Texas A&M softball staves off Lamar's comeback bid to win, 3-2

After knocking off then-No. 2 Alabama last weekend, Texas A&M softball took a break from SEC play and squeezed past Lamar, 3-2.

“Those games are uncomfortable, for sure,” A&M coach Jo Evans said. “Coming off big wins against Alabama and playing so well, and going out there and being flat. That’s a tough way to play a game. I don’t care who your opponent is.”

Brooke Homfeld, TexAgs

Makinzy Herzog secured her second save of the year against Lamar.

In the opening frame, A&M struck first. While Makinzy Herzog was at bat, Trinity Cannon stole second, and Morgan Smith started off her two-hit day by running home on the throw, unearned.

“Morgan Smith was really professional in her at-bats tonight,” Evans said. “She competed really well.”

Katie Dack has emerged as a powerful hitter this season. In the bottom of the third, she added to A&M’s lead by launching her eighth home run of the season. The two-run homer added a cushion for the Aggies, which proved to be pivotal later on.

“She just keeps getting better and better,” Evans said of Dack. “[She] was hitting off of 70 mph pitches, and then you got somebody who is throwing slower. Sometimes, it can throw you off a little bit. Katie’s done a nice job with her timing and being able to adjust to whatever speed she sees out there.”

In the circle, Emiley Kennedy pitched the first five innings for the Aggies, recording five strikeouts and allowing only one hit. Grace Uribe took over in the sixth.

“I thought our pitchers did a really good job,” Evans said. “They went out there and really did everything they needed to do to win a game.”

Up until the sixth inning, the Cardinals stranded a small army, leaving 11 total on base. On one of A&M’s four errors, Lamar capitalized as Aleka Xayaseng crossed home to end the shutout.

“Four errors is unacceptable,” Evans said. “It’s tough to beat anybody with four errors.”

The midweek match-up got a little too close for comfort, as a seventh-inning Lamar surge almost tied things up.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh, Herzog relieved Uribe in the circle and hit Lamar’s Hannah Kinkade with a pitch, allowing Nicolette Ramirez to score and make it a one-run game. The Aggies escaped the inning with a flyout and narrowly beat the Cardinals.

“Good teams find ways to win,” Evans said. “I feel like maybe a month ago we may not have won that game. We are more mature now, and I think we have more confidence now even though tonight we didn't play well.”

The Aggies will return to SEC play this weekend as they take on No. 25 Missouri on the road in a three-game series. First pitch on Friday is slated for 6:30 p.m.