No. 8 Texas A&M Erases Five-Run Deficit to Defeat Northwestern, 6-5

Sunday, February 15

Clearwater, Fla.

12:00 PM

Texas A&M

7-3

Northwestern

4-6

Northwestern

Texas A&M

Photo by: Evan Pilat/Texas A&M Athletics

Feb 15, 2026 | Softball

Box Score

By: Tyler Pounds, Athletics Communications

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The No. 8 Texas A&M softball team erased a five-run deficit to defeat Northwestern, 6-5, Sunday at the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.

Texas A&M (7-3) scored in four consecutive innings to rally after trailing 5-0 through two and a half innings. Kennedy Powell led the Aggies, going 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs, while KK Dement, Ariel Kowalewski and Mya Perez each added a pair of hits. Sidne Peters allowed one run on two hits and three walks while striking out three batters in 3.2 innings of relief to earn her third win. Taylor Pannell earned her first save of the season, striking out one and allowing one hit in the final inning to secure the 6-5 victory.

The two teams exchanged a pair of scoreless innings before Northwestern (2-4) broke the ice with a one-out RBI single. On the ensuing play with two runners on base, Northwestern singled to center field as Frankie Vrazel threw the runner out at home. Following an umpire review, defensive obstruction was ruled, overturning the out call and awarding a run to the Wildcats. Following a pitching change, the next batter homered to center field as the Aggies trailed 5-0.

The Maroon and White chipped away at the deficit in the bottom of the third after Vrazel walked and Powell reached on a bunt single, before Kowalewski singled to score Vrazel. Perez reached on a fielder's choice to score Powell and make it a three-run game, 5-2.

Texas A&M continued to fight back as Powell drove in Maddie Sauni in the fourth and Micaela Wark homered on the first pitch of the fifth to make it a one-score game, 5-4.

The Aggies strung together three consecutive singles to even the score when Perez drove in Powell for her second RBI of the game, before Tallen Edwards put Texas A&M in the lead with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Kowalewski for a 6-5 advantage.

Pannell, the nation's active career leader in saves, struck out the first batter she faced and forced a groundout to begin the seventh. Northwestern then singled up the middle before Pannell induced a flyout to left field to shut the door on the Wildcats.

UP NEXT
Texas A&M travels to Cathedral City, California, for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic beginning Thursday against No. 14 Oregon at 2:30 p.m., followed by No. 19 Duke at 7:30 p.m.

NOTES

The Aggies totaled 41 runs in five games at the Clearwater Invitational, setting a program record of runs scored at the invitational.
Texas A&M finished the weekend 3-2, moving to 10-5 all-time at the Clearwater Invitational.
Junior Mya Perez and Senior Kennedy Powell each collected multiple hits to extend their hitting streaks to 10 games. Powell added a stolen base to extend her consecutive stolen base streak to 30 successful attempts.
Powell is the lone Aggie to have scored a run in all 10 games this season. The Conroe, Texas, native finished the weekend with a team-leading .647 batting average, as well as a team high 11 hits and three stolen bases, while adding eight runs and six RBI.
Perez led the team with eight RBI on the weekend, while going 9-for-18 with two doubles, one home run and adding a pair of runs.
Sophomore Ariel Kowalewski registered her fourth multi-hit game of the season and second in as many games.
Graduate Micaela Wark homered in her second game of the invitational. It marked her team-leading sixth bell ringer of the season. Her six home runs in the team's first 10 games match 2021 single-season home run program record holder Haley Lee (25) as the most to begin the season.
Maddie Sauni capped the weekend scoring a run in the fourth. The freshman went 7-for-12 (.583) at the dish with a home run, double, four RBI and three runs for the weekend.