Davis Drama! No. 7 Ags plate nine unanswered to erase six-run deficit

Game #3: No. 7 Texas A&M 10, No. 19 Baylor 7
Records: Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0), Baylor (2-1, 0-0)
WP: Emiley Kennedy (2-0)
LP: Dariana Orme (1-1)
Box Score

Coming off two wins in Thursday’s Opening Day double-header, No. 7 Texas A&M softball squared off against No. 19 Baylor in a Battle of the Brazos on Friday night at Davis Diamond.

When the Aggies looked dead in the water down 7-1 in the fifth inning, a host of newcomers rescued the game to give A&M a 10-7 win.

“They don't call us the Fightin’ Texas Aggies for nothing,” said graduate designated hitter Mac Barabara. “We like to give people a little entertainment.”

And entertain they did.

A Davis Diamond crowd of 2,704 jolted back to life with an offensive explosion in the fifth inning, kickstarted by a pair of freshmen. Second Baseman KK Dement knocked a triple into right center field, which brought sophomore pinch runner Hailey Golden home to make the score 7-2.

Freshman right fielder Frankie Vrazel got in on the action with a double on the next at-bat to bring Dement home and set the crowd ablaze. The Danbury, Texas native then crossed the plate after a wild pitch to close the gap for the Aggies to 7-4.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

In her first three games as an Aggie, Mac Barbara already has two home runs.

Sophomore first baseman Mya Perez kept up the pressure on the Bears with a single to bring in senior shortstop Koko Wooley and make it 7-5 heading into the sixth inning.

“It felt different,” head coach Trisha Ford said. “It felt like they had put the pieces of the puzzle together, and they were solving it. You could feel it.”

After a quick top of the sixth once senior left-handed pitcher Emiley Kennedy was thrust into the circle, A&M kept the momentum rolling on offense.

Dement and Vrazel both reached on a walk and a bunt single, and senior left fielder Kramer Eschete loaded the bases on a free pass. Wooley lobbed a sacrifice fly to bring Dement across and cut the deficit to one, 7-6.

Enter junior third baseman Kennedy Powell. The Conroe High School product smacked a double into right center field, allowing Eschete and Vrazel to round the bases and complete the comeback for the Maroon & White, 8-7.

Barbara then put an exclamation point on the victory with a two-run homer over the center field wall, inciting an eruption from the 12th Man and putting the game out of reach.

“Last year, we were the team that scored first,” Ford said. “This weekend, we have started to score in the fifth and sixth innings. Maybe we can bring back the scoring in the first inning and then continue in the fifth and sixth.”

The comeback bid was required after Ford made the decision to start sophomore right-handed pitcher Sidne Peters in the circle, and the top of the Bears’ lineup quickly took advantage. Baylor broke the deadlock on an error by Wooley, which brought senior second baseman Presleigh Pilon home.

Pilon continued to be a thorn in the Maroon & White’s side on her 3-for-4 day, hitting a single to center field to bring junior center fielder Brooklyn Carter home after A&M catcher Olivia Johnson mishandled the ball at the plate.

A&M continued to get in its own way early, with three errors in the first two innings that Baylor took advantage of. Ford elected to go to the bullpen down 5-0, first bringing in junior righty Grace Sparks.

While Sparks stemmed the tide a bit for the Aggies, she eventually gave up two more runs, and the gap reached 7-1. Ford then looked to her veterans to get the job done. Senior right-hander Emily Leavitt entered the game and pitched 1.1 innings without allowing a run.

The trusty Kennedy entered the game in the sixth inning to salt things away, providing two scoreless innings down the stretch as A&M completed the comeback.

“Don’t ever give up on us,” Ford said. “We will come back [until] that last out.”

Next for A&M is a Saturday doubleheader vs. ACU at 4:30 p.m. CT, followed by a nightcap against Villanova.