NORMAN, Okla. (May 21, 2021)-With all the excitement and jitters of reaching the school's first-ever NCAA Regional and taking on No. 1 Oklahoma on the Sooner's home field yesterday out of the way, the Lady Bears were much more relaxed and put on a memorable performance on Saturday evening in its elimination game against Texas A&M. 
 
However, behind three errors, the Lady Bears were unable to overcome a six-run deficit, as their season and a remarkable run to the Division I Softball Championship came to an end after a 10-3 loss to the Aggies in an elimination game at Marita Hynes Field.
 
Texas A&M moves on with the win and will face Wichita State in an elimination game later tonight for the right to take on host Oklahoma on Sunday in the regional final.
 
The Aggies had bases loaded in the bottom half of the first when Dani Elder fought off a 3-2 pitch to right center field just over the outstretched arm of the second baseman to score two runs.
 
Morgan State's defense kept it in the game, as it caught two Aggies attempting to steal in the second inning. Ashlynn Walls led off the inning with a walk and then tried to steal second, but Morgan State catcher Haylee Bobos threw a strike to Mia Ewell who placed the tag on Walls for the out. The Aggies would still threaten in the inning with runners on the corners, as both runners found themselves in run downs, which finally resulted in Makinzy Herzog getting caught stealing at home to end the inning.
 
Texas A&M eventually would get back on the board in the third inning with three runs, all with two outs to push its lead to 5-0. A two-out error at third allowed Rylen Wiggins to reach base and Shaylee Ackerman to score from third. Walls then stepped in and followed with a double to left center to bring two more runs across the plate.
 
Haley Lee hit her seventh homer of the season with a solo shot to left center in the fourth inning, as the Aggies lead increased to 6-0.
 
After a scoreless fifth inning, Morgan State would make another bit of history in the sixth inning. Leah Victor would record a pinch hit double to center to score Kyley Fijalkowski all the way from first for the first run of the game and the first run of Morgan's NCAA Regional history. However, the Lady Bears weren't done yet. Trailing 6-1, Ellen Ebbers hit a double off the bottom of the left center wall to bring in two more runs and make it a 6-3 contest.
 
But the celebration would be short lived, as with the assist of back-to-back walks, followed by a fielding error to load the bases, Lee, who finished 3-for-4 with a game-high three runs and a game-high five RBIs, homered to center field for her second homer of the game and eighth of the season to give the Aggies a 10-3 advantage, which would stand.
 
Morgan State concludes its historic 2021 season with a 24-17 record, four victories shy of tying the school record for wins set in 2018. The Lady Bears were winners of a season-high six consecutive games, claimed their second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division title, their first MEAC Tournament crown and secured the program's first-ever NCAA Division I Softball Championship appearance.

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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 126 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.