Fifth Inning Mistakes Costly as Texas Tech Takes 3-2 Win Over Texas A&M
Red Raiders Prevail in College Station
After three consecutive run-rule victories to start the season for the Aggies, they would welcome the 2025 national runner-up in Texas Tech to Davis Diamond, and this one was a great one in front of a packed house of 2,880 fans, a record crowd there.
NiJAree Canady took the circle in the bottom of the first with a 2-0 lead in her pocket after the Red Raiders came out blazing with back-to-back homers from Mihyia Davis and Mia Williams to open the game, but the Aggies erased that on a two-out, two-run shot off the ginormous scoreboard from Micaela Wark to bring home Kennedy Powell, who reached on a leadoff hit. Wark caught Canady’s rise across the plate just right and sent it.
Texas A&M’s Sydney Lessentine settled in and went to work after allowing five hits in the first couple of innings. She pitched a three up and three down third inning with good down stuff and placement after Taylor Pannell was robbed of a homer by Frankie Vrazel in the first at-bat. That swing was too close for comfort, and she did a great job of adjusting her stuff to restrict the Red Raiders.
Canady got one back on Wark in the bottom of the third, striking her out on a changeup to strand Mya Perez at first. Canady was methodical in and around the zone in hopes to keep the ball down, and it worked in her favor but also received a couple of borderline calls as well.
Kate Munnerlyn would come in for the Aggies in the bottom of the fourth, and Lessentine was done with 3.0 innings pitched, allowing two runs on five hits and recording two strikeouts in 57 pitches. Munnerlyn would make it quick and ended the inning with a strikeout looking on the inner half to Kaitlyn Terry, the UCLA transfer.
After the first five hits in two innings, the Red Raiders had settled down a little at the plate, and Texas A&M was pitching a smart game, and so was Canady. She came back and retired the Aggies in order, keeping all but one ball infield. This game had a postseason feel to it, and with it still tied at two going to the fifth, you just wondered who would break, and that would be answered.
Munnerlyn returned to the circle with a strikeout to Alana Johnson, and things were looking good, but an error at first base allowed Mihyia Davis to reach. After Davis advanced to second on a passed ball, Mia Williams came up with a big RBI double to score Davis, giving the Red Raiders a 3-2 lead.
Munnerlyn would be done in exchange for Sidne Peters. Peters would get out of the inning, but it was an unfortunate set of events for Munnerlyn. She looked like she was locked in and ready for more until the error and passed ball set up the Red Raiders.
Collectively, Texas A&M did a solid job tonight. Peters was fantastic in relief and gave the Red Raiders nothing much to work with. She came in and did her thing, finishing the day with three strikeouts in 2.1 innings of relief and no hits, including striking out Canady in the seventh. Texas A&M looks to have some good depth in the bullpen, and you would imagine they will only get stronger as the season goes on.
This game was an overall good game for the pitchers. Canady kept things under control after the first inning, and her changes in speed and spots to avoid more mistakes for the last six innings of the game was just good stuff, and it was only right to end it with a strikeout to complete the game in 77 pitches with five strikeouts.
This game was a low-scoring deal that was as evenly matched as the score shows. What really set the game off was the top of the fifth, where a couple of mistakes played a huge role in the one-run loss. In a deep SEC, the Aggies look like they will be a handful this season, and if they can even get half the crowd that they played in front of today, this will be a very tough place to play.
Stay tuned, this season is going to be an exciting one.
