No. 14 A&M erases largest deficit of the year to sweep Auburn, 14-6

Game #32: No. 14 Texas A&M 14, Auburn 6 (5 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (28-4, 8-1), Auburn (15-9-1, 2-7)
WP: Emily Leavitt (6-0)
LP: Emmah Rolfe (0-1)
Box Score

No. 14 Texas A&M dominated and swept their series against Auburn with a run-rule, winning 14-6 on Sunday after being put in a hole to start the game. The Aggies are now 8-1 in the SEC and have certainly shown they won’t back down from a fight. 

Koko Wooley started strong on the basepaths, stealing second, advancing to third on an error and stole home in the bottom of the first. Yet, the Tigers quickly answered back.

“It starts in the weight room,” Wooley said of her speed. “We just work on a lot of stuff to help us push off, and I feel like that helps me a lot. And reading, and being instinctual and trusting my speed.”

A&M seemed to stumble for the duration of the second inning. With bases loaded due to some walks from Brooke Vestal, the Tigers turned a 1-1 tie into a 6-1 lead. 

Chris Swann, TexAgs

Sunday’s contest was A&M’s second run-rule against SEC competition this year. 

“I felt her timing was a little off,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford said of Vestal.

Ford turned to Emily Leavitt for the remainder of the game. 

“I was like, ‘Hey, let’s just chip away. Let’s work on some things. Let’s get a little crisper.’” Ford said. “And I thought as the game went on, she got better and better. That’s all I can ask for… We’re gonna need her [Leavitt] and Vestal. We’re gonna need all four of them to get through this conference because it’s brutal.”

Going into the bottom of the third with two outs, Jazmine Hill doubled to left-center field to start off the Aggies’ rally.

Trinity Cannon followed with a two-run shot over the scoreboard. Allie Enright followed suit in the third, tying the game 6-6 with a two-run bomb. 

“I didn’t feel like we panicked at all when obviously they went up 6-1,” Ford said. “I brought them inside the dugout, and I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s chip away. Let’s get two runs. Let’s get two runs, and before you know it, we’ll be alright.’

“The energy, the talk in the dugout was really good, and I felt like they had the confidence knowing that they had to come through.”

Later in the game, Enright also doubled down the middle, raising her RBI total of the day to four.

“Nothing’s really changed,” Enright said. "I just kept doing what I was doing. Going up and watching film with [Jeff] Harger on my off days. Getting a lot of swings in. I know that they’re [opposing pitchers] are probably gonna throw me different now because they know what I can hit with what I’m strong at. So, [I’m] kind of just working to strengthen my weaknesses.”

The Aggies made sure to analyze how Auburn’s All-American pitcher Maddie Penta was performing in the pitcher’s circle. 

“We worked hard all week,” Wooley said. “And seeing and knowing that her down stuff is rarely a strike, we relayed off of that. We were hunting the up pitch. And if you get on top of it, you do what we did this weekend.”

The Aggies continued to put Auburn in sticky situations as A&M loaded the bases with two outs during the bottom of the fourth. 

Some solid hits from Julia Cottrill and Enright, paired with a home run from Rylen Wiggins, upped the team to a 13-6 lead.

“Our plan was to just chip away,” Enright said. “Not let it [6-1 lead] get too big. I mean, it was only the second inning. We had a lot of game left, so we didn’t really sweat it…There was no doubt in my mind that we could get it done. Our lineup is so, so good.”

In the fifth, A&M needed just one run to enact the mercy rule, and Wooley called game with her first home run of the season. 

“For us, we play the game the right way, hard,” Ford said. ”We’re gonna be a nightmare in the box. And that’s what I said to them… I want to see pitcher hate their next hitter.” 

The Aggies will travel to Baton Rouge to begin a series against No. 3 LSU on Thursday.