In a nail-biting seventh inning, the Texas A&M softball team did something no other Alabama opponent this season could.
Entering the seventh inning, the Aggies put on their rally caps in hopes of redeeming themselves from game one and two of the SEC series against No. 4 Alabama. With two outs on the board and two Aggies on base, junior pitcher Payton McBride stepped up to the plate to do just that.
McBride’s single to left field caused an uproar in the dugout and among the crowd, as junior outfielder Blake-Ann Fritsch slid home to give A&M a 4-3 victory over the Crimson Tide.
“It kind of went with my walkout song, ‘I Ain’t Done,’” McBride told SEC Network. “Honestly, I told myself that we were going to end it today and we were going to beat them because we had so much adrenaline [in the sixth inning]. Having the base runners get on instantly is what helped me.”
A&M’s win put an end to Alabama’s 33 game win streak, which is tied for the third longest win streak in NCAA Division I softball history.
“This win feels really good,” Evans said. “We didn’t play well on Friday or Saturday and it’s one thing to not win but another thing to not play well and not win. I was disappointed in our inability to be in the game the first two days. Today we talked about mixing up the lineup and changing our mojo to be able to come out and get after it.”
The Aggies are 2-7 in conference play and before the sixth inning, it looked like Sunday’s outcome would be similar to their past SEC matchups.
Alabama added two solo home runs early in the first with a homer to center field by sophomore outfielder Kaylee Tow and another center field home run, just two batters later, by junior shortstop Claire Jenkins.
A&M tied up the game in the sixth with two runs of their own by freshman second baseman and outfielder Madi Jatzlau and freshman outfielder Taudrea Sinnie.
Jatzlau’s run home caused uncertainty on the field and led to a review by umpires. Umpires and coaches questioned the possibility of obstruction on Jenkins by Sinnie, who ran to third as Alabama infielders were going for Morgan Smith’s single to the pitcher.
After no obstruction was called, A&M earned its second run of the inning when Alabama freshman second baseman Skylar Wallace made a fielding error, returning Sinnie to home plate.
Now tied going into the seventh and final inning, A&M’s starting pitcher Kendall Potts made the biggest stop of the game after getting out of a bases loaded situation.
The junior began the inning with one out and two on base. She later walked junior Bailey Hemphill to load the bases for Alabama. Jenkins stepped up to the plate, but was no match for Potts, and struck out swinging on a 1-2 count.
“Going into our next games on Wednesday and this weekend it gives us a lot of confidence and a lot of energy, because we’re going into it knowing if we can beat them then we can beat anybody,” McBride said.
The Aggies will face Sam Houston State in a two-game, non-conference series on Wednesday, March 27 at Davis Diamond. The first game will start at 4 p.m. with the second game following at 6 p.m. Both games will be televised on the SEC Network.