Box Score SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Texas A&M International lined up to face the No. 8-ranked team in the nation, Texas Women's, after a whirlwind opening day at the St. Mary's NCAA Division II Classic. After defeating East Central and Angelo State on Saturday, inclement weather pushed the Dustdevils (3-0, 0-0 Heartland Conference) and No. 8 Pioneers from a 4 p.m. first pitch to an 9:45 p.m. start.
With the odds stacked against them, the Dustdevils championed a top-10 nationally ranked opponent for the first time in program history. TAMIU scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to win 10-5.
The teams stood knotted at 5-all from the fourth inning on, but a series of extra-base hits – a double by Cassie Garcia, and a three-run home run by Cassandra De Leon– sealed the signature win.
De Leon finished the night going 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, while three others – Garcia, Brittany Mussett and Kyndall Reaves – joined her with extra-base knocks. Garcia went 1-for-4 with a RBI, Mussett went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI, and Reaves went 1-for-3.
The Dustdevils pounced to a 4-0 lead in the first inning when Chelsea Capello, Esme Gonzalez, De Leon and Mussett scored.
But TWU answered with four runs in their half of the first, and again with a run in the third inning.
De Leon smacked a RBI double in the fourth to tie the game at 5 apiece, before playing the hero in the eighth.
The Dustdevils continue play at the St. Mary's NCAA Division II Classic on Monday against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Southeastern Oklahoma State.
