The No. 24 Texas A&M softball team picked up a sorely needed win on Wednesday, March 22, as it garnered a 6-3 come-from-behind win over Louisiana Tech at Davis Diamond, the team’s 100th all-time win at the venue. After being swept at home by No. 16 Georgia this past weekend, the Aggies needed a shot in the arm before hitting the road to take on No. 11 Kentucky.
The maroon and white jumped on the scoreboard in the opening frame, as a walk by sophomore shortstop Koko Wooley and freshman center fielder Keely Williams’ single put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Junior catcher Julia Cottrill then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, plating Wooley.
The Lady Techsters put up a three-spot in the third inning on sophomore pitcher Emiley Kennedy, as redshirt sophomore designated player KB Briley led off with a solo homer to left-center field. A hit batter, walk and single loaded the bases with no outs before another base on balls tacked on another run and put Louisiana Tech on top, 2-1. With the bases juiced with no outs, A&M warded off damage with two force outs at home before a full count walk made it a 3-1 ballgame. Junior left fielder Bre Warren prevented any further runs with a diving grab to end the frame, the first of two great run-saving catches in the outfield.
“Bre has made some big catches for us out in the outfield this year,” coach Trisha Ford said. “What I love about her response is that she said ‘I was confident that I was gonna catch that ball’ … She gets good reads on the ball, and her arm is coming along, so she’ll get more spots out there.”
Kennedy’s night was finished after three innings, giving up three runs on three hits, three walks, a hit batter and three strikeouts.
“The good stuff comes from the hard,” Ford said. “She was better, I just told her that’s the growth we need to take … The more she’s in [tough spots], the more she’s going to have opportunities to work through it.”
Sophomore pitcher Emily Leavitt came in to relieve Kennedy, issuing four scoreless innings with just one hit, two walks, a hit batter and five punchouts while preventing Louisiana Tech from building its lead.
The Aggies cut the Lady Techsters’ lead in half in the fourth, with freshman designated player Aiyana Coleman leading off with a double to left-center. A sacrifice bunt advanced senior pinch runner Star Ferguson to third before freshman first baseman Gracyn Coleman flew out to center, scoring Ferguson to bring A&M within 3-2.
The Aggies picked up a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in the fifth thanks to a pair of long balls. Williams worked a four-pitch walk to open the inning before Cottrill smashed a home run off the scoreboard in left field, putting A&M on top, 4-3. After a pitching change, Aiyana Coleman laced a double to left field, reaching third on a throwing error and finishing a 3-for-3 night. Junior third baseman Rylen Wiggins continued A&M’s power hitting by clobbering a pitch to center field that left the yard, adding insurance to a 6-3 score.
“It was more a sigh of relief,” the .385-hitting Cottrill said of her two-run shot. “I feel like I’ve been making good contact with the ball the past couple weeks, I just haven’t been getting the hits that we need, and somehow that’s how softball goes. Just being able to go out there and feel confident in what I’m doing, it was nice for it to pay off.”
The Aggies continue SEC play in Lexington, Kentucky, this weekend to battle Kentucky. Should expected rainy conditions not interfere, first pitch on Friday, March 23, is set for 5:30 p.m. as A&M looks to improve its 2-4 conference standing.
“I feel confident in our team,” Warren said. “I feel like this win was a good one going into the weekend, and just remembering that one game at a time [mentality], we’re our biggest opponent and just … trying to control what we can control, so that was the biggest thing, and I feel like we’re growing as a team.”