Saturday, May 18 was the second time this year that Texas A&M softball met Texas State.
The previous matchup between the two squads occurred at Bobcat Softball Stadium on March 20, with the Bobcats reigning victorious 4-3 after an error in the bottom of the ninth. This time, at Davis Diamond, the stakes were much higher, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the championship game in the NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional.
The second round was a hard-fought battle between both teams as the Aggies sneaked away with a win, giving them a chance to punch their ticket to the Super Regionals Sunday afternoon.
“When you are in one of those tight ball games and you have two really good pitchers, your defense is going to be the difference maker, and I think our defense was the difference maker today,” coach Trisha Ford said. “I was impressed with our ability to keep momentum on our side.”
Texas State jumped off to a quick start with back-to-back hits in the top of the first inning. A single by sophomore DP Emilee Baker and a double off the top of the wall by senior 3B Sara Vanderford gave Texas State momentum, but the awareness of junior LF Kramer Eschete to nail Baker attempting to advance to third was one of the vast defensive plays that benefitted A&M early on.
It did not take long before the Maroon and White got their offense going in the bottom of the first with a leadoff walk by sophomore 3B Kennedy Powell followed by a single and stolen base by junior SS Koko Wooley. That put two runners in scoring position, allowing senior 1B Trinity Cannon to make her way to the dish.
A&M’s only run of the day came from Cannon’s sacrifice fly to center that allowed Powell to come around to score. Cannon drove in her third RBI of the regional round and tallied her 55th of the season.
Senior 2B Rylen Wiggins displayed her talented defensive play with two impactful plays in the second inning. The first assist came when a ground ball hit by senior 1B JJ Smith went to Wiggins to turn a double play followed by a leaping line drive catch to rob the Bobcats of a hit.
“Any ball that was coming to me after last night, I was not going to mess up,” Wiggins said. “I just wanted to get the outs and make the good plays when I could because I know I can.”
Wiggins said that A&M’s most significant difference was feeding off junior LHP Emiley Kennedy’s energy in the circle.
Kennedy earned her 22nd complete game of the season and tossed her ninth shutout, allowing only four hits and six strikeouts. Kennedy also retired 12-straight Bobcats and secured her 22nd victory of the season.
Kennedy pitched in the bottom of the seventh in the first meeting against the Bobcats and blew a save opportunity. In that game, Kennedy threw 0.2 innings, allowing one hit while walking three in letting the game slip out of her hands.
This time, Kennedy walked out for a seventh inning of work with the chance to redeem herself.
She said her mindset in the seventh inning this time was to throw strikes, make the Bobcats hit the ball and keep it simple.
“I felt like we played our brand of softball,” Ford said. “We saw two great teams out there executing at a high level. Today was the biggest game of the season if I am being very frank.”
A&M will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Texas State and Penn State. The Aggies’ first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Davis Diamond with Game 7 scheduled for 4:30 p.m. if necessary.
