AUSTIN, Texas — Ashton Maloney drove in Kayden Henry with the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and top-seeded and top-ranked Texas defeated Texas A&M 9-8 in nine innings to stay alive at their Austin Super Regional on Saturday.
The Longhorns rallied from a 5-1 deficit to hand the Aggies their first loss in five NCAA Tournament games.
In the top of the ninth inning, Henry led off with a bunt single, stole second and took third on a groundout. Maloney then hit a chopper to the shortstop and Henry easily scored ahead of the throw that was far offline.
Henry was 3-for-5 batting and scored three runs.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jazmine Hill led off with a single. Mya Perez, who earlier tied the score with a two-out three-run home run in the seventh inning, came to bat with two outs. With two strikes, she was awarded first base on interference by the catcher. Kramer Eschete then hit a grounder toward second base and pinch-runner Keely Williams was forced out to end it.
Four singles and some aggressive base running helped Texas take advantage of two errors and an obstruction call, scoring five runs to take a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning.
Texas (51-8) added two runs in the seventh on a home run by Bella Dayton.
Trailing 8-5 in the bottom of the seventh, the Aggies were down to their last strike when Perez blasted her home run that tied it.
Texas A&M (44-14), which won the opening game 6-5 on Friday, led 5-1 through five innings of game two. Hill hit a leadoff home run in the second and Trinity Cannon added a two-run shot in the fifth.
Joley Mitchell’s leadoff homer to left field in the fourth inning produced the first run for Texas.
Game three is scheduled for Sunday. Texas will play as the home team.
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