A flurry of momentum changes on Saturday afternoon at McCombs Field ended with the Longhorns winning a 9-8 decision over the Aggies — forcing a decisive third game of the Austin Super Regional on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Jeff Howe
AUSTIN, Texas — Boxing analogies get overused when describing a competitive, high-stakes affair in a different sport, but Saturday's 9-8 win by No. 1 Texas over No. 16 Texas A&M — an elimination game in the Austin Super Regional, which took nine pressure-packed innings at McCombs Field to decide — was every bit of a heavyweight slugfest.
The Aggies, who claimed a 6-5 victory on Friday 6-5, jumped out to a 5-1 lead on Saturday with five innings in the books. The Longhorns used a five-run sixth and a two-run home run by left fielder Bella Dayton to take an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. But the visitors from College Station — down to their last strike — sent the game to extra innings on a two-out, three-run blast to center field by freshman Mya Perez.
After a scoreless eighth,Texaslanded the final fatal blow in the ninth. Center fielder Kayden Henry scored from third base on right fielder Ashton Maloney's infield chopper, giving Texas a 9-8 lead. Then, with two on and two out in the home half, Texas pitcher Mac Morgan got A&M left fielder Kramer Eschete to ground out to second base to end all the drama.
Both clubsemptied the tank with Texas (51-8) forcing a decisive third game in its home stadium on Sunday (6:30 p.m., ESPN2). The challenge for the Longhorns and Texas A&M (44-14) now is to refill the cup in less than 24 hours with a trip to the Women's College World Series on the line.
"I think, just… Wow. I mean, what a game," said an exhausted Mike White after the Texas head coach watched his team stave off elimination."Certainly, a lot of change of emotions throughout the day, throughout the game. Kudos to both teams — they played their hearts out and it really came down to, you know... I don't know. It came down to winning. I guess that's what it was.
"I felt like we spent everything we had out there."
If Texas was going to push the series to Sunday, White needed to make the right call on who was going to be in the circle after the decision to go with Citlaly Gutierrez backfired in Friday's opener. The Aggies chased the sophom*ore right-hander after only 1.1 innings, roughing her up to the tune of five hits and three earned runs while facing only nine batters and throwing 42 pitches.
So, White put the ball in the hands of freshman righty Teagan Kavan with the season on the line, which proved to be a better call.
Kavan lasted 4.1 innings and while she allowed six hits, five runs (four earned) and two walks along with striking out four on 77 pitches, the best thing about her outing was how she battled. She bounced back from a forgettable first two-thirds of the second inning (Texas A&M scored three runs on three hits, including a two-run home run to left-center field by center fielder Jasmine Hill) by getting out of a two-on jam in that frame.
Kavan then tossed a scoreless third and retired the Aggies in order in the bottom of the fourth.
Trinity Cannon's mammoth two-run home run and a one-out single by Hill in the bottom of the fifth ended Kavan's day. Even with a wild pitch by Kavan, two hit batters and two errors contributing to the eight runs Texas A&M scored on 15 hits, "the pitching staff picked each other up," said White.
If Perez hadn't gone deep in the seventh, the story of the game for the Longhorns might've been Estelle Czech. The left-handed senior allowed only four singles and kept Texas A&M off of the scoreboard while Texas mounted a late-inning rally.
Morgan came in two batters after Perez sent the game to extra innings and ended the seventh-inning surge by the Aggies thanks to an outstanding defensive play by shortstop Vivi Martinez and third baseman Mia Scott.
the go ahead ??#HookEm pic.twitter.com/W1RFWZNJTn
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) May 26, 2024
White said he didn't know who would get the ball first on Sunday. But it'll be an all-hands-on-deck situation, and the Longhorns are likely going to need multiple pitchers to step into the circle to help Texas advance to next week's WCWS in Oklahoma City.
"Texas A&M, as I've said before, is a really good team," said White, who admitted that he's "dumbfounded" how the Aggies didn't enter the NCAA Tournament slotted higher than the No. 16 national seed. "They've seen the best pitching in the country in the SEC."
“We're not surprising them," he added. "We know we're going to be in for battle."
On the other side of the field, one day after she threw 118 pitches, left-hander Emiley Kennedy threw 136 over 7.2 innings. Texas A&M head coach Trisha Ford said she expects Kennedy, who pitched in each of the Aggies' regular-season SEC games except one, to have something left in the tank for Sunday.
Texas racked up 15 hits against the Aggie ace with Henry (3-for-5 with three runs scored), Dayton (2-for-5 with two runs scored), Scott (3-for-6 with one run scored and one RBI) and sophom*ore catcher Reese Atwood (2-for-3 with one RBI) pacing the offense.
Kennedy left the game after hitting Atwood with a pitch to lead off the fifth inning and while senior Brooke Vestal took over, Kennedy returned with one out in the sixth after freshman Victoria Hunter's pinch-hit at-bat saw her put the ball in play with Henry scoring on what was officially ruled an obstruction call against Texas A&M catcher Julia Cottrill.
Scott, Martinez and Atwood followed with run-scoring singles, Atwood's bloop single to left field scored Martinez from second base and gave Texas a one-run lead, 6-5. Six of the nine runs by the Longhorns were charged to Kennedy, who struck out three, walked two and hit a batter in her 35th decision of the season (24-11 record).
Bella Dayton, Insurance Agent ?#HookEm | ?: @ESPNU https://t.co/iJF9dB4Tjb pic.twitter.com/MLMauCf1cA
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) May 25, 2024
"You can ask Kennedy to slow it down for us. That might help us out," White joked when he was asked about the offense's slow starts through the first two games of the series.
"I've told them before that they've come down to the stretch being in these difficult moments before," he added. "You've just got to believe in who you are and what you've done. You can't make this bigger than what it is."
The Perez home run was a huge blow, but the Longhorns never trailed the rest of the way.
That's a fact symbolic of a day in which Texas overcame clutch plays in high-leverage situations by the Aggies and a series of self-inflicted wounds to avoid becoming the first No. 1 overall seed to lose to No. 16 seed in a Super Regional since 2016.
If the Longhorns want to avoid making history in an unsavory manner, extend their season and remain in contention for a national championship, there's no time to bask in the glow of a victory that's certainly worth celebrating.
"You've just got to forget about today," White said. "I remember a coach who said the greatest equalizer in fast-pitch softball is a new day, and it's a new day tomorrow.
"It's a new game, it's winner-takes-all and we've just got to go out there and do that."
