#20 Aggies Open SEC Play with 3-0 Thriller Over #9 Kentucky

Friday, March 6

College Station

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

18-4, 1-0

Kentucky

13-4, 0-1

Kentucky

Texas A&M

Mar 06, 2015 | Softball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – A three-run walk off homer from sophomore April Ryan ended the defensive thriller and gave the No. 20 Texas A&M softball team a 3-0 win over No. 9 Kentucky to open SEC play.

Senior Rachel Fox played lights out for eight innings, throwing 115 pitches and fanning nine Wildcats with only three walks. Senior Brittany Clopton got a hit in her twelfth consecutive game with a double down the left field line in the top of the eighth inning to set up the eventual win.

The entire game was a defensive stalwart, with both pitchers and defenses shutting down any attempt at an offensive attack through the first four innings. The Aggies got on base with hits in both the first, second and fourth innings behind two singles from freshman Tori Vidales and one from freshman Ashley Walters but both runners were stranded without crossing home.

Kentucky threatened in the top of the fifth, putting runners on first and second after a passed ball and Fox's first third walk of the night but a strikeout and Fox fielding her position send the Wildcats back to the dugout.

The Aggies got on the bags after sophomores Reagan Boenker and Abby Donnell were walked, with both moving into scoring position at second and third base after a ground out from Clopton. A&M was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and the game headed into the sixth still scoreless.

A single and an error at first base gave Kentucky two runners on the bags with no outs but the Aggie defense hunkered down and send the next three batters packing in order.

Junior Cali Lanphear got her first hit of the day in the bottom of the sixth, a double all the way to the left field wall for the only Aggie hit of the inning and another scoreless inning came to a close.

Fox opened the final inning of regulation with a huge strikeout, as Kentucky's batter went down swinging. A single put a runner on first but the Aggies tagged out the lead runner on the next hit to keep the Wildcats at bay. With a runner at first, Fox threw her ninth K of the night to get the Aggies out of the inning.

The A&M ball club went down 1-2-3 to end the seventh and send the game into extra innings.

Standing up to the task, Fox fielded her position twice in the top of the eighth and the Aggies didn't allow a hit before closing down the Kentucky attack.

Clopton lead off with a stand-alone double to put herself in scoring position in the top of the eighth. Up next, Vidales was intentionally walked by the Wildcats, putting two runners on with Ryan on deck. In her only hit of the night, Ryan crushed the ball and sent it flying over the right field wall for the walk-off win.

The Aggies won the opening game of their series against UK last year and the series is now even at 2-2 all time. Riding an 11-game win streak, A&M will take on the Wildcats two more times over the weekend.

Coach Evans Post Game Sound
“We did our job early on, in terms of giving ourselves a chance to put some pressure on Kentucky but we just couldn't get it done. In the last inning, Brittany Clopton stepped up with a huge double and we easily could have gotten in over our heads after the two outs but for April to come up there and get the big hit was huge. I thought we made plays defensively and did a great job on defense.”

Let's Hear a Hullabaloo…
… for heroes. Sophomore April Ryan's walk-off homer was her third time going yard this season and the Aggies first extra-inning win in 2015. The sophomore was held hitless through the first seven innings but came up big when her teammates needed it, giving the Ags a 3-0 victory to open SEC play. Gig 'em, April!

Coach Evans on Ryan:
“She showed so much about herself with that last hit. She's a fighter and she's not going to give up, no matter how much she struggles early on. When they tried to sneak that pitch in, she just got all of the ball. I'm really proud of April. She works so hard, she's always in the cages extra and works on her own. For her to get up there and be the hero makes me really happy.”

Up Next
The Aggies continue the series with Kentucky tomorrow, with first pitch coming at 3:05 Saturday afternoon. The game can be heard on 1510 AM and the RadioAggieland app and it will be broadcast on SEC Network +. Live stats can be found at tamu.statbroadcast.com or TAMUstats.com on your mobile device. Follow the Aggies on Twitter @AggieSoftball for all the latest updates, hits and pitches from the 2015 season.