Tag: Aggie softball

Series Highlights: Softball – No. 19 Texas A&M vs South Carolina

Highlights: The Aggies suffer their second sweep in league play at the hands of South Carolina

This without a doubt was the worse series of Coach Ford’s first year at the helm. The Aggies were swept by a currently unranked South Carolina team that only allow two runs across the three-game weekend. What made it even more frustrating is that those two runs came in the very first inning of game one. They also squandered multiple opportunities to put a runner across the plate by routinely falling short.

Texas A&M ended the series being outscored 15-2 and left a massive 18 runners stranded on bases. Now on a three-game losing streak, the Aggies will need to figure out a way to not let this series damage their confidence with two SEC series left in the season.

Texas A&M will return to Davis Diamond on April 19th looking to get back on track against the Texas State Bobcats.

Check out some highlights of the three-game series from the official Texas A&M Softball Twitter account

Game One Recap: Softball No. 19 Texas A&M vs South Carolina

The Aggie fall in game one of series opener against South Carolina 2-6

The Aggies will start the series down a game after they could not muster any offense in a 6-2 loss to the Gamecocks. Texas A&M (26-14, 8-8 SEC) had been riding the hot hand of their pitchers over the last for games only allowing a total of five runs. Unfortunately, South Carolina (28-12, 5-8 SEC) was able to take an early lead and pepper some insurance runs throughout the game for the win.

The scoring got off to a start which looked to be promising for the Aggies. Julia Cottrill hit a single to get to first base and a few batters later Trinity Cannon hit a homer to bring them both home to go up 2-0.

However, in a turn from previous weeks, the Aggies starting pitcher Emily Leavitt struggled out of the gate. A hit-by-pitch and a walk gave the Gamecocks two free bases immediately followed up by a bunt loading the bases. A double scored three and a wild pitch put South Carolina up 4-2 after the first inning.

Leavitt found her footing a little bit only allowing two more runs but A&M was never able to threaten a score for the remainder of the game. They were held to only two additional hits after the first inning in a 6-2 loss in game one.

One positive to pull from the game was Grace Uribe was able to get in a few innings of work getting one strikeout and only allowing one hit.

Final Score: Aggies 2, Gamecocks 6 – W: Ochs, Karsen (6-3); L: Leavitt, Emily (8-5); S: Gobourne, Donnie (5)

Game two will start at 1 pm on April 15th in South Carolina.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1

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Game Highlights: Softball – No. 19 Texas A&M vs Louisiana

Highlights: Texas A&M put together a complete game to beat the Rajin Cajuns

These are the types of midweek games that make your team better. No. 19 Texas A&M (26-13) took on a very tough Louisiana (30-12) team at Davis Diamond in a very intense seven innings. The game had a total of 16 runners left on base between both teams and even though the Aggies were out hit they still managed to win 4-2 on the back of some solid defense.

After the game Head Coach Trisha Ford gave her thoughts

“That was a really good win for us. It was a great game. I thought we did a lot of things on both sides of the plate well. My mind first goes to Paige Lott, Star Ferguson and Riley Valentine. Just coming in and doing things to help our team and they do it every single day at practice. It showed up tonight. Paige got the start in left field with a big hit. Star Ferguson, same thing, had a great at-bat. Amari went down with just a contusion on her thigh, so she’ll be fine, but Riley Valentine hadn’t really practiced at second base. She played shortstop in high school so she’s kind of our option. We got it done. I thought it was fitting that the last ground ball went to Valentine. Kennedy, again, lights out. It’s fun to watch. I’m hoping that we just continue to see her grow and keep using that change up.”

Check out some highlights of the midweek match-up from the official Texas A&M Softball Twitter account

Game Recap: Softball – No. 19 Texas A&M vs Louisiana

The Aggies rode the arm of Emiley Kennedy to a top 25 win over Louisiana

The Aggies get the job done against a formidable foe beating the No. 25 Ragin Cajuns. No. 19 Texas A&M (26-13) got their ninth win over a top-25 team this season with the 4-2 victory for another entry on their impressive resume.

The scoring started off with a bang with Trinity Cannon blasting a shot over the left-center wall for an early 1-0 lead. Louisiana (30-12) answered back in the top of the second inning with their own solo shot to tie the game. Julia Cottrill hit a single through the left side scoring Paige Lott and Morgan Smith for a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second.

After a second home run off the bat of a Ragin Cajun, Coach Ford brought in Emiley Kennedy to pitch. A rough start loaded the bases, but she recovered like a champion striking out the next two batters. For the final out Cottrill threw a laser to third base picking off the runner to maintain the lead 3-2.

The Aggies added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Koko Wooley was walked while the bases were loaded for a free run when Bre Warren stepped on home plate.

Louisiana managed four additional hits in the final three innings, but they also stranded five runners on base scoring no runs giving the Aggies the 4-2 win.

