Tag: Emiley Kennedy

Aggies’ Emiley Kennedy a finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

Texas A&M’s Emiley Kennedy makes the cut as a Top 26 finalist for Collegiate Player of the Year

Texas A&M ace Emiley Kennedy has made a big leap this season, becoming the Aggie go-to pitcher when they get into a bind in a big game. She’s also been one of the top pitchers in the SEC and is currently sitting in the top ten of the following categories.

  • ERA (7th) – 1.51
  • Opposing batting average (3rd) -.170
  • Innings pitched (3rd) – 157
  • Batters struck out (3rd) – 165
  • Wins (2nd) – 20
  • Saves (3rd) – 5

Below is a little about the award and the announcement dates from USA Softball

Each NCAA Softball season, USA Softball recognizes a Collegiate Player of the Year based on outstanding play over the course of the entire season. At the beginning of each season, USA Softball issues a Top 50 “Watch List” for Player of the Year, followed by a list of finalists that narrows from Top 25 to Top 10 and Top 3. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is awarded during a team reception the week of the WCWS.

Player of the Year — Announcement Dates
  • Top 25 Finalists — May 1
  • Top 10 Finalists — May 15
  • Top 3 Finalists — May 20
  • Player of the Year — Prior to the WCWS

As the season winds down, head coach Trisha Ford will need the best out of her “Lefty” if they plan on making a deep run in the postseason. They are already in a prime position to host a regional, and if the pitching outside of Kennedy can get a little more consistent to allow her to rest, the sky is the limit.

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.

No. 12 Texas A&M wins their fifth conference series after beating No. 13 Alabama in game three

After dropping game one the Aggies storm back to win the final two games over Alabama recording their fifth SEC series win

Texas A&M (33-9, 12-6 SEC) took the series over No. 13 Alabama (30-10, 7-8 SEC) with a 9-4 victory in the final game Monday night for their 12th conference win matching last season’s total.

After dropping game one 2-0 in a back-and-forth defensive battle the Aggies bounced back to beat Alabama in games two and three, scoring 26 runs along the way. One thing head coach Trisha Ford wanted to see her team do a better job of was to stay within themselves and handle adversity. This series gave them plenty of chances to show Ford that they were up to the task.

In game two the Aggies took an early 7-1 lead before allowing the Tide to pull within two retaking all of the momentum going into the top of the sixth inning. A&M responded by outscoring Alabama 10 to 1 in the final two frames. Then in game three with the series on the line Alabama took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Once again, A&M responded putting seven runs on the board to Alabama’s one for final score of 9-4 and the series win.

Game one:

Texas A&M vs Alabama/ Loss / 2-0

  • Total offense:  6 hits, 0 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy L (15-7): 7.0 innings, 6 Ks, 101 pitches.

Game two:

Texas A&M vs Alabama / Win / 17-6

  • Total offense:  13 hits, 17 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (16-7): 2.0 innings, 2 Ks, 33 pitches. Emily Leavitt: 1.2 innings, 0 K, 51 pitches. Shaylee Ackerman: 3.1 innings, 1 Ks, 66 pitches
  • pitches.

Game three:

Texas A&M vs Alabama / Win / 9-4

  • Total offense:  7 hits, 9 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (17-7): 6.0 innings, 6 Ks, 106 pitches. Brooke Vestal: 0.1 innings, 1 K, 12 pitches. Shaylee Ackerman: 0.2 innings, 0 K, 11 pitches

Texas A&M will be back in action for another midweek matchup when they head to Denton, Texas to take on North Texas on April 17 at 6 p.m.

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.

Texas A&M softball HC Trisha Ford speaks after game three loss to Kentucky

Head Texas A&M head softball coach Trisha Ford speaks after close loss to Kentucky in game three of series

No. 14 Texas A&M (31-8, 10-5 SEC), after taking the first two games to win the series, the Aggie dropped game three 1-0 to Kentucky (24-14, 3-9 SEC) in a back-and-forth pitching battle.

