Texas A&M’s official school colors are maroon and white. After its doubleheader against the ISU softball Saturday, a few Aggie players could make a case for adding black and blue to that list.

Cyclone pitchers hit seven Aggie batters in the first game and were uncharacteristically wild in run-rule-shortened losses to No. 6 Texas A&M (36-6, 8-0 Big 12), 11-1 and 9-1.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said co-head coach Gary Hines. “If I knew why it was happening, it would have stopped.”

In game one, freshman Rachel Zabriskie (11-7) was roughed up for seven earned runs, walking three and hitting a batter in 1.1 innings. Senior Amie Ford (4-4) relieved Zabriskie and hit the first batter she faced. Ford gave up only one hit in her 1.1 innings of work, but would go on to hit five more batters, including four in six at-bats in the third inning. The Cyclones (23-17, 1-5 Big 12) went on to lose, 11-1, by the eight-run rule after five innings.

Cyclone pitchers had hit a combined 11 hitters over the whole season coming into the game, and five of those were hit by Ford.

“It could be nerves, because we were playing such a great team,” Hines said. “Since we’re not scoring many runs, our pitchers think they need to make the perfect pitch on every time they throw, and thinking about it can lead to mistakes. I don’t like to make excuses, but I understand how that extra pressure affects players in any sport. We’re young enough, most of them, that they’re not good yet at being consistent.”

Jamie Hinshaw led Texas A&M offensively in game one, going 3 for 4 with three runs batted in. The Aggies batted around in a six-run second inning, sending 12 hitters to the plate. They weren’t finished in the third inning, when they sent another 10 to the plate for four more runs.

“You really can’t count anyone out in their lineup – they’re a great team all around,” said senior Kristy Olsen. “They have no weaknesses.”

Megan Gibson (22-0), who has won five Big 12 Pitcher of the Week awards this season, struck out the side to begin the game. She gave up four hits and struck out seven in five innings, allowing only a run-scoring single to sophomore Sydni Jones in the fourth inning.

“She had great command of the strike zone, and she put the ball wherever she wanted,” Olsen said. “She’s a solid pitcher, and now she’s 22-0.”

In the second game, Cyclone leadoff hitters reached base in each of the first three innings, but managed to score just one as went on to strand six runners on base.

Sophomore Charissa Carlin (8-6) took the loss for the Cyclones, giving up seven runs (five earned) in four innings, striking out four and walking just one. The Aggies scored three runs in the second inning and four in the fourth to pull away.

Natalie Villarreal went 3 for 3 with four runs batted in, and Hinshaw homered to lead the Aggie offense.

In the second game, Gibson, the Big 12 all-time home run and walks leader, played first base and went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts. Although Cyclone pitchers held her in check, the Aggies caused all the damage that was needed, going a combined 6 of 6 with three runs batted in.

Sophomore Courtney Wray had two hits, and sophomore Alex Johnson had an RBI double to score the only Cyclone run.

Most of the bright spots for Iowa State came in the field – on defense. Sophomore Amanda Bradberry made a handful of athletic defensive plays at second base, and her double-play partner was solid as well.

“Our middle infield [Bradberry and shortstop Carrie Monroe] did a phenomenal job defensively up the middle,” Hines said. “They made some really tough plays that you love to see and that get teammates excited.”

Despite getting run-ruled in both games, Hines saw some positive things from his players that he hopes to build on.

“I thought our pitchers did a good job on Gibson, not letting her be the one to beat us,” Hines said. “We got two sacrifice bunts down, which is something we’ve struggled with, and we saw a couple of our hitters go the other way with a pitch, which is something they haven’t really done consistently all year.”

Iowa State has lost six games in a row, scoring a total of six runs in the losses. The Cyclones’ record when scoring fewer than two runs is only 3-13.

“On Monday, we’ll come back and just work on getting better and try to figure some things out,” Hines said. “After a couple of tough games like this, that’s really all that you can do.”