Final Score: Aggies 4, Ragin Cajuns 2 – W: Kennedy, Emiley (8-3); L: Heath, Karly (3-1)

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1

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Two Aggies earn SEC weekly Honors on the diamond

Williams and Wooley take home weekly SEC honors after the sweep of Mississippi State

The No. 19 Texas A&M Softball team doubled up on the weekly SEC honors. Keely Williams was named Freshman of the Week and junior shortstop Koko Wooley was named Player of the Week.

Williams is having a very solid Freshman campaign and has found a home in the lead-off spot. The most important task for the lead-off hitter, obviously, is to get on base and Williams excelled in the Mississippi State series. Her .545 on-base percentage was a team-high and hit .375 with no strikeouts.

Koko had her best three-game stretch in a while. Not only did she have a great defensive outing over the weekend she flirted with hitting .500. Williams registered a .455 batting average with five hits against the Bulldogs. Along with her team-high .727 slugging percentage, she had three RBIs, stole two bases, and scored three times.

Coach Ford is doing a great job pushing her team to improve throughout the season, and if these two can stay on their current trajectory, the sky is the limit for this squad.

To check out highlights from these two over the course of the week follow the Official Twitter account of the Aggie softball team

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1

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Game Three Recap & Highlights: Softball – No. 19 Texas A&M vs Mississippi State

The Aggies get their first SEC series sweep this season sweeping Mississippi State

In a season-first, the Aggies sweep an SEC foe answering Coach Ford’s call to finish a series strong. Trisha Ford always praised her teams’ ability to never give up, but she’s been working on getting them to stay focused and maintain a sense of urgency. Her team awarded her over the Easter holidays as No. 19 Texas A&M (25-13, 8-7 SEC) swept Mississippi State (23-16, 3-7 SEC) winning game three before enjoying some fireworks.

The Aggies made sure to take advantage of getting on base early in this game putting pressure on the Bulldogs to play from behind. Koko Wooley got the ball rolling with a double to right field then a few batters later Julia Cottrill was thrown out at first, but a throwing error allowed a speedy Wooley to make it home. Morgan Smith got the third hit of the inning that plated Trinity Cannon and put the Aggies up 2-0 going into the second inning.

Mississippi State managed their only run of the game on a wild pitch, but Texas A&M answered back quickly in the bottom of the fourth inning. Amari Harper hit a single and Keely Williams was walked to put runners on first and second base. Wooley came up big again with a two-run triple to go up 4-1.

Texas A&M added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth after a single by Smith and nine-pitch Riley Valentine walk. With runners on first and second base, Allie Enright doubled down the left-field line scoring Smith to extend the lead to 5-1.

Emiley Kennedy closed out a strong game by only allowing one hit through the last two innings. The Aggies gave Coach Ford exactly what she’s been asking for since the start of league play…Finish a series out with a convincing win.

Final Score: Aggies 5, Bulldogs 1 – W: Kennedy, Emiley (7-3); L: Beuerlein, Reis (3-2)

Check out some highlights of the doubleheader from the official Texas A&M Softball Twitter account

Game Two Recap & Highlights: Softball – No. 19 Texas A&M vs Mississippi State

Aggie win a close game to take the series and will look to sweep on Monday

In a counter to game one, where the Aggies run-ruled the Bulldogs, game two was a dogfight where scoring really came at a premium. No. 19 Texas A&M (24-13, 7-7 SEC) was able to outlast Mississippi State to take a 2-1 win clinching the series. This is their third SEC series win and has surpassed their SEC win total from last season.

Texas A&M looked like they were about to break the game wide open in the bottom of the first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs, but that golden opportunity was squandered. Back-to-back strikeouts and a ground out left Mississippi State unscathed with three Aggies stranded on base.

Both teams exchanged scoreless innings until the top of the third when Texas A&M gave up a solo home run. Then the scoreless innings resumed until the bottom of the fifth when the Aggies finally got on the board.

After Amari Harper was hit by a pitch Keely Williams hit a single through the right side then a series of bad throws from the Bulldogs allowed Harper to score and Williams to advance to third base, tying the game 1-1.

An inning later Julia Cottrill put the Aggies up by one with bomb to right center to take the lead 2-1.

Emiley Kennedy already pitching a solid game forced a fly out and a ground out. For the final out of the game Kennedy sent the last better packing for her third strikeout of the game.

Coach Ford gave her thoughts after the game:

“I thought Madison Preston came in and did a serviceable job. She struggled a little bit with her command, but Emiley Kennedy came in and looked lights out. We did enough offensively to win.”