In game three, we witnessed a stellar pitching duel between Texas A&M’s Emiley Kennedy and Kentucky’s Stephanie Schoonover. The duel had only five hits. The only run scored was a home run in the top of the seventh inning for a Kentucky lead. Schoonover struck out three batters in the bottom of the seventh to secure a Sunday win for the Wildcats. Coach Ford spoke about how tight of a game it was.

“Obviously a hard fought battle today on day three I thought both pitchers pitched great games. They got a long ball and we didn’t get a timely hit and that’s kind of the difference but I think what (Schoonover) gave up two hits, Lefty (Kennedy) gave up three, you know both had seven strikeouts so it was a hard fought battle and we didn’t execute”

Below, you can watch the post-game presser with Coach Trisha Ford.

Texas A&M will wrap up the series at Davis Diamond on Sunday, April 7, at 1 p.m. CT.

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.

Texas A&M softball wins fourth SEC series beating Kentucky in the first two games

The Texas A&M softball team bounces back and captures their fourth conference win of the season

Texas A&M (31-7, 10-4 SEC) defeated Kentucky (23-14, 2-9 SEC) in the first two games of the series in two hard-fought games, winning each by a single run.

After being swept in their last SEC series against LSU, head coach Trisha Ford wasn’t pleased with how her team responded. This weekend was a welcome change from last week, but there was no walking in the park. Game one went to extra innings before Jaz Hill hit a walk-off double for the 5-4 victory.

Game two looked like a blowout, but a well-coached Kentucky team fought back, scoring four runs in the top of the seventh to pull within one before a throw from Jaz Hill to Harper, then Koko Wooley was able to tag the baserunner out at second, ending the game.

Day one:

Texas A&M vs Kentucky / Win / 5-4

  • Total offense:  4 hits, five runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (15-5): 7.0 innings, 6 Ks, 107 pitches.

Day two:

Texas A&M vs Kentucky / Win / 10-9

  • Total offense:  3 hits, five runs
  • Pitching: Emily Leavitt W (7-1) pitched 5.0 innings, 7 Ks, and 104 pitches. Shaylee Ackerman pitched 1.0 innings, 0 Ks, and 66 pitches. Brooke Vestal pitched 0.2 innings, 1 K, and 18 pitches. Emiley Kennedy pitched 0.1 innings, 0 Ks, and five pitches.

Texas A&M will wrap up the series at Davis Diamond on Sunday, April 7, at 1 p.m. CT.

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.

Texas A&M softball wins third straight SEC series beating No. 25 Auburn in the first two games

The Aggies are off to their best start since the 2018 season in SEC play

Texas A&M (27-4, 7-1 SEC) defeated No. 25 Auburn (15-8, 2-6 SEC) in the first two games of the series, outscoring the Tigers 8-3.

Head coach Trisha Ford has the Aggies off to the best start in the SEC since the 2018 season. On top of starting 7-1 in league play, all three teams they beat are ranked in the Top 25: No. 22 South Carolina, No. 21 Mississippi State, and No. 25 Auburn.

This squad is also getting the job done differently, with 1-9 of the line all being dangerous from the plate. The Aggies have a great mix of power and speed that allows them to have different offensive strategies that were missing last year.

The defense has also been playing extremely well, with just a few errors on the season, which has been the main reason their four losses have been one-point games. There has yet to be a game this season where a team has blown the Aggies out of the water. They are quick in the infield, and the outfield has shown several times that they all have the capability to throw out runners at home.

Day one:

Texas A&M vs Auburn / Win / 5-1

  • Total offense:  5 hits, 5 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (14-3): 7.0 innings, 4 Ks, 116 pitches.

Day two:

Texas A&M vs Auburn / Win / 3-2

  • Total offense:  3 hits, 5 runs
  • Pitching: Shaylee Ackerman W (6-1): 7.0 innings, 2 Ks, 96 pitches.

