Friday, April 30
Bryan-College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
1
vs
5
Kentucky
Photo by: Craig Bisacre
Texas A&M Drops Series Opener to No. 17 Kentucky
Apr 30, 2021 | Softball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M softball team dropped a 5-1 decision to open the series against No. 17 Kentucky on Friday evening at Davis Diamond.
Kentucky started the game with the bases loaded on a walk, single and hit by pitch before Renee Abernathy sent a pair of teammates home. The Wildcats used a trio of one-run frames to extend their lead to five, highlighted by Autumn Humes' home run in the third.
In the home half of the sixth, the Aggies broke the scoring seal as pinch hitter Dani Elder delivered the RBI infield single.
Four Aggies logged hits in the game, with Haley Lee, Makinzy Herzog, Kelbi Fortenberry and Elder getting a bat on the ball. Lee recorded her 17th multi-hit game of the season, while Fortenberry tallied her seventh.
In the circle, Herzog recorded the start and was saddled with her fourth loss this season after 3.0 innings of work. Grace Uribe came in and tossed 4.0 innings of relief, striking out two batters and scattering three hits.
The Aggies drop to 31-15 overall this season and hold an 8-11 record in SEC play, while Kentucky improves to 33-12 with an 8-11 mark against conference opponents.
KEY INNINGS
T1 | On an illegal pitch, Kayla Kowalik drew a walk and moved into scoring position on Lauren Johnson's single. A hit by pitch to Erin Coffel loaded the bases before Renee Abernathy could plate two runs on a single up the middle. UK 2, A&M 0
T2 | Grace Baalman laced a single up the middle and was pinch ran for by Jaci Babbs. Miranda Stoddard laid down a bunt and advanced to second base on a throwing error. A wild pitch allowed Babbs to cross home plate. UK 3, A&M 0
T3 | With two outs, Autumn Humes sent a solo shot over the right field wall. UK 4, A&M 0
T4 | Kowalik reached first on a bunt, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Johnson delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to five. UK 5, A&M 0
B6 | Morgan Smith opened the frame with a lead-off walk and was lifted by Taudrea Sinnie on the base paths. With two outs, Kelbi Fortenberry drove a single up the middle, advancing Sinnie into scoring position. Pinch hitter Dani Elder kept the momentum and delivered the RBI single to get the Aggies on the board. UK 5, A&M 1
Top Offensive Players:
Haley Lee | 2-for-3
Kelbi Fortenberry | 2-for-3
Dani Elder | 1-for-1, RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Makinzy Herzog (12-4) – 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 SO, 3 BB
Grace Uribe – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO, 2 BB
WHAT THEY SAID
Head Coach Jo Evans
Opening statement…
"Disappointing performance out of our ball club. Offensively, I feel like we had some opportunities early on and didn't take advantage of those. Just chasing balls out of the zone and really just not doing a good job with our pitch location. Eleven strikeouts, that's unacceptable. We were just flat from that and couldn't generate any sort of motion and energy. We just didn't put ourselves in the situation to rally and get the crowd in it. I was really pleased with Grace Uribe. I thought she went in and did a terrific job in relief. She gives up one run in four innings against a really good hitting ball club, so really pleased to see what we got out of Grace tonight."
ON DECK
The Aggies return to action Saturday, May 1 in game two against the Wildcats at 1 p.m. at Davis Diamond. The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but was moved up due to threatening weather in the Bryan-College Station area.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can follow the Aggies wherever they go by following @AggieSoftball on Instagram and Twitter or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieSoftball.
Kentucky started the game with the bases loaded on a walk, single and hit by pitch before Renee Abernathy sent a pair of teammates home. The Wildcats used a trio of one-run frames to extend their lead to five, highlighted by Autumn Humes' home run in the third.
In the home half of the sixth, the Aggies broke the scoring seal as pinch hitter Dani Elder delivered the RBI infield single.
Four Aggies logged hits in the game, with Haley Lee, Makinzy Herzog, Kelbi Fortenberry and Elder getting a bat on the ball. Lee recorded her 17th multi-hit game of the season, while Fortenberry tallied her seventh.
In the circle, Herzog recorded the start and was saddled with her fourth loss this season after 3.0 innings of work. Grace Uribe came in and tossed 4.0 innings of relief, striking out two batters and scattering three hits.
The Aggies drop to 31-15 overall this season and hold an 8-11 record in SEC play, while Kentucky improves to 33-12 with an 8-11 mark against conference opponents.
T1 | On an illegal pitch, Kayla Kowalik drew a walk and moved into scoring position on Lauren Johnson's single. A hit by pitch to Erin Coffel loaded the bases before Renee Abernathy could plate two runs on a single up the middle. UK 2, A&M 0
T2 | Grace Baalman laced a single up the middle and was pinch ran for by Jaci Babbs. Miranda Stoddard laid down a bunt and advanced to second base on a throwing error. A wild pitch allowed Babbs to cross home plate. UK 3, A&M 0
T3 | With two outs, Autumn Humes sent a solo shot over the right field wall. UK 4, A&M 0
T4 | Kowalik reached first on a bunt, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Johnson delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to five. UK 5, A&M 0
B6 | Morgan Smith opened the frame with a lead-off walk and was lifted by Taudrea Sinnie on the base paths. With two outs, Kelbi Fortenberry drove a single up the middle, advancing Sinnie into scoring position. Pinch hitter Dani Elder kept the momentum and delivered the RBI single to get the Aggies on the board. UK 5, A&M 1
Haley Lee | 2-for-3
Kelbi Fortenberry | 2-for-3
Dani Elder | 1-for-1, RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Makinzy Herzog (12-4) – 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 SO, 3 BB
Grace Uribe – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO, 2 BB
Head Coach Jo Evans
Opening statement…
"Disappointing performance out of our ball club. Offensively, I feel like we had some opportunities early on and didn't take advantage of those. Just chasing balls out of the zone and really just not doing a good job with our pitch location. Eleven strikeouts, that's unacceptable. We were just flat from that and couldn't generate any sort of motion and energy. We just didn't put ourselves in the situation to rally and get the crowd in it. I was really pleased with Grace Uribe. I thought she went in and did a terrific job in relief. She gives up one run in four innings against a really good hitting ball club, so really pleased to see what we got out of Grace tonight."
The Aggies return to action Saturday, May 1 in game two against the Wildcats at 1 p.m. at Davis Diamond. The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but was moved up due to threatening weather in the Bryan-College Station area.
Fans can follow the Aggies wherever they go by following @AggieSoftball on Instagram and Twitter or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieSoftball.