On a beautiful, sunny day in Aggieland, No. 5 Texas A&M softball took down Idaho State 4-1 before edging out No. 13 Texas Tech 7-6 in a Sunday doubleheader.
The Aggies knew Idaho State would be a tough matchup, as the Bengals entered with a 14-3 record after defeating Texas Tech on Saturday in the Texas A&M Invitational. Idaho State dominated the early innings, allowing just one hit and keeping the Maroon and White scoreless. The Aggies’ bats came alive in the fourth inning, taking their first lead and never looking back in a 4-1 victory over the Bengals.
“They’re just a scrappy bunch,” coach Trisha Ford said. “They’re very similar, I feel like, to Utah State, who we played in our first tournament.”
After falling to Texas Tech 7-2 the night before, the Aggies bounced back in impressive fashion, securing a 7-6 win in their second game of the day. The Maroon and White built their lead with explosive back-to-back innings in the second and third, combining for seven runs and holding on late to secure the victory.
“I thought offensively we did a great job — came out swinging, put up some crooked numbers,” Ford said. “I thought [junior right-handed pitcher Grace Sparks] threw a tremendous game. We just gotta clean some things up defensively.”
Game 1
The first game against Idaho State began with sophomore shortstop Camryn McDonald hitting a single in the fourth at-bat of the game. An uncharacteristic wild pitch from senior RHP Emily Leavitt allowed her to advance to second, threatening to break the zeroes early. However, Leavitt quickly settled in, delivering back-to-back strikeouts to strand McDonald at second and close out the first inning.
In the second inning, junior third baseman Kennedy Powell made a highlight-reel play for the first out, reaching into the Aggie dugout and sacrificing her body to secure a fly ball. She followed it up with another snag before Leavitt capped off the inning with a strikeout.
The Bengals’ offense found a spark in the top of the third, as Navarrete led off with a single to right field. After a walk and another single, Leavitt faced a bases-loaded jam with just one out.
A sacrifice fly from Brown brought in Navarrete, giving Idaho State a 1-0 lead. With the Bengals threatening to do more damage, Leavitt needed to dig the Aggies out of trouble. The veteran delivered, striking out Smith to escape the inning while stranding three Bengals on base.
A&M’s bats finally woke up in the fourth. Graduate designated player Mac Barbara started things off with a single up the middle, followed by a sophomore first baseman Mya Perez double that resulted from a Texas Tech infielder’s error.
The first bubbles of the day came after junior right fielder Amari Harper singled to left, driving in freshman pinch runner Kelsey Mathis and advancing sophomore OF Scout Lovell to third, still with no outs for Idaho State. The Aggies kept the momentum going, as senior center fielder Allie Enright’s double brought in two more runs to give Texas A&M a 3-1 lead — one they wouldn’t give back.
The score remained intact until the bottom of the sixth, when Harper doubled to center field bringing in speedy freshman OF Frankie Vrazel all the way from first, sliding and avoiding the catcher’s mitt to extend the score to a 4-1 lead.
Leavitt delivered an impressive performance, recording eight strikeouts while allowing just one run before senior left-handed pitcher Emiley Kennedy took over in the seventh inning, shutting the door on a Bengals comeback and sealing a 4-1 A&M victory.
Game 2
Just 30 minutes after the Idaho State game, the first pitch of the Texas Tech game was thrown at 2 p.m.
It only took a few innings for the bubbles to appear at Davis Diamond in the second game of the doubleheader. Enright wasted no time making a statement, crushing a towering 238-foot homer to straightaway center, bringing the 12th Man to its feet.
After several wild pitches hit A&M batters, senior SS Koko Wooley smoked a triple down the meeting, bringing three Aggies home and extending the lead to 4-0.
Texas Tech refused to go without a fight, as freshman SS Hailey Toney ripped a single that skimmed the third base foul line to drive in their first run of the game. Moments later, senior infielder Alexa Langeliers hit a sac fly to end the inning, but not before bringing Toney home to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Enright continued her dominant performance in the third inning as freshman second baseman KK Dement’s powerful single down the left field line brought Enright racing around the bases, sliding home and narrowly avoiding the catcher’s mitt in a dramatic display of athleticism to score the Aggies’ fifth run.
The offensive onslaught continued as Dement crossed the plate following a Vrazel sacrifice fly. Moments later, senior catcher Olivia Johnson blasted her first home run for the Maroon and White, reversing the score from yesterday’s game and putting the Aggies comfortably in the driver’s seat.
Once again, the Red Raiders would not go away, clawing their way back with four unanswered runs and silencing the Maroon offense over the next three innings. As the tension mounted, A&M’s once-comfortable lead had shrunk to just one run. With the score at 7-6, Texas Tech entered the top of the seventh with one final chance to complete the comeback.
It seemed as though the Red Raiders were poised for a game-winning inning when Langeliers ripped a ball up the middle. But in a moment of pure defensive brilliance and athleticism, Vrazel made a diving snag, crushing any hopes of a leadoff double, with David Diamond exploding in celebration.
With two outs left, the 12th Man could smell the victory, standing up and fueling newly inserted freshman LHP Kate Munnerlyn as she delivered the final blows. Munnerlyn shut the door on Texas Tech, sealing a 7-6 rematch victory and improving A&M’s record to 19-2.
The Aggies will aim to carry their momentum into conference play, kicking off a three-game series against No. 6 Florida on Friday, March 17, at Davis Diamond in a top-ten showdown.
