On Wednesday, May 11, Texas A&M softball played in its second game of the SEC Tournament against the No. 5 seed and host, the Florida Gators. The Aggies succumbed to an early offensive start by the Gators and ultimately ended their journey in Gainesville, Fla., with a 4-1 loss.
In the first inning, a double steal from Florida allowed them to put a run on the board. A pair of RBI singles by the Gators extended their lead and placed the early game momentum in Florida’s favor. The Aggies were unable to respond, and the Gators cushioned their lead with another RBI single in the second, placing their lead at 4-0.
Coach Jo Evans said that the team’s inability to be rattled allowed them to continue to perform.
“I thought we did a great job to settle down,” Evans said. “[Freshman pitcher] Emiley Kennedy was a big part of that coming out and just taking care of their hitters. I thought she was phenomenal tonight. Offensively, we took our walks, I think we got six walks or so on the night. [They] did a good job taking those opportunities, and then also, I thought we barreled up a lot of balls. We struck the ball well, didn’t necessarily land for us, but thought we had a ton of quality at-bats.”
Kennedy and the A&M defense worked a 1-2-3 inning during the fourth to get the Gators out in order for the first time in the game. The remainder of the game was quiet until the sixth inning when sophomore second baseman Rylen Wiggins drew her second lead-off walk of the match. Sophomore third baseman Trinity Cannon got her second hit of the night to send Wiggins home and put a run on the board for the maroon and white. A&M threatened the Florida lead in the seventh once again, but the Gators closed out, leaving a pair of Aggies left on base.
Evans said, despite the loss, the team showed its ability to take one step at a time and not give up.
“When you looked at the first inning, we had five hitters that got a chance to get up in that inning, and all five of those at-bats were quality ABs,” Evans said. “That’s what we’re playing for every single inning, to just stack up enough quality ABs to where you can score some runs. So, unfortunate that we couldn’t score those runs in the end. That’s the perfect scenario. I thought our kids fought hard, and you know it’s tough to lose out one, but I think our kids are showing their character and talent and resiliency.”
Sophomore pitcher Grace Uribe began the night in the circle for A&M, but after 1.1 innings, she was relieved by Kennedy who stayed in the circle for the following 4.2 innings. Kennedy had three strikeouts and no earned runs to her name by the end of the match. Offensively, Cannon hit 2-for-3 and tallied her 11th multi-hit game of the year.
Now at the conclusion of its regular season and SEC run, A&M waits for the NCAA Division I Softball Selection Show, airing on Sunday, May 15 on ESPN2 at 6 p.m., to learn whether or not they advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament.