Clutch hitting and an outstanding pitching performance by freshman Jessica Slataper, who baffled the Missouri batters, were the reason the Aggies were able to celebrate.

The Aggies (28-12, 5-6 Big 12) did their usual post-game celebration with each teammate giving each other a special handshake, most of them including a hop in commemoration of the holiday.

"It’s become a ritual for our team," said Aggie coach Jo Evans. "I’m not sure what they do, but it’s something they do for fun. You didn’t see it Saturday because they were down and felt they gave the game away. Now it’s time for them to have a little fun with this win."

Texas A&M scored all the runs it would need for the win in the second inning. After Lindsay Wilhelmson walked and Tiffany Esters singled, Jennifer Davis hit a liner to right center to score the two runners.

The Tigers were held hitless until Melanie Fisher doubled in the bottom of the fifth. Slataper dominated the Missouri lineup with a mix of speed and accuracy in her pitches.

"We had trouble connecting with the ball and if we did get a hold of it the ball, it went high for a lot of outs in the air," said Tiger center fielder Karen Williams. "If we would have gotten the ball to the ground, we would have been OK."

But instead the Tigers (24-21, 4-6) played into Slataper’s plan of getting batters to swing at her high pitches. She was also aided by great defense by the Aggies, who did not commit an error.

The most spectacular defensive play of the game came in the bottom of the third when Tiger second baseman Jeni Schellert hit a deep ball into the outfield. Aggie center fielder Angie Shelter misjudged the ball but recovered to make a diving catch, landing with the ball in her glove behind her head.

"That catch was outstanding," Evans said. "That’s something all the fans can enjoy."

The Tigers cut the Aggie lead to one in the fifth on an RBI single from Heather Allister that scored Fisher, who ended Slataper’s bid for a perfect with her double.

"We have to grow up at the plate and be a little smarter," Missouri coach Jay Miller said. "We need to mature and both the young and older players have to make adjustments to those high pitches earlier. We’ve seen that all year and it gets tough, we just didn’t hit it. It’s just one of those days."

Stephanie Falk (19-14) picked up a loss for the Tigers after earning a win the previous day, while Slataper (5-4) got the win.

"Steph got a little frustrated with the umpire through the first few innings," Miller said. "She got behind the count, and that’s when she’s going to get hit. She has to stay ahead of the count and keep the batters off balance."

Added Evans, "We did a better job with Falk today. After you see someone one day you start to see patterns and you can recognize pitches. We did a better job being disciplined and hitting our pitch. It’s tough for any pitcher to face the same team two days in a row."