COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Despite forging a 5-3 lead before play was suspended in the bottom of the sixth inning Thursday night, No. 12/14 Texas A&M (36-14, 16-6 SEC) strung together four two-out hits to put up five runs in the bottom of the sixth as the No. 1/1 Sooners (46-7, 18-4 SEC) dropped the series opener, 8-5, Friday, May 1.
Game one began Thursday night before being suspended at 10:12 p.m. due to weather. The teams picked up play at 12:53 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Texas A&M 8, Oklahoma 5
The Sooners had two reach in the first on a hit by pitch and walk, but Texas A&M escaped unscathed.
Audrey Lowry fanned two to set down the Aggies with a scoreless bottom half.
OU did all its damage with two outs in the second. After
Abby Dayton reached on a fielding error atop the inning and
Sydney Barker put down a one-out bunt single.
Ailana Agbayani moved them both up 60 feet with a sac bunt and
Kai Minor delivered a big two-out double to left center for the 2-0 lead.
Ella Parker launched a 243-foot homer to center one batter later, putting the Sooners up 4-0.
Texas A&M responded by getting two runs back in the bottom of the second inning. A one-out walk was followed by a Kelsey Mathis double wrapped just over a jumping
Abby Dayton in left field. Paisle Allen scored them both with a base hit up the middle.
Audrey Lowry settled in to retire five of the next seven batters, keeping things at 4-2 heading into the fourth.
Oklahoma produced with two outs once again, adding another run in the fourth. Minor flared a double just inches off the left field line and used her speed to gallop home on a misplayed grounder off of
Ella Parker's bat to Tallen Edwards at second base.
A&M's Edwards made up for her defensive miscue with a two-RBI double tucked inside the right field line, scoring Kennedy Powell all the way from first base. Lowry quieted the threat with a nifty glove flip play on a slow roller from Mya Perez. She followed that up with strikeouts of Michaela Wark and KK Dement to strand an Aggie runner at third base.
Play was suspended at 10:12 p.m. due to weather with the Aggies at bat in the bottom of the sixth with one out and one runner at first base. The game resumed at 12:53 p.m. the next day and Lowry retired the only batter she would face after the delay, retiring Allen on a sac bunt.
Miali Guachino entered and saw the Aggies string three two-out, two-strike singles to tie the game up, 5-5.
Despite being down in the count, 0-2, Wark delivered the big blow, clearing the bases with a two-RBI double just past a diving
Gabbie Garcia. The throw back into the infield bounced off pinch runner Frankie Vrazel's shoulder as she slid into third base, bouncing wide to allow her to score and make it 8-5 Aggies.
Berkley Zache eventually ended the inning, getting a strikeout to strand the bases loaded.
Texas A&M's Sidne Peters retired all three batters she faced in the seventh, earning the win in relief.
Pitchers of Record
Win: Sidne Peters (14-5)
Loss:
Miali Guachino (14-2)
Statistical Snapshot
Kai Minor | 2-for-4, 2R, 2RBIs, 2B
Ella Parker | 1-for-3, HR, 2RBIs
Audrey Lowry | ND, 5.2 IP, 8Ks, 4ER
Notes
- It was OU's first game in College Station since 2012
- The Sooners and Aggies played as SEC foes for the first time
- The Sooners now have three players with at least 20 home runs. Ella Parker joined Gabbie Garcia and Kendall Wells Thursday night.
- Minor is up a team-high 23 multi-hit games
- Lowry tied a career high with eight strikeouts
- OU is now 12-2 in games its leading after five innings
- It was the first time OU has lost a series opener in SEC play this season and just the second time that has happened in the two year span in the league
Up Next
Due to weather, game two of the series will not be played Friday. Information on the remainder of the weekend schedule is to come.