Texas A&M will wrap up the series at Davis Diamond on Sunday, March 24, at 1 p.m. CT.

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.

No. 13 Texas A&M takes second straight SEC series beating No. 21 Mississippi State twice on Saturday

The Aggies extend their winning streak to eight and notch their second consecutive SEC series win

No. 13 Texas A&M (25-2, 5-0 SEC) wins the series over No. 21 Mississippi State (20-6, 2-3 SEC), outscoring the Bulldogs 17-5 across two games on Saturday.

The Aggie continue their blazing hot start to the season, sweeping the double-header and extending their win streak to eight with a 5-0 start to SEC play. They have shown themselves to be a complete team from top to bottom. Coach Ford has a squad with a unique blend of speed and power that makes them a dangerous matchup.

Emiley Kennedy has been the Aggies’ ace on the mound and when they need an out, Ford has no issues putting her in the game. So far in SEC play she’s pitched two complete games and two shutouts with 23 strikeouts. Koko Wooley also had a day with some savvy baserunning, leading to three steals and recording three stolen bases.

Day one:

Texas A&M vs Mississippi State / Win / 9-0 (run-rule)

  • Total offense:  9 hits, 9 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (13-1): 5.0 innings, 7 Ks, 94 pitches.

Texas A&M vs Mississippi State / Win / 8-5

  • Total offense:  10 hits, 8 runs
  • Pitching: Shaylee Ackerman W (5-1): 3.0 innings, 2 Ks, 54 pitches. Emily Leavitt: 2.0 innings, 2 K, 43 pitches. Brooke Vestal: 1.0 innings, 1 Ks, 24 pitches. Emiley Kennedy: 1.0 innings, 1 Ks, 27 pitches.

Texas A&M will wrap up the series when they Mississippi State in game three on March 17 at 11 a.m.

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.

The Texas A&M softball team opens up SEC play with a series sweep over No. 22 South Carolina

The Aggies series win marks the first time since the 2017-18 they have won an opening conference series in consecutive years

Texas A&M (23-2, 3-0 SEC) completed the sweep of No. 22 South Carolina (18-5, 0-3 SEC) with a 2-1 victory in the final game on Sunday afternoon.

This marks the second sweep of a Top 25 team this season, with the first being No. 14 Oregon and now the Gamecocks. However, it did not come easy against Georgia, with both teams playing stellar defense and the pitchers giving the hitters fits. The stars of the weekend were Trinity Cannon and Emiley Kennedy, who both came up big three games where every hit and pitch counted.

Kennedy appeared in all three games, and through 13 innings, she struck out 15 batters, going 2-0 with one save. In the game she started, she produced her NCAA-leading sixth shutout in the opening game of the series. Cannon led the team in the following areas: Hits (3), Triples (1), Home runs (1), RBI (3), and SLG% (1.000). Her weekend was highlighted by a walk-off home run in the 10th inning of the second game to give the series victory to the Aggies.

day one:

Texas A&M vs South Carolina / Win / 3-0

  • Total offense:  5 hits, 3 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (11-1): 7.0 innings, 10 Ks, 108 pitches.

day two:

Texas A&M vs South Carolina / Win / 2-1

  • Total offense:  8 hits, 5 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (12-1): 5.0 innings, 4 Ks, 82 pitches. Emily Leavitt 1.0 innings, 1 K, 37 pitches. Brooke Vestal 4.0 innings, 6 Ks, 62
  • pitches.

day three:

Texas A&M vs South Carolina / Win / 2-1

  • Total offense:  5 hits, 2 runs
  • Pitching: Brooke Vestal W (2-0): 6.0 innings, 6 Ks, 76 pitches. Emiley Kennedy S (3) 1.0 innings, 1 K, 19 pitches

Texas A&M will be back in action for another SEC series when they head to Starkville to take on Mississippi State starting March 15 at 4 p.m.

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.

