Aggie glove girls shine inside and outside the lines
Staff writer Marie Bakken tips her hat to the A&M softball team

By MARIE BAKKEN
Staff Writer

 I played summer league softball since I was knee-high to Reveille and have been a spectator of the sport on all levels, but never have I seen a team with so much heart that made me so proud to be a girl, a softball player, and especially an Aggie.
 Along with many maroon-blooded Aggie grads like myself, I was a bit teary-eyed on June 3 when the Lady Aggies softball team lost in the Women’s College World Series championship in Oklahoma City.
 It was the first time since 1987 that the Texas A&M softball program had reached the NCAA tourney finals and that year, they won it all. In 1988 they were fifth at the WCWS tournament.
 This year’s team had to come back from an early season set back in the form of losing All-American senior pitcher Amanda Scarborough to a season-ending foot injury.
 The Magnolia native was critical to A&M’s pitching staff and lineup, as was fellow All-American senior Megan Gibson (Spring).
 The two dominated on the mound and were to be an unstoppable arsenal in the Lady Aggies quest to win a Big XII title and return to Oklahoma City, where they went two and out at last year’s NCAA championships.
 Gibson stepped up in a big way after Scarborough’s injury, taking over not only the pitching, but the leadership role of an Aggie team that showed so much heart and dedication to the sport and each other.
 This entire team was special, but the four seniors...they were on the verge of extraordinary.
 
Senior-itas
 Gibson was a finalist this year for the National Player of the Year and went 41-4 on the mound.
 Despite her injury, Scarborough was in the dugout every game and became sort of an assistant pitching coach to Gibson during the rest of the season.
 Scarborough received a standing ovation from Aggie fans in attendance on Sunday night of the WCWS when she made a trip out to the mound to visit with Gibson and catcher Erin Glasco during a crucial at bat in the semifinals game against Florida (A&M won 1-0 to earn a trip to the championship series).
 The third senior, Jami Lobpries (Wharton), was “an angel in the outfield” this season, making some remarkable catches in centerfield and was A&M’s leading hitter at the WCWS.
 And the fourth senior on this year’s squad was third baseman Jamie Hinshaw (Missouri City-Elkins).
Hinshaw has a special place in the hearts of our Lagrone family. My brother Chad, along with his wife Sherry and daughters Hayleigh (14) and Keely (11) made just about every home game that the Lady Aggies have played for the last two seasons.
 Chad and Sherry are both Aggie grads and it looks as if the two girls are headed there as well.
 In the midst of the games and mingling with the players, my niece Keely and Hinshaw have become buddies.
 After each game the Lagrones attend, win or lose, the two friends always make it a point say hello, share a big hug and a chat.

OKC is OK
 The Lagrones made the trek to OKC, with a couple of extra spectators in tow, to watch their (and my) beloved team the entire tournament.
 On June 2, Keely had her 11th birthday and the Lady Aggies played game one of the best-of-three championship series.
 Hinshaw, who was playing in probably the most important tournament/game in her life, thought enough of my niece to get her a birthday present.
 At the conclusion of the WCWS tournament, where the Lady Aggies finished national runners-up, Hinshaw presented Keely with her softball glove – the glove that Hinshaw used as a defensive wall for four seasons with the Lady Aggies and the one that helped her receive third team All-American honors this season.
 Hinshaw will never know how much that gesture meant to Keely’s entire family (yes, even her aunt) and make them even more proud to be Aggies.
 Amid all the traditions at Aggieland, there is one very special to the softball team.
 After the last game of the season, wherever it may be (last year and this year it was in OKC), the senior members of the team leave their cleats on home plate, facing inward toward each other.
 The night of June 3, after the A&M softball team lost to Arizona State for the national title, Gibson, Scarborough, Lobpries and Hinshaw left their cleats on home plate at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
 The four seniors not only left their shoes, but undoubtedly their hearts, souls and tears.
Those players left it all on the field, every ounce of what it means to be a softball player and an Aggie.
 What they and A&M head softball coach Jo Evans have done for the Aggie softball program is indescribable and those seniors will be sorely missed.
 To those four seniors...you’ve made softball fans out of a lot of folks you’ll never meet and have become role models for many young girls who will never forget you.
 All I can say is...Gig ‘Em and God bless.

marie@rockdalereporter.com

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