-to-last place. The Raiders had been pesky - like a small dog barking loudly - Saturday. They took a hunk out of the Aggies on Sunday.

"The game got very intense," Tech coach Teresa Wilson said. "Both sides played hard. The crowd got into it. I was just glad to see our kids keep fighting hard and finish something for a change."

A&M had rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game before a wacky top half of the sixth inning.

The weirdness began with a delay of about 5 minutes while Tech coaches argued that Natalie Kula should have been given a walk because A&M catcher Beverly Rowan threw to first base after Kula fouled off a full-count pitch. The umpires huddled, even looking at a rule book supplied by Tech, but finally sent Kula back to the batter's box. She drew a walk on the next pitch.

A&M's Amanda Scarborough struck out the next hitter, and then the game hit TILT. Tech leadoff hitter Ashley Parker stepped into the batter's box and then asked for time as Scarborough quickly began her windup, but home plate umpire James Martarona called a strike even though Parker was a couple of feet from the plate. Parker reacted in disbelief and was still standing away from the plate when Martarona called a second strike without Scarborough delivering a pitch.

That set off fireworks, including the ejection of Tech first base coach Dustin Suiter by first base umpire Jackie Shulz.

Parker managed to foul off the next two pitches before lining a single to center.

"For her to stick with that was huge," Wilson said. "She's a battler, and that showed."

Scarborough had been able to pitch out of trouble in the second, fourth and fifth innings, but she couldn't overcome Parker's hit. Leah Legler lined the next pitch down the left-field line for her first double and first run batted in of the season to give Tech the lead. The Raiders added three more runs on a groundout, an RBI single by Jennifer Corkin and a wild pitch by reliever Emily Shadow.

"It felt like a circus," Evans said. "There was a lot going on, a lot of delays in the game. I don't know [if the delays affected the Aggies], but we have to be tough enough to manage a wrinkle like that. I'm not sure what it was, but we got a little tight."

Tech put the squeeze on A&M from the start. The Raiders opened the game with infield singles by Parker and Legler, and both runners scored when Montana Patin tucked a double inside the left-field line and the Aggies made a throwing error.

It was the first time all season a Big 12 team scored in the first inning against A&M, and it stopped Scarborough's scoreless streak at 37 1/3 innings. Scarborough (20-5) allowed 10 hits to match her career high and gave up six runs, which was a new season high.

Parker and Legler both went 3 for 4 as the first four hitters produced 10 of Tech's 11 hits.

Megan Gibson drove in both Aggie runs. Sharonda McDonald singled in the first and scored on a groundout. Lisa Gorzycki singled to start the third and scored on Gibson's double.

Jamie Hinshaw, Gibson, Gorzycki and McDonald had two hits apiece, but the Aggies were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position against Ashly Jacobs. The freshman, who had dropped her previous six decisions, pitched a complete game to improve to 14-14.

• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.