A canceled doubleheader on Saturday wasn’t enough to slow down junior RF Allie Enright’s hot start to the season.
Enright led Texas A&M softball to an 8-5 win over Tulsa in the first leg of a doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 11 at Davis Diamond. The California native went 2-for-3 while clobbering a go-ahead grand slam in the third inning that helped the Aggies overcome a 3-0 deficit.
Her performance built on a successful Friday doubleheader in which A&M beat Valparaiso and Lehigh to open the 2024 campaign. Enright went 4-for-5 over the two games, including two home runs and a double for six runs batted in. She even added a stolen base for good measure.
Enright’s power at the plate comes after an unassuming 2023 that saw her hit a mere .210 with four home runs and 18 RBI. She also had just one stolen base all season.
“I was in the weight room all summer,” Enright said after Friday’s games. “I think that was my biggest thing, I got way stronger in the weight room … I just feel way more comfortable at the plate, I’m really confident. I was really ready today, and I just felt very prepared.”
Her grand slam gave the Aggies a lead they wouldn’t give up after the Golden Hurricane jumped to a three-run lead in the second inning. Graduate P Shaylee Ackerman surrendered three singles, the last of which by senior 2B Abby Jones plated the game’s first run. Senior DP Kylee Nash followed with a two-run double to the right-center field gap that built Tulsa’s lead.
A&M managed to load the bases in the home half of the inning but failed to capitalize in bringing runners home. When the Aggies juiced the bags again in the third, she made sure they wouldn’t go back to the dugout empty-handed.
After taking a ball from junior P Maura Moore, Enright sent a no-doubter 256 feet over the left-center field wall, putting A&M on top 4-3.
The Maroon and White looked to hold onto their lead for the remainder of the game while keeping the Golden Hurricane at bay. After three frames from Ackerman, A&M turned to junior P Emily Leavitt for her second appearance of the early season.
She got a cushion from her offense as the Aggies’ scoring momentum continued, adding runs in each of the following innings. Senior C Julia Cottrill singled to right field to plate a run in the fourth before picking up her second RBI in the sixth inning on an RBI groundout.
Sandwiched between Cottrill’s contributions were a solo homer to right field by graduate CF Jazmine Hill and an RBI triple to right by sophomore 3B Kennedy Powell.
In the meantime, Leavitt held strong over the three innings in allowing two singles with a pair of punchouts. Tulsa added the most pressure in the top of the seventh, when senior LF MacKenzie Denson plated two runners with a two-out double.
Senior SS Imani Edwards represented the tying run at the plate, but Leavitt induced a lineout to end it and come away with the win.
A&M continued the Aggie Classic by sweeping the series against Tulsa, winning Game 2, 8-0.
The Aggies were rolling into their Saturday stretch until the rain halted their momentum, ultimately canceling both games well before the first pitch.
“It was huge [that we could reschedule] just because next weekend is going to be very tough,” Coach Ford said. “We met as a tournament staff and we wanted to make sure [all teams] could get in four games. Everyone was really flexible and I thought they did a great job [putting the event together].”
After a hot start in Game 1, the Tulsa offense slowed down significantly the next game, finishing the matchup with only one hit and two errors.
In the bottom of the second inning, junior LF Kramer Eschete was walked by Nash. As Nash tried to do damage control, Eschete stole base after base, finally rounding out at home following a throwing error, earning every bit of A&M’s first run of the day.
The Fightin’ Farmers kept Tulsa on its toes defensively in the bottom of the third. After hitting a single to center field, sophomore 3B Kennedy Powell ran all the way to third after another error on the Golden Hurricane side.
Cottrill earned her third RBI of the series after knocking in Powell with an RBI groundout to A&M up 2-0 heading into the fourth.
Tulsa finally found success in the box after three innings when Edwards singled down the right-field line, also ending junior LHP Emiley Kennedy’s no-hitter start. However, Kennedy was still in prime form, allowing just one hit coupled with nine strikeouts throughout six innings.
Edwards stole second after her teammate, junior 1B Kailyn Bearpaw, struck out. While Edwards’ run looked promising at first glance, she was actually caught leaving first base too early by the official and was ruled out.
Back on offense, the Aggies had two back-to-back runners struck out by Nash before sophomore PH Aiyana Coleman sent the ball flying over the fence, scoring two more runs for A&M by pushing herself and Enright home to make the score 4-0.
Nash’s day ended after that pitch, with Tulsa subbing in Oklahoma native freshman P Anneca Anderson.
However, there was no slowing the Maroon and White down on offense. In the bottom of the fifth, senior 1B Trinity Cannon fired her own cannonball over the right-field fence for her 20th career home run.
After the homer, Anderson walked the next two batters, then back-to-back groundouts pushed in Hill to put the Fightin’ Farmers up 6-0 heading into the sixth inning.
Junior SS Koko Wooley ended her quiet start to the series with a single and a steal to second in the bottom of the sixth. Powell followed up with a single to center field, which pushed Wooley home for the seventh run of the game.
Cannon put the nail in Tulsa’s coffin with a single to the pitcher, allowing Powell to follow Wooley home and end the game by run-rule.
Next, A&M softball heads on the road to compete in the Campbell/Cartier Classic on Feb. 16-18 at SDSU Softball Stadium in San Diego.