Final Score: Aggies 2, Bulldogs 1 – W: Kennedy, Emiley (6-3); L: Faapito, Matalasi (4-3)

Game three will be on April 10th at 6pm at Davis Diamond

Check out some highlights of the doubleheader from the official Texas A&M Softball Twitter account

Texas A&M Softball is moving up in rankings across the polls

Texas A&M is picking up steam in Trisha Fords first season and moving up in the rankings

The Texas A&M softball team is slowly creeping up in all of the national polls as they continue to rack up impressive wins while having one of the tougher schedules in the country to this point. They took game one in the Mississippi State series via run rule and if they can sweep the Bulldogs, I can see them jumping another few spots in at least two of the polls.

Coach Ford has been pleased with her team as they have already won two SEC series and matched last season’s SEC wins at six with ten league games left in the regular season. Even though they have won seven of their last ten games Ford still wants them to keep that sense of urgency and improve at closing out that third game of each of the upcoming series.

Overall, the pitching is getting much better after a slight dip in early SEC play and the defense has been on point as of late. If they can get those bats consistent against some of the better teams, there is no reason they can’t live in that 10 to 15 range in all of the polls in the upcoming weeks.

D1Softball Ranking: No. 14

ESPN/USA Softball Ranking: No. 19

NFCA Ranking: No. 24

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1

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Game One Recap & Highlights: Softball – No. 19 Texas A&M vs Mississippi State

The Aggies run-rule Mississippi State 9-1 to take game one of the series

The Aggies cruised to a game-one win over the Bulldogs to get the series started and matched their SEC win total from last year at six. No. 19 Texas A&M (23-13, 6-7 SEC) got a little extra rest on Saturday night by run-ruling Mississippi State (23-14, 3-6 SEC) 9-1 in the sixth inning.

Texas A&M got off to an early lead with Keely Williams scoring on a hit by Trinity Cannon and later in the inning a sac fly by Aiyana Coleman allowed Cannon to score for a 2-0 start to the game.

Emily Leavitt held the Bulldogs scoreless and hitless in the first three innings putting the Aggies in a great position to extend the lead, which they did. In the bottom of the third catcher Julia Cottrill hit a single through the left side scoring Koko Wooley for a new score of 3-0.

Mississippi finally got on the board in the top of the fifth after a wild pitch and an error by the center fielder cutting the lead 3-1, leading to Shaylee Ackerman coming in to close out the game. Any hope they had at chipping away at the lead was looking grim after a Cottrill RBI single scoring Williams and an RBI double from A. Coleman to bring Cottrill home extending the lead to 5-1.

A&M was looking to get to bed early so they went to work in the bottom of the sixth inning. Bre Warren hit a single to center field then a wild pitch put her on second base with no outs. Allie Enright followed that up with a single of her own and stole second base putting runners at second and third with no outs. Freshman Amari Harper came up with a clutch two-run single pushing the lead to 7-1. Wooley hit a single to score Harper and put the Aggies in prime position to run rule the Bulldogs. Wooley’s speed got her all the way to third base from first after a wild pitch. With only one out Wooley was 60 feet away from home plate with Cannon up to bat. Cannon hit a sac fly to left field allowing Wooley to tag up and score with ease to win the game 9-1.

Leavitt and Ackerman combined with the defense outing held the Mississippi State Bulldogs to one run and only three hits for a very convincing victory.

Final Score: Aggies 9, Bulldogs 1 – W: Leavitt, Emily (8-4); L: Wesley, Aspen (5-5); (S) Ackerman, Shaylee (3)

Game two will be on April 9th at 2 pm at Davis Diamond

Check out some highlights of the doubleheader from the official Texas A&M Softball Twitter account

Series Preview: Softball – No. 19 Texas A&M vs Mississippi State

Texas A&M will Host Mississippi State at Davis Diamond for a three-game SEC series

While the Aggies might not have got the series win over No. 3 Tennessee last week, they still put up a good fight. No. 19 Texas A&M (22-13, 5-7 SEC) split the first two games in a defensive battle where only six total runs were scored through 17 innings of play. They ultimately lost the series in game three against Tennessee, but Coach Ford was able to pull a lot of teachable moments to review with her team headed into the Mississippi State (23-13, 3-5) series.

Outside of the last two games played against each other, the scores have been close with neither team really being able to sustain a streak over three games. Since 1986 they have played matched up 23 times with Texas A&M holding a slight 12-11 edge in the series. They also have won six of the last ten games and their longest win streak currently sits at three from 2017 to 2018.

If the Aggies can duplicate the dominant pitching, they have displayed lately I’m convinced they will take this series and surpass their SEC win total from last season.

GAME SCHEDULE

Game One – Mississippi – April 8 at 7 pm/CT

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Game Two – Mississippi – April 9 at 2 pm/CT

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Game Three – Mississippi – April 10 at 6 pm/CT

 

WAYS TO FOLLOW THE SERIES

TV: SEC Network / SEC Network+

Radio: Locally Sports Radio 1150/93.7 The Zone

Social: Follow the @AggieSoftball Twitter for updates

Internet: 12thMan.com / 12th Man Mobile app for live play-by-play

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1

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