Aggies fall in nine-inning thriller as Texas forces decisive game, 9-8

Game #58: #1 Texas 9, #16 Texas A&M 8 (9 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (44-14, 15-9), Texas (51-8, 23-4)
WP: Mac Morgan (14-1)
LP: Emiley Kennedy (24-11)
Box Score

AUSTIN, Texas — When the Aggies and Longhorns square off, you can always expect drama.

Yet, the dramatics in Saturday's nine-inning affair were unexpected and unhinged, leaving Texas A&M with an unpleasant result.

No. 1 seed Texas outlasted the 16-seeded Aggies in extra innings, 9-8, to even the Austin Super Regional.

"Oh, man," A&M head coach Trisha Ford said. "That was a ballgame. I thought it was a heck of a fight. Very proud of what we did on the field today, what we represented and our ability to keep punching."

A steamy May evening saw an up-and-down ballgame with plenty of fight from both clubs.

With Texas leading 8-5 in the seventh, one swing from Mya Perez in the seventh created chaos.

The freshman knocked out her first career home run in the biggest possible moment to tie it up.

Before the three-run blast, A&M was down to its final strike.

"I was super excited for her," Rylen Wiggins said. "I haven't been that excited for someone else in a really long time.”

The massive swing kept the Aggies alive, but A&M's fight ceased in the ninth.

Ashton Maloney scored Texas' ninth run in the final frame, which ended up being the game's winning run.

Way before the late-inning madness, A&M struck first in the second with a two-run bomb from Jazmine Hill. Kennedy Powell added to A&M's lead with an RBI single.

Emiley Kennedy continued her postseason dominance with three more innings of shutout ball before Joley Mitchell laced a solo shot out in the fourth.

Yet, the Aggies remained in full control thanks to another longball from Trinity Cannon to give A&M a 5-1 lead.

However, it was a matter of time before Texas' aggressive offense made things interesting.

Righty Brooke Vestal relieved Kennedy in the circle and saw the immediate damage of a hungry Texas lineup. Kennedy stepped back in, aiming to contain to Longhorns, but back-to-back-to-back singles capped off a five-run sixth inning that featured its own dramatics in the form of an obstruction call against Julia Cottrill.

Texas plated two more in the seventh, yet Perez's big fly evened up the crazy ballgame to send it to extras, where the Ags ultimately fell.

The two rivals will meet again on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 with a trip to the Women's College World Series on the line.

Kay Naegeli, TexAgs

The series is now evened at 1-1. Texas A&M seeks to punch its ticket to the program’s ninth WCWS on Sunday.

"This is the fun," Ford said. "This is what you get addicted to. Seeing young athletes grind it out.

"To see them play at this level, enjoy it and give everything they have, that is something I always remember. They gave every piece of them to this game today. We will have to reload, rest and get ready for tomorrow."

Throwing 254 pitches over the last two days, A&M ace Kennedy could be out there again on Sunday.

After all, Ford described her Game 3 pitching plan as "all hands on deck."

"Lefty will still have some left in the tank," Ford said. "We have some capable arms in the bullpen. We need them to step up tomorrow and get us a win."

In a three-hour, 26-minute ballgame, there was no shortage of excitement and anxiety.

But those Aggie emotions turned to heartbreak in the final moments.

Sunday serves as an opportunity for A&M to make history and claim a spot in Oklahoma City.

Make no mistake, with these two schools facing off, there will be more drama to come.