Herzog's career-high 15 Ks & Ackerman's slam upsets No. 6 Florida, 5-0

A stellar pitching performance from Makinzy Herzog and an early bomb led Texas A&M softball to an electric 5-0 victory against No. 6 Florida on Saturday afternoon, marking the Aggies’ first SEC win of the season.

The excitement on the diamond and in the stands was palpable all afternoon, as the dugout’s energy had the fans involved in the game, even after Friday night’s devastating loss.

“We needed that. We were so close and fought so hard, and getting that win today was just a really good boost of confidence for our team,” Texas A&M head coach Jo Evans said. “I’m really proud of our ball club because after the game last night, they were dejected, but I said we should feel more confident than we have all season because of how we competed.

“We put ourselves in a position to win against the best team we’ve seen all year, so I said come back tomorrow with that confidence, and they did.”

Herzog racked up a career-high 15 strikeouts, holding the Gators to just three hits and walking just one batter. Her impeccable performance in the circle smothered the Florida offense and prevented the Gators from cracking the scoreboard.

The first inning saw Haley Lee walk, followed by a Trinity Cannon single and another walk to Rylen Wiggins. With two outs and the bases loaded, Shaylee Ackerman smashed a grand slam home run to left-center field, putting the Aggies up 4-0 and establishing an early lead.

“I was looking up to see it hit the wall, and there was nothing coming back. I was like, ‘No way.’ That was awesome,” Ackerman said. “We’ve been making statements, but finally being able to come out on top is a really big deal for us. I think it’s going to get the show going for us.”

Herzog struck out six consecutive Gators across the first two innings, dominating early in the game to keep Florida’s morale low.

Following the Ackerman grand slam, Texas A&M kept quiet offensively until the fifth inning when Rylen Wiggins ripped an RBI double to tack on another run. The Aggie defense stifled Florida in the final two innings. Two strikeouts from Herzog sealed the deal in the seventh, securing the win at 5-0.

“I think it’s huge for us. Even last year, we’ve been so close to winning all of these games,” Herzog said. “Six of the games we’ve lost this year were one-run games, and we just haven’t been able to finish it off at the end, so doing that today just shows us that we can do it. It gives us a lot of confidence moving forward.”

The Aggies will conclude the series against the sixth-ranked Gators at 12 p.m. on Sunday.