On Saturday afternoon, the Texas A&M softball team faced No. 4 Florida in the second of three games in their weekend conference series at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville. The Aggies were shut out for the first time this season, falling to the Gators 4-0.
Both squads started off slow offensively and failed to score in the game’s opening two innings. The Gators broke that trend in the bottom of the third inning, when junior Charla Echols homered into right field, bringing home senior Kendyl Lindaman and giving Florida a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Gators were able to extend their lead, when junior Cheyenne Lindsey barrelled a solo home run into right field. The next batter, senior Hannah Adams, followed suit with a home run of her own, extending Florida’s lead to four runs. The Aggies’ seventh inning rally fell short, and the Gators earned the 4-0 victory.
Senior Kayla Poynter earned the start at the mound. She surrendered four runs off of eight hits with three strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Freshman Grace Uribe relieved to force the game’s final fly out.
The Aggies’ offense was uncharacteristically ineffective at generating hits, but junior Haley Lee led the way, going 2-of-3 from the plate. Senior Ashlynn Walls and freshman Rylen Wiggins also earned hits in the outing. Coach Jo Evans credited Florida’s pitcher, senior Natalie Lugo, for stifling the Aggies’ hitters.
“I thought she did a good job and I also didn’t think our hitters did a good job of sticking to a plan,” Evans said. “There were some patterns that we could see clearly and offensively, we need to do a much better job of executing a plan and recognizing those patterns.”
The loss drops the Aggies to 31-19 on the season and 8-15 in SEC play. The Gators move 39-8 and 18-5 in SEC play.
The Aggies will cap off their series with Florida tomorrow at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The game’s first pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.