Late charge not enough as No. 2 Ags drop series opener to No. 9 Arkansas
Game #47: No. 9 Arkansas 7, No. 2 Texas A&M 5
Records: Texas A&M (40-7, 13-5), Arkansas (35-9, 11-8)
WP: Robyn Herron (15-4)
LP: Emiley Kennedy (16-4)
Save: Payton Burnham (3)
Box Score
A two-hour and ten-minute weather delay pushed back No. 2 Texas A&M’s series opener against No. 9 Arkansas, where A&M’s offense could not get rolling.
Instead, No. 9 Arkansas’ offense fired on all cylinders to set the tone early, startling Emiley Kennedy in the circle.
Ella McDowell was the difference in the Razorbacks’ win, recording two hits with three RBIs. Her biggest swing came in the fifth inning when she crushed a three-run shot to left field.
As for the Aggies, Mya Perez and KK Dement each registered a pair of hits, four of the six the Aggies produced. Yet, the defense was the issue as the Aggies piled up three uncharacteristic errors — a season-high.
“I felt like we didn’t execute at the level we needed to execute,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford said. “They just gave them too much and couldn’t come back from it. What I think hurt us was our inability to execute at our level defensively. It felt like it took us a while to warm up.”
Kennedy tossed a strong first inning even after a single ricocheted off her. A hit-by-pitch put runners at the corners, but a ground out and a foul out got her out of the jam.
The Conroe native Kennedy Powell began her night at the plate with a single up the middle and stole second, but the offense did not put their foot down, ending the inning with a punchout.
The second inning was where the momentum started after Courtney Day sliced a solo shot to center field to put the Razorbacks on the board. The damage didn’t stop there as Atalyia Rijo reached base on an error by Perez.
Karlie Davison capitalized on the mistake with a single before another error was charged to Powell on a routine ball that was thrown past Perez, allowing another run to cross the plate. The last run of the frame was an RBI groundout by Raigan Kramer, who finished the day with two hits and an RBI.
It was a quiet third and fourth inning for the Maroon & White, with Mac Barbara being the only Aggie reaching base in that span with a walk.
“We were consistently under the ball, so I think making that adjustment sooner is going to help us,” Ford said
The elite pitching from Robyn Herron, who threw five innings of work, allowing three hits, three runs, two of which were earned, with four strikeouts, was the difference that set up another three-run inning for Arkansas.
“I don’t know that we have faced a left-handed pitcher like Herron this year,” Ford said.
Davis Diamond was quiet until Allie Enright reached base on a drive down the right field line that was misread by Ramsey Walker and ruled a fielding error. That set up Dement to get the 12th Man on their feet again with a line drive double to center field, scoring Enright.
A walk drawn by Amari Harper, a single from Perez and another walk from Barbara gave Koko Wooley the chance to answer, but she grounded into a fielder's choice with a force out at home. Dement squeezed an RBI single through the gap into right field, plating two more Aggies before the rally ended in the seventh.
Down to their final out of the game, Harper smashed a single to left field and soon after, Perez went yard with a two-run missile off the scoreboard for her 13th home run of the season. The game was extended with a free pass awarded to Barbara before a groundout ended the game.
“Tomorrow, we've got to get ready to go and take game two,” Ford said. “I do love our fight, and going into that last inning, we put up some runs and made them feel uncomfortable. I hope we build on that and play a little cleaner.”
A&M will have the opportunity for revenge tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. CT at Davis Diamond.