No. 18 Texas A&M goes 4-1 at the Judi Garman Classic to improve to 19-2 on the season

Texas A&M run rules DePaul in their final game at the Judi Garman Classic to move to 19-2 on the season

The Texas A&M softball team has yet another successful out this time in Fullerton California at the Judi Garman Classic. They did drop one game, but it went into extra innings and the Aggies punched back as often as they could but ultimately fell just short.

Even with that loss they still outscored their opposition 40-15 over the three days. They will have a mid-week game and then start SEC play on March 8 against South Carolina at Davis Diamond.

day one:

Texas A&M vs Michigan / Win / 6-0

  • Total offense:  8 hits, 6 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (8-0): 7.0 innings, 12 Ks, 102 pitches.

Texas A&M vs Long Beach State / Win / 16-7

  • Total offense:  14 hits, 16 runs
  • Pitching: Emily Leavitt W (5-0) 2.2 innings, 1 Ks, 40 pitches. Shaylee Ackerman: 3.1 innings, 4 Ks, 80 pitches. Brooke Vestal: 0.0 innings, 0 K, 20 pitches.

day two:

Texas A&M vs Weber State / Loss / 5-4

  • Total offense:  8 hits, 5 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy L (8-1): 1.2 innings, 1 Ks, 40 pitches. Emily Leavitt 6.0 innings, 5 Ks, 98 pitches.

Texas A&M vs Cal State Fullerton / Win / 4-1

  • Total offense:  4 hits, 4 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (9-1): 7.0 innings, 10 Ks, 117 pitches.

day three:

Texas A&M vs DePaul / Win / 10-2

  • Total offense:  13 hits, 10 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (10-1): 5.0 innings, 5 Ks, 78 pitches.

Below are some of the best moments from the weekend courtesy of the Texas A&M softball social media.

Texas A&M softball moves up in the rankings after red hot start to the 2024 season

After remaining undefeated through the first two weeks on the season the Aggie softball team moves into the top 20

Head softball coach Trisha Ford has Texas A&M undefeated to start the season and knocked off two Super Regional teams along the way to a 9-0 record. After outscoring opponents 63-17 to start the season while being unbeaten, movement in the rankings was almost guaranteed. The question was how far up they would jump and in which polls.

All major softball polls have moved the Aggies into the Top 20 following two opening season tournament sweeps.

Texas A&M is one of five SEC teams that’s undefeated through two weeks and has a Top 25 win under their belt by beating No. 23 Oregon twice. The Aggies get a break before another busy weekend hosting the Texas A&M Invitational February 22-25.

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.

Another undefeated weekend moves the Texas A&M softball team to 9-0 to start the season

Head coach Trisha Ford has the Aggies off to a hot start, going 5-0 on the weekend capped off by beating No. 14 Oregon twice.

Texas A&M (9-0) will travel back from San Diego undefeated, beating No. 14 Oregon twice over the weekend. There’s not a much better start you can ask for and they were able to win in a multitude of ways. head coach Trisha Ford mentioned before the season that she was excited about this team and how much deeper they are as a squad compared to last year.

The Campbell/Cartier Classic was no walk in the park either, starting against the No. 14 Oregon Ducks, then followed by San Diego State, who made it to a Super Regional last season. After opening up the tournament with a 4-1 win over the Ducks, they held off the Aztecs for a 7-5 victory. Then, following a 10-2 run rule over victory LMU, they battled the Aztecs again and ended with a 1-0 win.

In their final game of the weekend, they had to face Oregon for a second time. After a rough start to the weekend for the Ducks, they seem to have started to find their bats, making the matchup against the Aggies. Scoreless through four innings, a red-hot Allie Enright hit a double into left field, scoring Kramer Eschete for a 1-0 lead. All-SEC Catcher added an insurance run with a solo homer in the sixth for the game’s final run. Emiley Kennedy continued her dominance from the mound, coming in to close out the game for a final score of 2-0.

Below are some of the best moments from the weekend courtesy of the Texas A&M softball social media.