The No. 7 Aggie softball team lost game two of their weekend series to Missouri on Saturday by a score of 5-1. The Aggies fell to a (27-3, 6-2 SEC) on the year and the Tigers improved to (18-12, 1-3 SEC).
Missouri scored four of its five runs in the first two innings off of Aggie starting pitcher Samantha Show. The Aggies added one in the second when Show doubled off the wall, but that would be all the scoring A&M would do for the day as Missouri tacked on an insurance run in the sixth on a solo home run.
“We just couldn’t recover after that first inning,” Aggie head coach Jo Evans said. “They went out there and hit on all our mistakes. We had some opportunities and we set the table a few times, and we just didn’t have quality at bats and that’s what’s frustrating. Today we threw some at bats away and that’s what really hurt us.”
The Aggies were led in the circle by junior Lexi Smith. Smith took over for Show after she gave up four earned runs and six hits in the first two innings, and really settled things down for the Aggies. Smith ended up pitching five innings, giving up just one earned run on two hits, while striking out two.
At the plate, A&M was led by junior first baseman Tori Vidales and also by Show. Vidales went 1-for-3 at the top of the lineup, as Show also went 1-for-3 with a double and the only RBI of the day for A&M.
“We need [Vidales] to get it done in the leadoff spot,” Evans said. “I thought she looked really good today, and she set the table in those situations, and we need people to step up and take care of business, and we just didn’t get a lot of production out of our three and four hitters today.”
Missouri’s starting pitcher, Cheyenne Baxter, dominated the Aggies throwing a complete game while giving up just the one earned run on five hits and striking out six.
At the plate, the Tigers were led by sophomore Regan Nash and senior Kirsten Mack. Nash went 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot and scored a run, while Mack went 1-for-3 with a big two-RBI double in the first inning.
The rubber match of the series will take place tomorrow at the Aggie Softball Complex with the first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.