The Texas A&M Aggies have secured the biggest upset of the Super Regional round to this point with a Game 1 victory over the top-seeded Texas Longhorns, taking a 1-0 lead in the series with a 6-5 victory.
The Aggies started the game off with a bang, as Trinity Cannon blasted a three-run shot of Citlaly Gutierrez in the first to make it 3-0, Texas A&M.
That score would hold until the fifth when Cannon would strike again, this time a two-run shot to make it 5-0. Kramer Eschete would tack on another run in the sixth inning with an RBI double, giving the Aggies their largest lead of the night.
From there, Texas’ offense would find its way against Emiley Kennedy, who controlled the tempo of the game for most of the contest.
Vivianna Martinez would get aboard with a single, and Reese Atwood would follow by earning a walk. Two batters later, Joley Mitchell would reach base on a walk, setting Victoria Hunter up with the chance to make things interesting—which she did.
Texas’ fourth grand slam of the year couldn’t have come at a better time, and it appeared that the tide might be turning in the Longhorns’ favor in the bottom of the sixth.
After Texas worked its way out of a bases-loaded jam in the top half of the inning, the Longhorns had one final chance to score two or more runs. With two outs, Reese Atwood swung on the first pitch she saw and sent it over the left-field wall to make the score 6-5.
However, Katie Stewart would strike out swinging in the following at-bat, preserving Texas A&M’s upset win.
Texas’s Citlaly Gutierrez went just 1.1 IP—allowing five hits and three earned runs—before the Longhorns turned to Mac Morgan. Morgan went the final 5.2 innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs with one BB and two Ks.
Emiley Kennedy went a full seven innings for the Aggies, allowing six hits, five earned runs, with five BBs and five Ks. The Game 1 victory will give Kennedy the chance to rest on Saturday and face the Longhorns again on Sunday if they can force the if-necessary game.
The Longhorns and Aggies are scheduled to start Game 2 of the Austin Super Regional on Saturday, May 25, at 4:00 p.m. CT. Texas needs a victory to remain in WCWS contention, while a Texas A&M win would send them to OKC for the first time since 2017.
