No. 1 Texas A&M softball found itself sitting stagnant in multiple base-wide traffic jams, desperate for a hit that never came in Game 3 of its series against Missouri on Friday. 

After a double-header win against the Tigers yesterday, the Maroon and White slipped and fell hard with a 9-1 loss against Mizzou in the final game of the series — sending them sulking back to Davis Diamond for a four-game homestand in the upcoming weeks.

It was Missouri’s breast cancer awareness game, and junior right-handed pitcher Cierra Harrison sported neon pink as she started in the circle for the Tigers. Having delivered graduate designated player Mac Barbara’s home run hit in yesterday’s doubleheader, the A&M lineup entered the batter’s box boasting a certain confidence which has electrified the atmosphere with recent Aggie wins.

But false confidence wasn’t the only thing caught in today’s jetstream.

Senior catcher Julia Crenshaw was the Tiger’s first taste of over-the-wall action, receiving senior RHP Emily Leavitt’s first pitch with a  hit to left field. Her attack on the ball sent her dancing through the plate — priming it for senior shortstop Kara Daly.

Daly’s rocket of a hit followed Crenshaw’s over the left field wall, bringing her fellow teammates sophomore right fielder Stefania Abruscato and sophomore first baseman Abby Hay home for a four-run lead on the Aggies.

Leavitt hadn’t given up a homer yet this season, but she returned to the dugout for the bottom of the second after handing Missouri a palpable pair.

Freshman RHP Sydney Lessentine left the bullpen and strode into the circle with hopes of bringing the inning to a swift close. Her efforts proved fatal, and the Aggie defense was forced to bring its A-game.

Lessentine walked Crenshaw, and now with a sweet dinger on the board, the .373 hitter readied herself to take second base. She would go on to be tagged out by senior SS Koko Wooley.

It was the top of the third, and the Fightin’ Farmers were overdue for some fight.

Junior RF Amari Harper and sophomore 1B Mya Perez were both hit by a pitch, as A&M’s powerhouse hitter, Barbara, stepped into the box with two Aggies on base.

Sparks flew off of the bat as Barbara fired the ball into her 49th RBI of the season, sending Perez to second and Harper home for the Aggies’ first and only run.

The bases were soon charged by the Maroon and White after Wooley bunted the ball and it sat in the top corner of the batter’s box, confusing the Tigers’ defense. Dazed, Missouri hesitated, and Wooley reached on a fielder’s choice which proved too slow in beating Perez to third.

The throw home on a hit by Dement raced on another A&M out followed by junior pinch hitter Kylei Griffin as she chopped the ball straight into the circle — calling the hot-hitting jungle cats to the plate.

Securing the third Missouri home-run was sophomore third baseman Madison Walker, who swung into her 17th homer of the season and sent it sailing five-feet over the right-field wall, into a collection of lawn chairs and reaching hands.

Comebacks are not new to the Aggies, and no one was safe until the game wrapped — senior left fielder Kramer Eschete would show that underdog prowl.

She singled to third and beat the throw to first, marking the fourth straight inning A&M had succeeded in securing a lead runner on base. Eschete would be leading off from third for the final stretch home thanks to junior 3B Kennedy Powell’s sore shoulder— hit by the pitch with a gut-wrenching pop— and Harper grounding out on a 61 mph pitch by sophomore RHP Marissa McCann.

Unfortunately, the lead off was as far as Eschete would get.

With the Aggies trailing the Tigers 6-1, desperate for a clean-up hit and Missouri strike-outs, the circle would welcome freshman LHP Kate Munnerlyn for her first appearance in the series.

But what is one to do when met with heavy winds and drained spirits?

Up, up, up and away — junior center fielder Kayley Lenger dealt Missouri’s fourth and final homer.

Lenger ripped the ball over left field, leisurely rounding the bags like a planet in orbit. Her hit would drive freshman second baseman Sophie Smith through the plate and pave the way for the series-ending swing delivered by Abruscato to right field. 

The Aggies return to action on Tuesday, April 22. when they go head to head with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns at Davis Diamond.