No. 11 Texas A&M softball may have been the hottest team in the country, riding high on a nine-game win streak as it came to Beckham Field to take on No. 24 South Carolina. Not only did Game 1 go the way of the Gamecocks, but the Aggies’ lack of offense all weekend cropped again on Sunday, April 26, to drop the game and the series, 2-1.
After capsizing A&M’s fleet in Game 1, senior right-handed pitcher Jori Heard looked like she couldn’t hit water if she fell out of said boat early in Game 3. Giving up four hit-by-pitches through the first two frames — including one with the bases loaded — put the Gamecocks in a 1-0 hole.
Meanwhile, junior RHP Sidne Peters followed up on her strong run of form with two strikeouts, a walk and six hits allowed. The issue was that one of those hits was a solo bomb courtesy of junior center fielder Tori Ensely to tie it up in the bottom of the fifth.
Despite Heard’s struggles with finding the zone early, A&M’s reshuffled lineup couldn’t put barrel to ball. Despite sophomore CF Kesley Mathis coming to the two-hole and senior designated player Micaela Wark providing more power in the back half of the lineup, Ford’s reworked unit only mustered four hits and no extra-base hits.
When they did get on base, the Maroon and White couldn’t cash in, leaving 10 on base and ending the inning with the bases loaded multiple times.
Peters ended her day after five innings, and Ford turned to senior left-handed pitcher Taylor Pannell, who was a prolific closer in her time with the Missouri Tigers. The southpaw walked her first batter faced and then allowed a groundout that advanced to second. With the pressure on, she retired three straight, including fizzing a strike past the swinging bat of sophomore pinch hitter Tate Davis to end the frame.
In the seventh, A&M continued the trend of not being able to generate offense. With the heart of the lineup due up, Mathis went down in only four pitches. Junior first baseman Mya Perez was intentionally walked to give A&M a lifeline, but sophomore catcher Ariel Kowalewski and sophomore shortstop KK Dement were both retired to keep the game deadlocked at 1-1 entering the bottom of the seventh.
Following Pannell walking the first batter of the inning, it was time for senior RHP Grace Sparks to enter the circle. The Dayton native walked Ensley on five pitches, giving the Gamecocks two on with one in scoring position.
With no outs on the board, South Carolina turned to the sac bunt. Junior second baseman Karley Shelton laid the ball down and as Sparks went to throw it to first, her throw bounced off of the hustling Shelton, giving redshirt senior Quincee Lilio more than enough room to saunter in for the winning run.
The Aggies have a date with Goliath on Thursday, April 30, when No. 1 Oklahoma and superstar freshman catcher Kendall Wells look to finish off the regular season in pursuit of a win and a record-breaking home run. First pitch of the three-game regular-season finale is scheduled for 8 p.m.
