Sophomore pitcher Rhiannon Kliesing led the No.10 Texas A&M softball team to back-to-back victories Friday in the first day of the Aggie Classic tournament.
In the afternoon opener against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Kliesing helped the Aggies pull out an 8-0 victory both on the mound and with her bat. She hit two home runs in three at bats and held the Golden Hurricane to one hit and no runs.
The Aggies got off to a quick start offensively in the first inning with a double to center field by sophomore outfielder Kelsey Spittler. After a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to third, Kliesing hit a home run over the left field fence to give A&M a two-run score.
Senior outfielder Holly Ridley then hit a solo home run at the next at bat to extend the score to three.
Kliesing pitched a nearly hitless game on the mound, facing 17 batters and striking out two in five innings of work. The Hurricane's only hit was a single to right field by senior infielder Stephanie Chomicki in the third inning.
"We noticed they were really aggressive, so we decided to go right at them," Kliesing said. "We kept the ball off of the plate, and it worked."
The Aggies had their second multi-home run inning in the fourth with dingers from Kliesing again and junior short stop Macie Morrow.
In the second game, against the UTSA Roadrunners, the Aggies struggled offensively in the first few innings.
Despite a lead off walk for Spittler, the Aggies were unable to put any runs on the board in the first inning.
A&M had similar results in the second, third and fourth innings, leaving runners on base and failing to score a run.
In the fifth inning, sophomore infielder Natalie Villarreal led off with a single that bounced off of the first baseman's glove. Villarreal went 3-4 at the plate in the game.
Kliesing followed with the first of her two hits in the game, a single in front of the right fielder. A sacrifice bunt from Ridley advanced both runners to second and third.
Junior infielder Alex Reynolds laid down a squeeze play bunt that scored Villarreal from third. Kliesing then scored from third on an error by the UTSA catcher.
The Aggies scored another pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning off of hits from Villarreal and Kliesing.
"On the whole day, [Kliesing] looked great," said A&M Head Coach Jo Evans. "She really made a statement about what she can do on the mound and at the plate."
Defensively, the Aggies held the Roadrunners to one run and seven hits under direction of pitcher Rebecca Arbino in her debut appearance.
The freshman had one strikeout and two walks in seven innings. Evans said the freshman worked well against tight opposition.
"She did a really nice job getting out of some jams," Evans said. "She got some kids on base early but shut it down to get outs when she needed to."
The Roadrunners had seven hits in the game, including three singles from freshman outfielder Amber Anderson.
UTSA pitcher Emily Humpal took the loss, allowing nine hits and four runs with three walks and six strikeouts.
Despite a late run by UTSA in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Aggies secured a 4-1 victory over the Roadrunners.
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