Gators' speed too much for A&M to handle as Ags fall in SEC Tournament, 4-1
Just like that, an early offensive ambush closed the book on Texas A&M’s Southeastern Conference Tournament run.
A day after earning the program’s first-ever win in the SEC Tournament, the Aggies (29-26, 6-19) saw their hopes of a Cinderella run quickly extinguished by the fifth-seeded Florida Gators, falling 4-1 on Wednesday evening.
The team’s postseason fate will now be decided this Sunday at 7 p.m. CT during the NCAA Tournament selection show.
Starting pitcher Grace Uribe conceded all four runs on five hits in only 1.1 innings of work as the Gators pieced together a three-spot in the first using a double steal and a pair of RBI singles before tacking on another run in the second.
“I thought our team did a really great job of competing tonight," Texas A&M head coach Jo Evans said. “I thought that Florida came out on a quick start, scored four runs early. They were aggressive at the plate. They really struck the ball well in the first inning.”
Freshman Emiley Kennedy was handed the ball in relief and prevented the Gators from running away with a blowout, tossing 4.2 innings of shutout ball on only three hits while striking out three batters.
“I thought we did a great job to settle down. Emiley Kennedy was a big part of that, coming out and just taking care of their hitters,” Evans said. “She was phenomenal tonight.”
The Aggie offense struggled to draw contact and was limited to only three hits, with Trinity Cannon accounting for two of them (2-for-3).
Their lone run of the night came after drawing back-to-back walks to lead off the sixth as Cannon singled to shallow left field to score Rylen Wiggins.
With two runners on and only one out, the Aggies had two opportunities with the tying run at the plate but came up empty-handed.
Gifted with one final chance to avoid elimination after Cayden Baker reached on a fielding error and Wiggins was walked, the team’s home-run leader, Haley Lee, threatened with the tying run once again in the seventh.
However, Lee bounced out to third base, and the Aggies were eliminated.
“So unfortunate that we couldn’t score those runs in the end, and that’s the perfect scenario,” Evans said. “We will take that every single day, to have Haley Lee be the tying run in the seventh inning.
“I thought our kids fought hard, and it’s tough to lose that one, but I think our kids are showing their character, talent and resiliency.”
