Aggies drop rubber match to No. 5 Arkansas in regular-season finale

The Texas A&M softball team concluded its regular season on Sunday afternoon at Davis Diamond with a 9-5 loss to No. 5 Arkansas.

Arkansas came out swinging, accumulating 10 hits on the day. 

“Arkansas is a hell of a ball club,” Texas A&M coach Jo Evans said. “I thought we fought really hard. I thought we competed great actually. They are a really good ball club, and by far the best hitting ball club in the conference.”

In the first, the Razorbacks claimed an early 3-0 lead thanks to an RBI single from Danielle Gibson and a two-run moonshot from Hannah Gammill. Arkansas tacked on two more runs in the second when Spencer Prigge launched a two-run homer of her own.

Just when a response was needed, the freshmen stepped up. A&M’s Cayden Baker responded with an RBI single to score Koko Wooley and put the Aggies on the board.

“[The freshmen] looked really good this weekend,” Evans said. “They had some success, and you take that success with you into the postseason. I really believe in this freshman class. It’s a big part of this future.”

The Aggie’s bats were shut down by a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth by Arkansas pitcher Chenise Delce. In the fifth, Kayla Poynter entered the circle for A&M and fired off a 1-2-3 inning of her own to halt Arkansas.

Wooley started off a three-run fourth inning with an RBI double with no outs. Baker and Mariana Torres made use of productive groundouts by scoring two runners to make it a one-run ball game, 5-4.

“For us, we were down, we fought and we scored those runs,” Evans said. “Had a big inning right there, and I am really proud of our ball club for not getting down.”

However, Arkansas decided that A&M was a little too close for comfort.

In the top of the fifth, Gibson knocked in a two-run bomb to extend Arkansas’ lead. Linnie Malkin added a solo homer to further the advantage. 

“Today, the Gibson home run was a back-breaker on a pitch that was supposed to be in the dirt,” Evans said. “They’re a senior-heavy team, and they have a lot of experience.”

A&M attempted to fight back with an RBI groundout to score one run, but the sixth and seventh inning remained scoreless as the Aggies dropped their final regular-season game and the series.

A combination of Emiley Kennedy, Shaylee Ackerman, Grace Uribe and Poynter pitched in Sunday's matchup, allowing five walks and four home runs. With the addition of Herzog, the Aggies totaled 18 walks and nine home runs in the series.

The Aggies finished regular season 28-25 and 6-18 in SEC play.

Next up, the 12-seeded Aggies will travel to Florida to take on 13-seeded South Carolina in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday. 

“We just need to get our feet back on the ground which comes with rest and a little bit of practice,” Morgan Smith said. “We need to take a step back and get ready for the upcoming SEC Tournament. I have a ton of confidence in these girls going into postseason.”