Aggies Walk Off No. 5 Arkansas in Nine Innings, 6-5

Friday, May 6

Bryan-College Station

7:00 PM

Texas A&M

28-23, 6-16

Arkansas

39-9, 17-5

Arkansas

Texas A&M

Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics

May 06, 2022 | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Shelby Hild, Athletics Communications

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Freshman Katie Dack delivered the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday as the Texas A&M softball team (28-23, 6-16 SEC) walked off the No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks (39-9, 17-5 SEC), 6-5, at Davis Diamond.

Three Aggies homered, while Emiley Kennedy turned in five innings of relief in the circle, surrendering just three hits while striking out three.

TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
vs. No. 5 Arkansas – W, 6-5 (9 inn.)

Trinity Cannon: 2-for-4, HR
Cayden Baker: 2-for-4 HR
Haley Lee: 2-for-4, BB, HR

PITCHING BREAKDOWN
vs. No. 5 Arkansas – W, 6-5 (9 inn.)

Grace Uribe: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K
Makinzy Herzog: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Emiley Kennedy: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

KEY INNINGS / NOTABLES
vs. No. 5 Arkansas – W, 6-5 (9 inn.)

Arkansas struck first, scratching a pair of runs across in the opening frame, before two-run bomb from Trinity Cannon in the home half of the inning leveled the score at two-all.
The Razorbacks broke the tie with a two-out ground-rule RBI double in the second.
A solo shot to lead off the top of the fourth extended Arkansas' advantage, before the Razorbacks walked in a run with bases loaded to sit in front, 5-2.
A&M responded in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot over the centerfield wall by Cayden Baker, while aggressive baserunning from Rylen Wiggins brought the Aggies within one.
Emiley Kennedy worked three-straight 1-2-3 innings, while a bomb from Haley Lee in the sixth knotted the score at five-all.
In the bottom of the ninth, Lee drew a lead-off walk, before Dack stepped in and delivered the game-winning RBI to score pinch runner Alexis Tippit from second base, giving the Aggies' the 6-5 victory.

WHAT THEY SAID

Head coach Jo Evans
On the impact of the freshmen class…
"Our freshmen have grown so much. Sometimes they will find themselves taking a step back, but then they get themselves back together. Katie [Dack] got a little flustered at the plate with her strikeouts, but she was able to learn what pitches to look for and bounced back. Koko [Wooley] made some really great plays after making an error and I'm really proud of her. Emiley [Kennedy] went out there and pitched a few good innings. Cayden [Baker] was terrific tonight – she went out there and got one to bounce her way. I saw some really good improvement tonight."

On an emotional nine-inning game…
"It's definitely a mental battle, but I think it's exhausting because of all the pitchers that were thrown. The game was three hours and eight minutes – these kinds of games can be really taxing and take your concentration away, but I was really pleased to see how our kids stayed really focused and figured it out. To be able to end the game like they did at our home field with a crowd like that, I'm really proud of our kids. There's nothing better than a walk-off win."

Freshman utility player Katie Dack
On the team's energy tonight…
"We struggled this week against Houston, and it took a lot for us to find our energy. We were able to overcome everything that's happened recently, and we came together and took this big win."

UP NEXT
The Aggies and the Razorbacks continue their series tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. The game airs nationally on SEC Network.

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