No. 19 Texas A&M opens up SEC play with 3-0 shutout of South Carolina

Game #23: No. 19 Texas A&M 3, No. 22 South Carolina 0
Records: Texas A&M (21-2, 1-0), South Carolina (18-3, 0-1)
WP: Emiley Kennedy (11-1)
LP: Alana Vawter (5-2)
Box Score

Some people buckle under pressure. 

However, for others, pressure makes diamonds. On the figurative diamond, that’s what Aggie left-handed pitcher Emiley Kennedy does under pressure. 

In the opening game of SEC play, No. 19 Texas A&M (21-2, 1-0) downed No. 22 South Carolina, 3-0, behind seven scoreless innings from Kennedy. 

It was a pitcher’s duel throughout, which came as no surprise, as Kennedy came into the game, boasting a 0.87 ERA, and South Carolina started preseason All-SEC pitcher Alana Vawter. 

“It’s a good way to start, and we need to keep it rolling throughout the weekend,” Kennedy said. 

Though the Gamecocks failed to score a run in the contest, they threatened to do so multiple times. However, Kennedy seemed to kick it up a notch every time South Carolina threatened. 

“The first couple of innings she was just trying to find her zone and figure out how to kind of control her emotions,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford said. (I am) super proud of her work through all of that, and she made big pitches when she needed to. That's what big-time pitchers do.

Chris Swann, TexAgs

Kennedy earned her 11th individual win in Friday’s night shutout.

“I think competitors rise when the situation calls for it and she just was tremendous out there,” Ford said. “That was really fun to watch her go out and compete tonight. I enjoyed watching her carve and dice that plate.”

Kennedy said that she and Ford talked about her struggles during the game.

“We looked at each other and said, ‘I'm overthrowing. I need to throw 68 and spin the ball,’ and the third inning is when I saw it clicking and my ball was doing what it's supposed to,” Kennedy said. 

In the initial inning, the first Gamecock hitter reached on an error, then Kennedy aided South Carolina with a walk and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases. 

Immediately following the HBP, Kennedy forced Zoe Laneaux to line out to second base then Rylen Wiggins doubled up the runner at first to end the inning. 

Once again, the Gamecocks loaded the bases in the second, this time with no outs, as South Carolina recorded a pair of walks and a single. Kennedy then proceeded to strike out the next two batters and get the last batter to ground into a fielder’s choice. 

The last Gamecock threat came in the fifth inning as centerfielder Riley Blampied doubled to lead off the inning. However, Kennedy did what she did in the first two innings and worked out of trouble, forcing a groundout and a pair of punchouts. 

“I don’t like base runners on base, so mentally, I kick it up a notch and place the ball better,” Kennedy said. 

While A&M’s pitching kept the Gamecocks scoreless, the Aggie lineup had their hands full with Vawter.

“She's got really good sink on her pitch. She's able to locate, and she doesn't leave the ball over the plate,” Ford said.

Vawter faced the minimum through three innings, allowing just one walk and striking out three batters in the process. 

In the fourth inning, Vawter took a page from Kennedy’s book and avoided danger. 

A&M loaded the bases with one out on a pair of doubles from Jazmine Hill and Trinity Cannon, and an intentional walk was issued to Julia Cottrill. Vawter then got Keely Williams to ground into a fielder’s choice and Allie Enright to ground out to shortstop. 

Eventually, the Aggie bats caught up to the two-time All-Pac 12 pitcher. 

Kramer Eschete smoked a double to left center with one out before coming into score after Koko Wooley’s ground ball to first was bobbled by the first baseman. 

The following inning, A&M got some insurance, although it wasn’t needed. 

Hill led off the inning with a double, her second of the night before, before she was driven in on a groundout by pinch hitter Mya Perez. The Aggies tacked on another in the inning with an infield single from Enright. 

“Some of our kids have seen her before, and a lot of our kids have not seen her, so I think that first time through the lineup, it was kind of like, ‘Okay. This is what it looks like. This is what we're dealing with,’” Ford said. “I felt like at-bats two and three, you started to see some adjustments come along.”

Hill was the only Aggie to record two hits on the Stanford transfer, as she is familiar with Vawter from her time in the Pac-12 at Arizona State. 

“This was probably my third go-around seeing her, I believe,” Hill said. “I think the biggest thing was knowing what her key pitches were and working on that all week.

Before tonight, the last conference game the Maroon & White played was against South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks won that game, 1-0, in eight innings, eliminating the Aggies from the Tournament. 

However, A&M got its revenge tonight. 

“Every win in this league is hard, so I think you celebrate it, you learn from it, and you come out tomorrow, refocus and get after it,” Ford said “I'll take every win we can get.”

Hill echoed that same sentiment.

“I think it's a big statement just coming out on opening conference weekend,” Hill said. “The biggest thing is that, like I told the team after the game, we're not done yet. It’s still just one game, and we still have two more to go, so we still have a job to do.”

Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.