No. 15 Texas A&M softball may have already lost the Lone Star Showdown series against No. 1 Texas in Austin, but it sure had plenty of positive things to take away from a 9-7 upset of the Longhorns at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Sunday, March 29.

Not only did the Aggies add an upset of the nation’s top-ranked team to their resume, but they ended the Longhorns’ school-record win streak at 29 games and earned their first regular-season win over their rivals since 2009 — and it took a big sixth inning to fend off a late rally and seal the win.

Strong start

A&M — who has homered in all but six of its games so far this season — sure got plenty of use out of celebratory “Howdy hat” early against Texas — much to the chagrin of Longhorns’ starter, junior right-handed pitcher Teagan Kavan.

Sophomore catcher Ariel Kowalewski kicked things off with an RBI-double to center field, the first of a pair of RBI hits for her in the game.

Then, senior designated player Micaela Wark went yard with a two-run homer that put Texas on its back foot early. That was the first of a three-hit day for Wark, who’s quickly become one of the Aggies’ most prolific hitters.

That ball had somewhere to be 💨#GigEm | @micaela_wark pic.twitter.com/Ir8yK04nYu

— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) March 29, 2026

Sophomore shortstop KK Dement followed that first inning performance up with a leadoff homer in the second that just found its way over the left field wall to make things 4-1 and immediately put Texas on the ropes in its bid to extend its winning streak to 30 games.

The Aggies tallied 13 hits, nine runs and six RBIs against the Longhorns, but most of A&M’s scoring was still to come.

Sixth-inning showdown

Dement wasn’t quite finished. Not to be outdone by junior SS Viviana Martinez’s two-RBI double off of senior RHP Grace Sparks in the fifth inning that allowed the Longhorns to cut the gap down to 4-3, Dement pounced on Kavan again in the sixth — and she wasn’t the only one. 

Sophomore right fielder Frankie Vrazel got the Aggies’ first hit of the sixth inning with a double to left center field before Dement added some deja vu on A&M’s next at-bat, scoring her second RBI on a double that looked eerily similar to Vrazel’s and sent the latter home to grow the lead to 5-3.

Back-to-back doubles to extend the Aggie lead‼️ pic.twitter.com/DfS8TlatYm

— Texas A&M Softball (@AggieSoftball) March 29, 2026

Kowlaleski proved to be the straw that broke the Longhorns’ back, as her RBI-single not only gave A&M a 6-3 lead but also resulted in Texas pulling Kavan after a 116-pitch, 5.2-inning outing. 

Kavan pitched in every game of the series, and tallied six strikeouts while giving up 11 hits and eight runs  — But she wasn’t the only one leaving the game.

After Kavan’s exit, Texas head coach Mike White stormed out of the Longhorns’ dugout to argue with home plate umpire Rick Cowan about his strike zone. White was tossed from the game in a matter of seconds, and kicked up a cloud of dirt over home plate as he exited in hopes of firing up the Longhorns’ squad and the home crowd. 

Unfortunately for White, the Aggies’ kept the run going thanks to a pair of unearned runs as both senior second baseman Tallen Edwards and Dement drove in runs on fielding and throwing errors, respectively, to give A&M a 9-3 lead headed into the final inning.

Longhorn rally

But the number one team in the country wasn’t going to let the longest win streak in the country go without a fight.

Texas’ rally started off simple, with a sac fly to right field by senior 2B Leighann Goode, followed by a groundout by Martinez that drove in another run.

Then, with the Aggies up 9-5, the Longhorns started to make the 12th Man anxious.

Senior C Reese Atwood sent a ball bouncing off of the apartment building wall in deep left field after sneaking a home run just over the foul pole to cut the gap to 9-6.

Then, junior first baseman Katie Stewart followed that up with a solo home run of her own to cut the lead down to just 9-7 — dangerous territory, considering the series’ previous two games were both one-run Texas victories.

But sophomore RHP Sydney Lessentine was able to get the Aggies out of the jam, despite giving up four runs in her two innings of relief. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Kate Munnerlyn earned the win for the Aggies, giving up a trio of runs and hits while collecting a pair of strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.

Next, A&M turns its attention back toward Davis Diamond and a home matchup against Georgia on Thursday, April 2.