Horns Rally for 7-6 Win Over A&M

Saturday, April 28

Austin, Texas

12:30 PM

Texas A&M

33-15, 13-7

(#7) Texas

38-8, 12-6

Texas A&M

Texas

Apr 28, 2012 | Softball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

AUSTIN, Texas - Despite hitting three home runs, the No. 16 Texas A&M softball team (33-15, 13-7 Big 12) dropped a 7-6 heartbreaker to seventh-ranked Texas (38-8, 12-6 Big 12) Saturday at McCombs Field on FSN in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown.

A four-run fifth inning by UT and a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh broke a 6-1 lead by A&M and propelled the Longhorns to the one-run victory.

"We had every chance to win that ballgame and that's what is frustrating to me," Head Coach Jo Evans said. "We go out there and we get a commanding lead. In the fifth inning, we walk a batter, we misjudge a fly ball - we have a chance to get outs and we don't get outs. That came back to haunt us."

The Aggies and Longhorns will finish the three-game conference series in Austin tomorrow at 5 p.m. on the Longhorn Network. The series is now tied at 1-1, and game three will determine the series winner and who earns a point for their school in the Showdown.

The Aggies came out strong at the plate early, getting a runner on second in the first inning and scoring the 1-0 run in the top of the second when a Brittany Walker double to left field scored sophomore Amber Garza from second. The bases were left loaded in the end of the half-inning, however, and one run was all they would get.

In the bottom of the inning, a walk and a pair of infield singles loaded the bags for Texas with one out before an RBI fielder's choice tied the game at 1-1 and the Aggies got the third out on a foul fly in left.

The Aggies didn't let the tying run get them down as they stretched to a 5-1 lead in the top of the third on two home runs over left field.

Junior Meagan May led off in the third frame with a first-pitch solo bomb towards left-center. With A&M in a 2-1 lead, sophomore Cassie Tysarczyk drew a walk and was sent to second on an infield single by junior Mel Dumezich. A laser down the left-field line by sophomore Nicole Morgan plated three runs and put the Aggies in a 5-1 lead.

Texas backed out of a bases-loaded situation in the top of the fourth. Sophomore Emily Albus bounced a single down the left-field line to reach with one out and was joined by May on a walk before Garza was intentionally walked with two outs.

Morgan led off in the fifth frame with her second home run and fourth RBI as the solo shot again topped the fence in left for the 6-1 lead. The first baseman was 2-for-3 on the day with two home runs and a walk.

The Longhorns rallied in the bottom of the fifth when a sacrifice fly and a two-run homer over left field scored three runs to narrow the Aggies' lead to 6-4.

In the top of the sixth, the Aggies put two on base on a fielder's choice and a Mel Dumezich single but the runners were left on the corners in the end of the inning with no runs in the frame. Dumezich was 2-for-3 on the game with a run scored.

A&M again loaded the bases in the top of the seventh but couldn't capitalize when a double play at third ended the half-inning. Senior Kelsea took a pitch to the head to reach first before back-to-back singles by senior Natalie Villarreal and Albus loaded the bags. May hit a one-out laser down the third-base line that was snagged by Texas third baseman Nadia Taylor who then tagged third as Orsak dove back and was called out.

"We get there with bases loaded in the top of the seventh and Meagan May just crushed that ball," Evans said. "I'm frustrated with Orsak because I said to her three times 'On a line drive to the infield, you've got to stay put. Just freeze right here. If it gets through, great, but we're not going to get doubled off. So you wait until it gets to the outfield because you're going to score on it anyway.' That's what I'm frustrated with. We had that conversation. That's not a surprise to her. I just felt like she was out of sync today. She struggled."

Dumezich walked two batters in the bottom of the seventh and sent both into scoring position with a one-out wild pitch before UT left fielder Torie Schmidt lined a ball into right-center field for a pair of RBI and the walk-off game winner.

Dumezich (24-11) threw 6 1/3 innings for the loss, striking out four while giving up seven earned runs on nine hits and walking five. Texas' Rachel Fox (11-0) keeps her perfect record this season as she picks up the win. Fox tossed four strikeouts and allowed one earned run on six hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings in the circle.

"Hoagland hits one out, it's a solo shot, so what," Evans said. "I thought we hurt ourselves in leadoff spots. They got two on a wild pitch and Mel's better than that. She's the one we want on the mound in the seventh when you have a one-run lead. She goes out there, has an out and walks Bennett. I know that Bennett is a great hitter, but I'd rather see a solo home run right there that ties the game than for us to go out there and get to the next hitter and the next hitter. She's better than that.

"You look at all of those runners we had out there in scoring position - we chased away too many off-the-plate pitches with two strikes. Fox was throwing a nice changeup. We shouldn't be hitting that early in the count. If we have to hit it on two strikes, fine. But on two strikes it was always down out of the zone and we didn't do a good job with that. It's just a matter of being patient. You've got to take your walks or you've got to wait for something you can really drive."

A&M and Texas will face off in the rubber game tomorrow in Austin at 5 p.m. on the Longhorn Network. Aggie All-American Amanda Scarborough and Texas legend Cat Osterman will provide an analysis of the game while former Texas basketball player Fran Harris will call the matchup. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.