A&M's season ends with 6-5 loss in third game of Austin Super Regional

Game #59: #1 Texas 6, #16 Texas A&M 5
Records: Texas A&M (44-15, 15-9), Texas (52-8, 23-4)
WP: Mac Morgan (15-1)
LP: Shaylee Ackerman (8-2)
Save: Teagan Kavan (4)
Box Score

When Trisha Ford took over Texas A&M's softball program on June 7, 2022, she had a vision.

A vision to build a softball program that competes for championships, but also a program that fights until the very last pitch.

On Sunday, the 16th-seeded Aggies displayed every ounce of guts and heart they possessed, but A&M ultimately fell in heartbreaking fashion, 6-5, as the top-seeded Texas Longhorns punched their ticket to the Women's College World Series.

"This is a hard one. As a coach, all you want is for your players to play hard, for themselves and compete their tails off,” an emotional head coach Trisha Ford said postgame. "It was such an honor to coach these women."

With Texas lead 6-2 and just two outs away from Oklahoma City, Julia Cottrill — in her last at-bat as an Aggie — hammered a no-doubt three-run blast to bring the Aggies within a run of a tie ball game.

One more runner on base would have created a story-book plate appearance for the catcher.

And it almost was.

Soon after, Teagan Kavan — the Big 12’s Freshman of the Year — became rattled by the moment, throwing eight straight balls and putting two runners aboard.

Yet, four pitches later, she punched out pinch-hitter Amari Harper to claim one of eight final spots for the Longhorns — a called strike three that sunk the hearts of Ford & Co.

"I was really excited when Ford came in," senior Trinity Cannon said as she wiped away tears. "I just love this team. We fought to the last out. At the end of the day, I think we beat ourselves in the last few innings."

Clutch hitting from Texas and late miscues from the Aggies were what swiped away A&M’s chance of a Women's College World Series berth.

As they did in all three games of the Austin Super Regional, A&M struck first as Sunday's initial run came on a Cannon RBI double that plated Koko Wooley, unearned.

In the third, the Longhorns plated two unearned runs as Shaylee Ackerman continued her stint in the circle.

The righty threw 4.2 innings, giving up three runs and six hits, helping A&M's bullpen by throwing 69 pitches.

A solo bomb from Mia Scott in the fifth brought Texas' lead to 3-1 as Ackerman was pulled shortly after. Emily Leavitt had a brief outing, throwing 10 pitches to close the inning.

The Aggie bats remained quiet until the sixth frame as Jazmine Hill was able to drive in a run, but A&M left the bases loaded to end the frame.

"You have to take advantage of the opportunities you are given," Rylen Wiggins said. "We didn't. Point blank."

A&M had a shot, and with ace Emiley Kennedy making her third appearance in three days, confidence should have swarmed the Maroon & White.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

Trinity Cannon’s run-scoring double in the first accounted for the 154th and final RBI of her four-year Texas A&M career.

Yet, a defensive meltdown is what gift-wrapped Texas the game.

A walked batter scored on a throwing error to make it 4-2. Another throwing miscue moved up another runner as back-to-back two-out knocks scored two more.

Even still, A&M fought back from the four-run deficit to pull within one.

But the all-important tying run remained elusive.

"I'm extremely thankful to be a part of this team and to be an Aggie," Wiggins said. "It's been a really great blessing, just to be here. I wouldn't have wanted to spend (my four years) any other way.

"We proved a lot of people wrong this year. Made a lot of people mad that wanted to see us fail. I am glad to be a part of that."

The Aggies have nothing to hang their heads.

An underseeded underdog, all three games with the top seed were decided by one run.

A&M went blow for blow with the nation's best, and in Ford's second year, the Aggies created a new standard for the program.

"Texas A&M softball wasn't on the map when I took over," Ford said. "This year, we surprised a lot of people. I think we will be consistently in the conversation when it comes to the postseason, hosting and top-eight seeds... All of those things."