COLLEGE STATION – Payton McBride was the hero Sunday afternoon as she delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to send Texas A&M over No. 4 Alabama, 4-3, at Davis Diamond.
The loss is the first of the year for Alabama (33-1, 5-1 SEC), who had tied for the third-best start to a season in NCAA Division I Softball history.
Trailing 3-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Aggies (18-13, 2-7 SEC) mounted a two-out rally as Morgan Smith dropped in a RBI single in the infield, before Taudrea Sinnie scored on a fielding error to even the game.
The Crimson Tide responded in the seventh by loading the bases with two outs, but Texas A&M starter Kendall Potts got out of the jam with a strikeout. Blake-Ann Fritsch led off the bottom half of the inning with a four-pitch walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Baylee Klingler. Following an intentional walk to Riley Sartain, McBride sent a 1-2 pitch to left to drive in the game-winning run.
Potts earned the sixth win of her junior campaign as she held the Crimson Tide to just four hits and three runs. The Arlington, Texas, native fanned three and walked seven in her third complete game of the season.
McBride and Morgan Smith each recorded multiple hits as Texas A&M outhit Alabama, 8-4.
KEY INNINGS
T1| Solo shots over the wall in center from Kaylee Tow and Claire Jenkins gave the Crimson Tide an early 2-0 lead. ALA 2, A&M 0
B3| Morgan Smith doubled down the third base line before touching home on a Baylee Klingler base hit. ALA 2, A&M 1
T5| Skylar Wallace earned a walk to start the inning and a Tow sacrifice fly plated her. ALA 3, A&M 1
B6| Payton McBride singled through the left side, followed by an Abby Smith double down the line. Morgan Smith delivered an infield single, plating Madi Jatzlau, who pinch ran for McBride. Taudrea Sinnie, who pinch ran for Abby Smith, took advantage of an error by Alabama’s defense to score the tying run. A&M 3, ALA 3
B7| Blake-Ann Fritsch earned a walk and moved to second on a Baylee Klingler sacrifice bunt. McBride connected for a two-out RBI single to left, plating Fritsch, and securing the victory. A&M 4, ALA 3
Top Offensive Players:
Payton McBride| 2-for-4, RBI
Morgan Smith| 2-for-2, 2B, RBI, R
Baylee Klingler| 1-for-3, RBI
Pitching Breakdown:
Kendall Potts (6-5) – W, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 K, 7 BB
WHAT THEY SAID
Head Coach Jo Evans
On Kendall Potts’ performance…
“Kendall was great on the mound today. She gave up the two solo home runs in the first inning and buckled down after that. Kendall was in complete control. She did have some walks but they didn’t end up hurting her. She had command of the strike zone. Her changeup was on and she was able to throw it for a strike, which was important. Overall, I’m just really proud of Kendall coming back from yesterday since she had a bit of a struggle with her start yesterday. We wanted to make sure they didn’t get too many looks off of her at that point. She was able to come out today and throw well. She was competitive on the mound to give us a chance to make plays on defense. I’m impressed by her performance today.”
On this win…
“This win feels really good. We didn’t play well on Friday or Saturday and it’s one thing to not win but another thing to not play well and not win. I was disappointed in our inability to be in the game the first two days. Today we talked about mixing up the lineup and changing our mojo to be able to come out and get after it. Competing is the name of the game. Whether we win or lose, I expect us to compete like warriors and I thought we did that today. We came out expecting to win and we were able to pick up a big one.”
Junior 1B Payton McBride
On her walk-off at bat…
“In my head I was just thinking, ‘see the ball, hit the ball.’ Wherever it was around me I was going to foul it off just trying to protect. Then on the one I hit, I just got on top of the ball and it worked out for me.”
On what this win does to their confidence going forward…
“Going into our next games on Wednesday and this weekend it gives us a lot of convince and a lot of energy, because we’re going into it knowing if we can beat them then we can beat anybody.”
ON DECK
The Aggies host Sam Houston State for a doubleheader Wednesday with the first game scheduled for 4 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can follow the Aggies wherever they go by following @AggieSoftball on Instagram and Twitter or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TAMUSoftball.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics