Much like last weekend’s series against Florida, Texas A&M softball had difficulty hitting in the opening game of the series against the University of Missouri, falling 4-3 in their fourth consecutive loss on Thursday.
Missouri senior pitcher Madi Norman finished her night with the win, allowing three runs on five hits and six strikeouts.
Five different Aggies earned the five hits on the night: Kelbi Fortenberry, Kayla Garcia, Baylee Klingler, Payton McBride and Haley Lee.
Klingler led the Aggies with one run on one hit. The freshman infielder also earned two RBIs with a home run in the sixth inning.
On the mound for the Aggies, junior pitcher Kendall Potts allowed four runs on eight hits, and pitched four strikeouts.
Freshman infielder Kendyll Bailey led the Tigers in RBIs with two. Freshman infielder Jazmyn Rollin and senior Kolby Romaine each added one RBI for Missouri.
The Aggies earned the first point of the night as junior McBride kicked off scoring with her fourth home run of the season to open the fourth inning.
The Tigers then answered, as Bailey knocked a two-run RBI single to right field. An RBI single by Rollin in the fifth followed to score senior outfielder Regan Nash and widen the Tigers’ lead to 3-1.
A&M wasn’t ready to go down just yet, however, as freshman infielder Garcia hit a triple to left field to get in scoring position. Klingler then knocked out a homer — her fourth of the season — to score Garcia and tie the game.
Missouri then added a home run by Romaine to retake the lead and hand the Aggies their fourth straight loss.
The Aggies will take on the Tigers in game two of the series at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the Mizzou Softball Stadium. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+.