BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M softball battled 23rd place in South Carolina Gamecocks in a 6-3 clash on the first night of the SEC action at home on Friday in Davis Diamond. With the victory, Maroon & White improved to 21-5 overall, with an equal 2-2 start for the Southeast Conference game. In defeat, South Carolina drops to 17-8 with a record of 0-4 SEC, losing four consecutive SEC clashes for the first time since May 4, 2019. The game got off to a rough start for the Aggies like Bre Warren sent a double to the left field and Haley Lee launched a two-run home run over the center field wall to take a 2-0 lead at the end of the first inning.
Things went quietly over the next two frames, but South Carolina fired for three runs at the top of fourth place with one hit and two mistakes to take a 3-2 lead. Texas A&M was quick to respond, as Kelbi Fortenberry chose the medium and promptly stole second base, advancing to third in a receiver launch error.
Ashlynn Walls tied one in the middle to send Fortenberry home and tie the game, 3-3. A&M broke free at the bottom of fifth place, with three runs in three strokes and one mistake.
Makinzy Herzog chose the middle and Warren reached in a field error by the first baseman. Lee continued his spectacular performance in the batter’s area by doubling the left field line and sending Herzog home. Madi Jatzlau came to nip the race for Lee while the Gamecocks changed the jugs. Morgan Smith scored to the left, allowing Warren and Jatzlau to score, ending the score 6-3.
Lee’s two-race home run at the end of the first was his 11th of the season and 18th of his college career. The Kingwood, Texas native ended with two hits the night, marking her 10th multiple-hit game in the 2021 campaign. Junior now leads the team in RBI with 24.
Warren, a freshman outfielder from College Station, Texas, recorded two hits and recorded her fifth multiple-hit game this year.
In the circle, Herzog recorded his ninth start of the season and recorded 3.1 entries with five eliminations. Outside the bullpen, Grace Uribe launched in relief for 3.2 innings when making her 11th high school appearance. The freshman from Huntington Beach, California, yielded just one hit, kept the Gamecocks goalless and shook a pair of hikers without walks.
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