Saturday struggles: No. 23 LSU prevails as A&M's comeback falls short, 11-8
Texas A&M softball fell to No. 23 LSU in their second matchup this weekend at Davis Diamond, 11-8, despite two home runs and a strong defensive performance in the last half of the game.
“I’m proud of our kids for fighting,” Texas A&M head coach Jo Evans said. “I would be extremely disappointed if we quit, and gave up in that situation.
“It’s a challenging situation to be in, and it doesn’t feel good to anybody. I thought our team kept chipping away and giving us a chance. I hope our kids continue to learn from this and understand they never have to be out of the game.”
The Tigers breezed ahead by three in their first at-bat, capitalizing on two sacrifice flies and a double to take the lead.
A double and a homer in the second cemented the Tigers' lead, putting them up by eight runs early.
In the bottom of the second, Rylen Wiggins hit a two-run homer launched into the scoreboard, and two singles by Morgan Smith and Cayden Baker saw the Aggies attempt to mount a comeback.
The third inning saw the Tigers push the score up to 11-2, but a double play prevented the visitors from any further damage. Two wild pitches from LSU helped the Aggies gain ground, and a sacrifice fly by Katie Dack closed the deficit to five runs.
Freshman pitcher Emiley Kennedy stepped into the circle at the top of the fourth as relief and proceeded to hold the Tigers hitless and scoreless for the rest of the game.
“[Kennedy] was so sharp, I thought she did a phenomenal job – just a gutsy performance, really,” Evans said. “When you give up so many runs early and then when we started chipping into the lead, it’s like, ‘Okay, let’s get the kid out there.’
“I thought she threw really well, and her composure was spot on. Al ot of poise out there in a tough situation.”
Wiggins slammed a homer over the center wall in the seventh inning — her second of the afternoon and her ninth of the season — to tack on two more runs for the Aggies. Wiggins drove in four to lead Texas A&M’s offense.
Despite the offense’s efforts in the last inning, they could not erase the deficit.
The Aggies will seek to salvage Sunday’s series finale against LSU, with first pitch slated for noon.