CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Give Texas A&M someone special in the circle and history suggests the Aggies might as well be halfway to the Women's College World Series.
The program that won NCAA titles with aces Shawn Andaya and Lori Stoll, and more recently made itself at home in Oklahoma City with Megan Gibson and Amanda Scarborough, isn't one to let a good arm go to waste. A school with its agricultural roots knows of natural resources, after all.
The Aggies think they may have hit the mother lode again. In earning espnW player of the week honors, sophomore pitcher Samantha Show made it difficult to disagree.
Show provided the cornerstone of Texas A&M's impressive run through the mammoth Mary Nutter Classic when she shut out No. 1 Florida State on opening night. The Seminoles went on to beat the likes of Arizona and UCLA later in the weekend, but they couldn't solve Show. Texas A&M's ace needed to find 21 outs for the upset. She got 15 of them by strikeout.
Already a spoiler this season when its own ace, McKenna Bull, pitches, BYU fared little better in its turn against Show. A late home run put the Cougars on the scoreboard, but Show allowed just that lone run on two hits and eight strikeouts in six innings.
And while those are the only wins she got official credit for, she was responsible for another without even throwing a pitch. Taking her customary spot as designated player when not in the circle, her walk-off two-run double beat No. 19 Arizona State 2-1 in nine innings.
Sometimes a good week is just that and nothing more. Sometimes it is a microcosm.
Show had a successful freshman season for a team that needed it after lean pitching years. But she was also prone to do an opponent's job for them and put runners on base. In 202 innings, she walked 112 batters. Against Florida State, she needed just 112 pitches despite the high strikeout total. She threw 108 against BYU. She walked six in 13 innings, not perfect but better.
Compare that to the same time a season ago, when Show was the winning pitcher against a ranked Arizona team in the Mary Nutter but needed 127 pitches to get there.
"The biggest thing to me is her ability to throw around the plate," Texas A&M coach Jo Evans said. "Last year she was throwing way too many pitches. This year she's much more efficient; she's able to throw strikes on both sides of the plate. I just think her mechanics, she's settled in and done the work with her mechanics. I thought her mechanics were a bit loose before, therefore the ball was a bit loose."
Show is an imposing figure in the circle, an agile 6-footer who Evans said returned this season more muscular. She looks the part of an ace. In California, she played the part well, too.
"With Sam, I just think it was a matter of discipline," Evans said. "Being more disciplined about your bullpens and demanding of yourself that you hit your spots. She's really athletic, and a lot of pitchers, sometimes are not as athletic. So when they're throwing the ball everywhere, they don't have the kind of control over the body that Sam has."
Previous winners: LSU's Bailey Landry | Washington's Taran Alvelo (Feb. 15)