The Texas A&M softball team fell 5-2 to the Florida Gators on Friday in Gainesville in game one of a three-game series.
The No. 1 Gators (40-5, 12-4 SEC) drew first blood in the first inning with an RBI single from Kirsti Merritt to take the early 1-0 lead. The Gators were looking to extend the lead in the second, loading the bases, but senior Rachel Fox struck out Nicole DeWitt to keep the Aggies within one.
The No. 23 Aggies (34-15, 9-10 SEC) took the lead with one swing of the bat from Tori Vidales, driving in two runs for her 16th home run of the season. The Gators regained the lead with three runs in the fourth inning. Florida catcher Bailey Castro added a solo homer in the fifth to extend the Gator lead.
The Aggies attempted to rally in the fifth inning off a Breanna Dozier walk to cut the lead to 5-3, but the Gators added two more runs to complete the victory.
First pitch for game two of this series is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday.