In another offensively strong match on April 16, Texas A&M softball succumbed to the combined defensive and offensive power of the Volunteers on the road.
The game kicked off in the second inning when an RBI double from Tennessee put the Vols on the board. It was quiet for the Aggies all through the third inning when A&M had their 19th double play of the season. The maroon and white found their footing in the fourth inning when freshman deputy player Katie Dack sent a sacrifice fly to center field and brought sophomore third baseman Trinity Cannon home. In the same inning, sophomore catcher Mayce Allen slammed a three-run RBI to bring the Aggies up 4-1.
A&M didn’t hold its lead for long as the Vols scratched two runs in the fourth and tied it up in the fifth. Allen got her second hit of the day to bring sophomore second baseman Rylen Wiggins home and put the Aggies back up in the sixth, but Tennessee rallied back to tie it once more. The Vols sealed the match in the seventh inning when they hit a two-RBI shot to finish 7-5.
Coach Jo Evans said both teams did well fighting for the win.
“It was a lot of back-and-forth, pitching changes and different strategies going on,” Evans said. “We could have cleaned it up a little bit. We get ourselves in a bind when the lead runner gets on, but I loved our fight and that our kids are still out there looking for ways to win.”
Senior pitcher Makinzy Herzog ran the mound for four innings with four hits and a trinity of stats on the holy weekend: three runs, three walks and three strikeouts. Freshman pitcher Emiley Kennedy relieved and pitched one strikeout and three hits and four runs.
The home run by Allen in the fourth inning marked her sixth in the season and her first in over a month. She led the offense with four RBIs, despite the final score.
A&M continues the series on Sunday, April 17 at 3 p.m. in Knoxville, Tenn.