Texas softball team wins extra-inning thriller over Texas A&M, sets up Game 3 Sunday
Staring at a sudden end to one of the best seasons in school history, the No. 1 Texas softball team knew it couldn't fall short again with a late comeback attempt.
But there was nothing short about the Longhorns' offense in their thrilling, exhausting and exhilarating 9-8 extra-inning win over Texas A&M on Saturday in the second game of the best-of-three NCAA Austin Super Regional series.
A day after Texas A&M held on for a 6-5 win in Game 1, the Longhorns (51-8) racked up home runs from Joley Mitchell and Bella Dayton among 15 total hits. Five of their runs and four of the hits came in an epic sixth inning that included everything from a replay that overturned an out call at the plate to a pair of costly Aggie errors and even a stoppage of play after some trash apparently got lodged in the outfield wall.
That rally helped erase a 5-1 Texas A&M lead, and Texas added two more runs in the seventh inning to go ahead 8-5. But that wasn't enough to overcome the scrappy Aggies (44-14) and freshman Mya Perez, who silenced the McCombs Field crowd with a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh that tied the game 8-8 and forced extra innings.
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Texas freshman Kayden Henry legged out a bunt single in the ninth, stole second, reached third on a groundout by Dayton and scored on a fielder's choice by Ashton Maloney. That proved enough for Mac Morgan, the third Texas pitcher and the only one to keep an Aggie offense that racked up a dozen hits off the scoreboard.
The never-ending thrills even left loquacious Texas coach Mike White almost speechless.
"Just, wow, what a game," White said. "Kudos to both teams. They played their hearts out. We spent everything we had out there, with just the different ways we were able to overcome some adversity and some different things that happened."
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'All hands on deck' for Game 3
But Texas will have to somehow find more Sunday against an Aggie squad eager to upset the nation's top team. Texas A&M coach Trisha Ford said it's "all hands on deck" for her pitching staff, even with ace Emiley Kennedy throwing 254 pitches in the first two games of the series.
"Lefty will still have some left in the tank," Ford said of her senior southpaw.
"She's a competitor, for sure," Henry said. "She hits her spot. She makes good pitches. She gets you in counts where you're behind. But it's just all about competing when it comes to the super regionals. I think with some adjustments, we will be perfectly fine."
And who will White counter with after his starter, Teagan Kavan, gave up six hits and five runs in 4⅓ innings before giving way for 2⅓ innings apiece from Estelle Czech and Morgan?
"That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?" White said. "If it takes all five of them (Texas pitchers), then so be it. That's what we need. We'll just kind of play it by ear. I'm not sure who I'm going to pitch, and that's the God's honest truth. I'm just going to have to look back on it on film and kind of figure out a way to get a win tomorrow."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Longhorns' extra-inning softball win over Texas A&M sets up Game 3
