SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA softball team will kick-start the Texas A&M Invitational on Thursday as they head to College Station, Texas, for six games at Davis Diamond. As a part of the event, the 'Runners will take on Southeastern Louisiana, Kansas, St. Thomas, and No. 17 Texas A&M.
The Roadrunners (2-8, 0-0 The American) will look to start a winning streak after picking up a 5-1 win over Northwestern State and a 3-2 victory against Massachusetts in their final two contests at the Houston Classic.
Junior Camryn Robillard was recognized for her stellar performance across the tournament by the American Athletic Conference, who listed her on their weekly honor roll. She was sensational for UTSA at the Cougar Softball Stadium, hitting .385 with three home runs and six RBIs. She worked a 1.583 OPS across the contests and swiped a stolen base while leading UTSA to their first two victories of the season.
Senior Jamie Gilbert was also dominant at the tournament, posting an ERA of 2.50 with 18 strikeouts over 14 innings. She twirled a gem in the Roadrunners win over the Minutewomen, recording a career-high 10 strikeouts with only one walk across a complete-game victory.
The 'Runners will open the Texas A&M Invitational against the Lady Lions (8-2, 0-0 SLC) on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. SLU has fallen only to Louisiana Tech and South Alabama on the year and is coming off a weekend that saw them beat Syracuse, Maryland, and Southeast Missouri.
The Lady Lions rank eighth nationally with a team batting average of .386 that also tops the Southland, as Ka'Lyn Watson and Chloe Magee each rank inside the top 25 with averages over .500. The squad is also dominant in the circle, boasting a 1.23 ERA and four different pitchers with wins.
UTSA will then battle Kansas, with a 2:30 p.m. first pitch concluding their competition on Thursday. The Jayhawks (4-5-1, 0-0 Big 12) are coming off a 2-2 weekend that saw victories over Coastal Carolina and Illinois as well as defeats at the hands of UC Riverside and Penn State.
Kansas owns a staff ERA of 3.32, with Katie Brooks pacing the squad at 1.10 with a 4-0 record. At the dish, Presley Limbaugh, Hailey Cripe, and Campbell Bagshaw provide the bulk of the damage, each boasting 7 RBIs on the season.
The 'Runners and Jayhawks will meet again at 9 a.m. on Friday, marking UTSA's only contest of the day before an 11:30 a.m. game against St. Thomas (Minn.) on Saturday.
Similar to UTSA, The Tommies (1-9, 0-0 The Summit) picked up their first win of the 2024 campaign last week, besting Southern Indiana 5-0 before falling to Alabama, USI, and Virginia at the Easton Bama Bash.
Ella Cook paces UST with seven RBIs and a home run, while Cassidy Carby and Kenzie Miller join her in launching long balls on the year. Pulling double duty, Cook owns the Tommies' lone win, going 1-2 in the circle with a team-high 14 strikeouts. The squads will battle again on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. before UTSA closes out the tournament, facing host school Texas A&M at 2 p.m.
The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network + as the No. 17 Aggies (9-0, 0-0 SEC) have been red-hot, sweeping the Aggie Classic and Campbell/Cartier Classic to start their campaign. They previously picked up a pair of victories over No. 14 Oregon and are one of only 16 NCAA Division I programs that remain undefeated.
Allie Enright has been terrific for A&M, posting a .609 AVG that sits 11th across the NCAA. She represents one of five Aggies with batting averages over the .300 threshold, and she also tops the team with 13 RBIs and three home runs. In the circle, Emiley Kennedy, Emily Leavitt, and Shaylee Ackerman have all logged wins, as A&M holds a 1.72 ERA.
Keep up with UTSA Softball all season long on goutsa.com, and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSASB, X (Twitter) @UTSASoftball, and on Instagram @utsasoftball.
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