Heading into the weekend, the Aggies had a five-game winning streak. On the brink of making it six straight, they collapsed late.
On Friday, April 8, Texas A&M softball kicked off its weekend series with LSU at Davis Diamond in College Station. The series follows a commanding sweep of Abilene Christian and a run-rule blowout over Incarnate Word.
Neither squad was able to muster a hit in the game’s opening inning. The Aggies blanked the Tigers a second time in the top of the second inning and capitalized when they got back on offense. Senior outfielder Makinzy Herzog was walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. A shot into center field by freshman infielder Katie Dack brought Herzog home to give A&M an early 1-0 advantage.
Strong pitching and defense from both teams kept the score at bay, as the squads combined for four total hits throughout the next four innings.
In the top of the seventh inning, disaster struck for the Aggies when LSU sophomore outfielder Ali Newland homered to tie the score at one. A single down the right field line brought home junior outfielder Savannah Stewart and added to the Tigers’ lead. The Aggies suffered a strike out and two fly outs to seal the 2-1 LSU win.
Following the loss, A&M head coach Jo Evans said she was proud of the way her team played despite the nail-biting defeat.
“It was a well-played softball game and what LSU did was step up and get some timely hits when it really mattered in the end, and we didn’t do that,” Evans said. “What I don’t want is our team to feel sorry for ourselves or to blame something or somebody —it was a hard-fought game and we expect to be on the winning side of that. This is all part of the maturation process, and I thought our kids played really solid tonight.”
The victory moved the Tigers to 23-15 on the season and 4-6 in SEC play. The Aggies fall to 23-13 and 2-8 in the SEC.
The series continues on Saturday, April 9, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.