Destroy: A&M clinches historic series victory with run-rule of No. 2 Alabama

Taking down a ranked Alabama team in College Station simply never gets old.

In front of a record crowd at Davis Diamond, Texas A&M softball run-ruled No. 2 Alabama, 9-1, to claim its first-ever series win over the Crimson Tide.

On Friday, the Aggies upset Alabama in the opening game of the series but weren’t done there.

Today, they made even more noise.

After a scoreless first, the Aggies’ bats were scorching hot in the second inning. 

With bases loaded, Grace Uribe knocked a base hit right between first and second plate to score two runners and put the Aggies on the board. It was just Uribe’s fourth at-bat of the season.

“She’s a kid that wants to be out there,” A&M head coach Jo Evans said. “She’s had to deal with injury and sickness and not really been able to get in her rhythm, and now she is. Four at-bats. That's pretty impressive that she’s able to settle in. No bigger hit than that in that situation.”

Koko Wooley continued the momentum with an RBI single to left field. Then Haley Lee hit a bang-bang RBI single that scored Uribe.

“Anything we can do to extend an inning and save our outs,” Evans said. “I know [Lee] is frustrated, because she wants to hit one out, and yet she makes such a big difference for us. Her hustle to first base on that play, a lot of kids might have written it off. She hustled down the line and made something happen for us.”

With runners on the corners, Morgan Smith hammered a three-run home run off the scoreboard, her fourth bomb of the season. The electric seven-run inning is the most runs scored by A&M in a single against an SEC foe this season.

“I think [this is the best we are playing],” Makinzy Herzog said. “I just think being able to finish it is huge for us, and this gives us the confidence moving forward that we can finish a game.”

Herzog went to work inside the circle, allowing one hit and one run in 4.1 innings pitched.

The Tide had no answer until the top of the fifth inning when the Aggies were one out away from finishing a shut-out. Alabama’s Jenna Lord RBI single tallied a run and delayed the mercy rule.

Cade Ingersoll, TexAgs

Makinzy Herzog’s inspiring outing both inside the circle and at the plate lifted A&M to their first series win over Alabama. 

“Just fun to see [Herzog] confident out there,” Evans said. “I thought she was dealing tonight. She really felt comfortable and looked comfortable. I thought it was fitting that she’s the one that comes up in that situation and gets an opportunity to get a game-winning hit.”

In the bottom of the fifth, Herzog singled to score Trinity Cannon and walk-off Alabama, sealing a run rule of the No. 2 team in the country. 

The last time Alabama was run-ruled by an SEC foe was when A&M did so in 2016. Alabama has not been run-ruled by an unranked opponent since 1997.

“Our hitters have done such a good job this series,” Evans said. “Their approach is really good. We’re taking our walks. We’ve got kids stepping up and making adjustments at the plate, getting timely hitting. That rally in the second inning just took the wind out of Alabama’s sail.”

With Saturday’s win, the Aggies have claimed their first series win over the Crimson Tide in program history and look to finish the series sweep on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon CT.