News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
The No. 15 Texas A&M softball team dropped Game 2 of the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown series, 3-2, to No. 1 Texas on Saturday afternoon at McCombs Field.
Texas A&M (23-11, 5-3 SEC) outhit Texas (31-1, 8-0 SEC) for the second time in the series, but stranded six runners and was hurt by baserunning miscues. The Aggies had two runners caught stealing, one picked off at third and another thrown out attempting to stretch a single.
Micaela Wark and Kelsey Mathis each recorded multiple hits, while Mya Perez and Ariel Kowalewski scored the Aggies’ two runs.
Sydney Lessentine (9-3) took the loss, tossing a complete game with six strikeouts. She allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks.
Texas A&M opened the scoring in the first when Tallen Edwards lifted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score Perez for a 1-0 lead. The inning ended when an Aggie was caught in a rundown between second and third.
Texas capitalized on Aggie miscues in the bottom half. The leadoff batter was hit by a pitch, and the next reached on a throwing error before consecutive singles plated two runs to give the Longhorns a 2-1 lead.
Lessentine responded by retiring the side in order on 10 pitches in the second as both teams traded scoreless frames.
The Aggies tied the game in the third after Kowalewski drew a two-out walk, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a Wark single to right center to even the game at 2-2.
Lessentine retired eight straight before Texas regained the lead on a solo home run, making it 3-2.
After two scoreless innings, Wark singled to lead off the sixth, but Texas retired the next three batters to end the threat. The Longhorns then set down the Aggies in order in the seventh to secure the win.