Ford & Co. in familiar spot on the regional brink

Game #55: Arizona State 4, #15 Texas A&M 3
Records: Texas A&M (37-18, 16-8), Arizona State (43-16, 11-13)
WP: Kenzie Brown (16-6)
LP: Sidne Peters (15-6)
Box Score

Game #56: #15 Texas A&M 10, Connecticut 3
Records: Texas A&M (38-18, 16-8), Connecticut (32-28, 18-6)
WP: Sydney Lessentine (15-4)
LP: Sydnee Koosh (6-7)
Box Score

Texas A&M is no stranger to playing from behind, and to make it out alive in the Bryan-College Station Regional, they’ll have to climb uphill.

An early pitcher’s duel between No. 15 seed Texas A&M and Arizona State ended 4-3 in ASU’s favor, forcing an elimination nightcap for the Aggies.

“We can’t sulk,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford said. “That was a hard game. But life’s hard, and you gotta bounce back and get a win.”

A&M stayed alive, eliminating UConn 10-3.

The early game was a seven-inning battle, as both teams went back and forth all afternoon.

Micaela Wark and ASU’s Katie Chester went homer for homer, as both batters blasted two-run shots early, tying the game at two in the second.

A Kelsey Mathis RBI brought a third run across in the fourth, giving A&M a 3-2 advantage.

As Ford has said before, it starts and ends in the circle. Ultimately, it came down to A&M’s ace Sidne Peters, who showed glimpses of greatness through 6.1 innings but failed to close against the Sun Devils.

She allowed a leadoff double and an RBI single to tie the game at 3-3 in the seventh before giving way to Taylor Pannell.

Another batter hit. Another RBI. A fourth run across. A&M was shaken.

A comeback attempt was snapped too short, as Kennedy Powell struck out to cement the 4-3 loss.

“Pannell’s been in that situation a lot,” Ford said. “She led the nation in saves, so I feel like when it comes to nerves, she’s got those under control. Just gotta fight a little more.”

Kay Naegeli, TexAgs

Taylor Pannell was unable to convert on a save opportunity in Saturday’s 4-3 loss.

ASU standout Kenzie Brown spun a complete game, striking out six batters, allowing four hits, three runs, and three walks. Her 16th win of 2026 marks the eighth win in a row for the Sun Devils, and a ninth would send them to the second weekend.

Peters was tagged with the loss for the Aggies. Before the seventh inning, the junior kept pace with ASU, holding them to two runs on four hits and striking out four.

But she hit a wall, ending with a total of four strikeouts, six hits, four runs and three walks allowed.

With the early loss, A&M was forced into an elimination game against UConn.

“We’re gonna play three more games, and we’re determined to play three more games.” KK Dement said. “We went in the locker room and thought about it too, and we can’t really let this loss get to us. We can fight back and be the team we know we are.”

It wasn’t quite as quick as their Friday matchup, but the Aggies put a beating on the Huskies to keep themselves alive.

Dement, Ariel Kowalewski and Paislie Allen all smacked long balls, accounting for four of the Aggies 10 runs.

Kowalewski had the best stats of the night, going 3-for-4 with two singles and a home run.

Dement went 2-for-4, accounting for three RBI with a two-run homer and an RBI single.

Sydney Lessentine started in the circle, spinning five innings with six strikeouts, one walk, three hits and three runs. She allowed two solo home runs to the Huskies and a double in the sixth to account for the third run.

“I thought she did a great job,” Ford said. “I thought she worked all quadrants of the zone really well. She worked ahead pretty well, and yeah, it was good. We’re gonna need her tomorrow.”

Kate Munerlyn relieved Lessentine in the sixth, striking out three batters and only allowing two hits.

Despite being tagged with an RBI on a fielder’s choice, Mya Perez never reached safely, snapping her 58-game on-base streak.

To be fair, that’s not where this team’s focus is.

It’s to fight and live another day.

“You gotta give us everything you have,” Ford said. “This is what you’ve worked all year for, and there’s just no excuses. Let’s execute, and let's have some fun.”

Texas A&M will face Arizona State on Sunday at 2 p.m., and for the first time in NCAA history, a regional softball game will be televised on ABC.