Kennedy outduels Pickens as No. 4 Ags take opener from No. 2 Vols

Game #50: No. 4 Texas A&M 1, No. 2 Tennessee 0
Records: Texas A&M (42-8, 15-6), Tennessee (39-12, 14-8)
WP: Emiley Kennedy (18-4)
LP: Karlyn Pickens (20-7)
Box Score

Down in the Tennessee hills, it was a rocky road for the home team as No. 4 Texas A&M topped No. 2 Tennessee 1-0 in a nail-biter at Sherri Park Lee Stadium on Thursday evening.

Koko Wooley’s presence on both sides of the ball was the difference maker as her go-ahead RBI double in the seventh proved to be enough in a gigantic win for the battle-tested Maroon & White squad.

Two of the top pitchers in the country, Emiley Kennedy and Karlyn Pickens, dueled in the circle as “Lefty” allowed only one hit and struck out 10 in a complete game victory.

“We have a top arm in the country,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford told TexAgs Live on Thursday. “What a great opportunity for us to get in there and be able to see Karlyn Pickens, be able to face a team like Tennessee, and get us ready for the postseason.”

To kick things off, Kennedy Powell reached base after a chopper bounced off the glove of Pickens and was ruled an error. Mac Barbara showed her speed sprinting down the first baseline on a slow roller, beating out Tennessee first baseman McKenna Gibson. However, the Aggies left runners at the corners to end the first frame on an Amari Harper groundout.

Taryn Wright, TexAgs

Koko Wooley’s 24th RBI of the season served as Thursday’s difference maker as she drove in Kennedy Powell with two outs in the top of the seventh.

Tennessee responded offensively by drawing two free passes, but Kennedy stranded two runners, capping the inning off with a massive punchout.

Kennedy’s momentum built as she painted the corners with her high heat rise ball and drop ball as she struck out the side in the second.

“I could talk about her for hours,” Ford said earlier this week. “She is a gamer.”

Pickens, another gamer, was named a Top 10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and threw the fastest pitch in college softball history at 78 mph.

The right-hander’s dominance in the circle carried into the third inning by finding the inside corner and striking out two A&M hitters.

Kennedy registered her fifth and sixth strikeouts of the game as Sophia Nugent stepped to the plate. Stomachs dropped after a ball was driven to deep right field, but on the warning was Frankie Vrazel for an enormous out.

“I think [Kennedy] is just doing a good job of being efficient and making sure she’s locating her pitches, whether it be up or down, and then she’s mixed up some speeds,” Ford told the ESPN+ broadcast.

The pitching duel continued as the evening went on.

In the bottom of the fourth, Tennessee built another threat with an infield single and walk, but the Aggie defense turned a colossal double play that started with a ground ball to Harper before she turned to Wooley, who instantly stepped on second before throwing back to Harper to complete the frame.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

The victory was Emiley Kennedy’s sixth shutout of the year.

An inning later, the Lady Vols continued to apply pressure with a bunt laid down, but Barbara was ready to play it. Her throw to Harper was on time, but not on time was Ella Dodge with an aggressive push to make it safely to third. After review, Wooley tagged Dodge in time.

After three strikeouts in her first three at-bats, Wooley finally cracked the scoreboard with an RBI double to left center field, scoring the speedy Powell.

Ten Aggies were left stranded while the Volunteers left eight.

Earlier this week, Ford told TexAgs Live that scoring early is really important to get going early.

“We are built to punch first,” Ford said. “We’re built to keep punching.”

That’s exactly what her Aggies did to end game one of the series, staying in the race for a shot at first

The series continues on Friday at 5 p.m. CT.