On the heels of an upset over No. 5 Arizona, Texas A&M softball was unable to complete the feat against No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 1 UCLA.
While the Aggies kept a close game against Oklahoma, falling 2-1, UCLA hit two homeruns in the first to take a 5-0 lead that A&M couldn’t recover from.
Despite the losses, the pitching staff had a solid day, garnering 14 strikeouts over the two games.
Against Oklahoma, senior Kendall Potts allowed only the two runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.
The Sooners used a double and a single in the first to score junior infielder Taylon Snow on a groundout, but A&M coach Jo Evans said Potts’ ability to overcome those hits was impressive.
“She threw her change-up for strikes; she threw strikes when she needed them,” Evans said. “She got us some big outs. Oklahoma got some infield hits and she could’ve gotten frustrated with that, but she didn’t. Oklahoma had a lot of traffic early in the game and she shut it down. She gave up a run in the first inning and that was it. I thought she was phenomenal and really gutted it out. I’m disappointed for her because she pitched well enough to win.”
The game remained 1-0 until the seventh as neither team could find successful at-bats. But in the top of the seventh, A&M caught a break with a double from sophomore utility player Megan Smith that scored sophomore outfielder Taudrea Sinnie.
Potts walked the second batter she faced in the bottom of the inning, who then stole second. With a strikeout, the Aggies were one more out away from sending the game into extra innings; however, a double from sophomore infielder Grace Lyons scored sophomore utility player Grace Green to give Oklahoma the 2-1 win.
Evans said she was proud of her team for responding to Oklahoma’s early lead in the way that they did.
“Kendall gave us a chance to get outs and we did that,” Evans said. “I can see us growing up. I still see plays that we can probably make, but all in all, I really feel like our kids are starting to understand the game. They are understanding that those routine plays are the ones that win you ball games day in and day out. I thought we fought hard and really handled the pressure with them. They had a lot of base runners early on and there was a lot of traffic and we didn’t let it get us down.” 
A&M’s game against UCLA wasn’t as close as the first.
After allowing five runs in the first inning against the Bruins, senior Payton McBride was replaced on the mound by freshman Ashley Daugherty. McBride had five runs on five hits and two strikeouts from her time in the circle; Daugherty finished with five and allowed four runs on seven hits in her four innings.
The Aggies’ lone score came in the third as Herzog hit a homerun with no one on base, while UCLA added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth with a double that scored junior infielder Briana Perez and junior utility player Kinsley Washington.
“UCLA is a really good ball club and there’s a reason they haven’t lost since last June,” Evans said. “They just have a lot of offensive fire power and I thought their pitcher threw a really nice game.”