A&M's offense rolls as Lessentine and Peters no-hit Saint Francis, 18-0
Game #55: #1 Texas A&M 18, #4 Saint Francis 0 (5 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (46-9, 16-7), Saint Francis (26-25, 14-7)
WP: Sydney Lessentine (5-2)
LP: Allie Braly (15-12)
Box Score
Hot off the heels of being named co-champions in the 2025 SEC Softball Tournament, No. 1 overall seed Texas A&M softball ended Saint Francis’ hopes of an upset in a Maroon flash.
A 10-run second left the Red Flash tears in the outfield and bubbles filling the Davis Diamond air, putting the Aggies well on their way to an eventual 18-0 run-rule drubbing — the largest margin of victory in a five-inning game in NCAA Tournament history.
“We do not accept mediocrity here,” head coach Trisha Ford said. “There might be some times where we blunder, we have a flunder, we make mistakes, but you don’t come and play here for me if you think that’s going to be acceptable here. They know my personality. I wake up competitive. That’s how I am wired.”
Electing to save her ace, left-hander Emiley Kennedy, for what is expected to be a more competitive matchup against the Liberty Lady Flames on Saturday, May 17, Ford started right-hander Sydney Lessentine in the circle.
The freshman performed admirably, notching five strikeouts and not allowing a hit in her three scoreless innings. Lessentine navigated choppy waters in the second, requiring a brief meeting with Ford after she surrendered a walk and a hit-by-pitch, by retiring three straight batters.
As A&M’s pitching thrived, the Red Flash was merely a dim light in the circle. Saint Francis surrendered 14 walks, tied for the most all-time in a five-inning NCAA Tournament game.
With Lessentine quickly disposing of the first three batters she faced, A&M struck first...and often.
Questionable-at-best ball tracking from the Red Flash outfield let Kennedy Powell’s leadoff triple drop, and shortstop Koko Wooley drove her in on the next at-bat with a single.
RBI singles from first baseman Amari Harper and center fielder Allie Enright scored two more for the Maroon & White, and Kelsey Mathis’ run-scoring ground out netted one another as A&M grabbed a 5-0 lead in the first.
The last flicker of hope was extinguished in the second inning when Harper launched a 234-foot, three-run javelin over the right center field wall for her seventh home run of the season.
RBIs from Powell, Wooley, catcher Mac Barbara and another from Harper, coupled with an error from the Saint Francis defense, gave the Aggies an emphatic 15-0 lead after two frames.
“I’ve never been a home run hitter,” Harper said. “That’s kind of something that just popped out randomly this year. It’s something I can do. Obviously, all the time, I am just trying to think, ‘Get on base, get them in, get them over.’ I think that mentality has just helped me move through the box.”
In the fourth inning, Washington transfer RHP Sidne Peters, owning a 1.39 season ERA, made her triumphant return from injury in her first appearance since March. The sophomore quickly found her old ways, whizzing two strikeouts past swinging bats in her first inning of work.
“‘S-Squared’ was in full effect today,” Ford said of her pitchers. “I thought Lessentine did a great job. … She hit some quadrants of the zone that we haven’t been able to hit consistently, and her changeup looked really good.
“Really happy for Peters. Today, she was like a little kid, she was playing her first t-ball game.”
With A&M emptying the dugout and getting a lot of youngsters extra reps, A&M kept its foot on the gas and tacked on three more runs — two on wild pitches and another with a bases-loaded walk.
Peters went three up, three down to end the game in a purely-formal fifth inning.
The cognomial pitchers combined for eight strikeouts in the no-hit victory, officially setting up a date with the Liberty on Saturday, May 17, at 1 p.m. CT.
“Dot Richardson is [Liberty’s] coach,” Ford said. “I think they’re gritty. They swing hard. They’ve got some pop in their lineup. They’ve got some kids from Power 5 schools that transferred in.
“It’s going to be important to keep that speed off the base and, obviously, be able to execute what we need to do in the box.”
