SAN ANTONIO — With both pitchers firing on all cylinders, Texas A&M International executed a squeeze bunt in the bottom of the sixth to hold off the Newman softball team 1-0 in the first game of the 2017 Heartland Conference Softball Championship Thursday at The Park at St. Mary's.
The Jets (17-34) picked up a stellar effort out of starter Kate Smith, who scattered three hits and a walk while getting some big help from her defense. Newman outhit the Dustdevils (19-33) 4-3, and benefitted from two walks and two errors.
As solid as both starting pitchers were, neither team had much trouble getting baserunners early in innings. Newman got its leadoff runner on in three of the first four innings. Taylor Mannis singled in the second but was cut down trying to swipe second, and Alyssa Taylor knocked a double down the line in right to start the third, but couldn't score.
The Jets got perhaps their best chance in the fourth, as Erin Jankiewicz walked to start and was bunted over to second by Jensen Cromer. With one out, Mannis knocked her second hit of the game through the right side, and Jankiewicz rounded third hard, but was thrown out by a strike from TAMIU right fielder Amanda Hinajosa to keep it scoreless.
On the other side of the action, Smith gave up a walk to the first batter she faced but retired the next three. A one-out single in the second turned into a runner at third with two outs, but Taylor made a spectacular diving play on a line drive to get out of the inning. In the third, Jets leftfielder Delaney Hiegert tracked down a ball deep into the left field corner that would have scored at least one run.
The two sides combined to go down in order over two full innings, but in the bottom of the sixth, the Dustdevils got the game's big hit. Cassie Cannon led off with the only hard-hit ball that fell for TAMIU all game, blasting a double to left center to lead things off. She stole third, and with one out, Robi Kami laid down a perfect bunt on a squeeze play to plate the first run.
Mannis led off the seventh by reaching on an error and was bunted over to third by Lacey Colvin, but the Jets couldn't manage to scratch across the tying run.
Newman will face the loser of No. seed Lubbock Christian and No. 3 seed Oklahoma Christian later Thursday in the tournament's first elimination game at 6:30 p.m.
