After a close pitching battle in the beginning of the matchup, Texas A&M softball defeated 9-4 Alabama to take the series on Monday, April 15.
A pitching duel took over the first inning as Alabama’s graduate RHP Kayla Beaver and A&M’s junior LHP Emiley Kennedy each struck out two of the three batters they faced.
The matchup went scoreless through the second and third with the first hit of the game going to junior RF Allie Enright in the top of the second.
In the bottom of the third, Kennedy walked junior 2B Kali Heivilin then allowed a single by sophomore C Riley Valentine. Heivilin was out going to third as Valentine advanced to second, and sophomore CF Kristen White made it to first on a fielder’s choice.
In the top of the fourth, freshman Hailey Golden, pinch running for graduate CF Jazmine Hill, scored off of Enright’s sac-fly. Senior C Julia Cottrill scored as well off of a throwing error by the Tide.
Graduate RHP Brooke Vestal came out of the bullpen for Kennedy and proceeded to hit two batters and allow a run in the bottom of the fourth. Graduate RHP Shaylee Ackerman came in for Vestal and allowed two more runs. The scores were by pinch runners sophomore Kinley Pate and senior Kat Grill as well as graduate LF Jenna Johnson.
With sophomore 3B Kennedy Powell making it to first from being hit by Beaver’s pitch and sophomore 2B Amari Harper’s double, the bases were filling up.Junior LF Kramer Eschete singled to allow Powell to score. Hill’s ground out gave Harper her run to bring the score to 4-3 in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the frame, Kennedy returned to the game and allowed a run by sophomore SS Kenleigh Cahalan on a wild pitch to make it 4-4.
On sophomore DP Aiyana Coleman’s single, senior SS Rylen Wiggins and Enright scored. Senior Sav Price pinch ran for Coleman, and she scored with Powell off of Harper’s single. Harper scored unearned off of an error by Valentine to make it 9-5 in the Aggies’ favor in the bottom of the sixth.
It was a three up, three down inning for both sides in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh as the bats were not alive. The game ended with three batters for Alabama who were unable to cut into A&M’s lead.
A&M will next take on the University of North Texas at 6 p.m. in Denton on Wednesday, April 17.
