On Saturday afternoon, the Texas A&M softball team faced Ole Miss in the second of three games in its weekend series at Davis Diamond. Despite a hot start, the Aggies fell to the Rebels, 3-1.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Aggies drew first blood, when sophomore Shaylee Ackerman was brought home by a single from senior Ashlynn Walls, giving the Aggies a 1-0 lead.
A&M held its one-run advantage until the top of the fifth inning, when Ole Miss sophomore Paige Smith scored from third off of a sacrifice fly by senior Jessica Puk, knotting up the score at one.
The Rebels added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning, when junior Tate Whitley scored off of a double by Smith. They added another run from Smith when Puk cashed in her second sacrifice RBI of the afternoon. Although the Aggies were able to put two runners on base in both the sixth and seventh inning, they were unable to score, ultimately falling to the Rebels, 3-1.
Senior Kayla Poynter pitched her second full game of the season, allowing three runs off of eight hits and striking out three batters in 7.0 innings of action.
Ackerman and Walls were the top offensive performers for the Aggies. Ackerman went 1-for-4 on the day, scoring A&M’s lone run. Walls went 1-of-3 at the plate and batted in that run.
Despite the loss, coach Jo Evans commended her team for keeping the game competitive for all seven innings. She expressed optimism toward Poynter’s performance at the mound, but acknowledged that the team needs greater offensive production in low-scoring games.
“Really since that Texas State game, we’ve really given ourselves a shot,” Evans said. ”I thought early on we handled some pressure well. Defensively, we got ourselves out of some innings. Poynter made some big pitches at big times. Offensively, we just have to get that top of the lineup going and get ourselves back on track.”
The game moves A&M to 27-13 (5-9 in the SEC) on the season, while Ole Miss climbs to 28-14 (10-7 in the SEC).
On Sunday, the Aggies will wrap up their series with Ole Miss at Davis Diamond, with the first pitch slated for 12 p.m.