Tag: Trisha Ford

Texas A&M softball enters the top ten in a handful of the polls

The Aggie softball team keeps making noise in the NCAA landscape moving into the top ten after a sweep of Ole Miss

Texas A&M (37-9, 15-6 SEC) is essentially a top-ten team if you average the four main polls and they have been backing it up on the field. Outside of being swept by LSU last month, the Aggies have been playing like one of the top teams in the country.

Whether it’s spectacular defensive play, solid pitching, clutch hitting, or a combination, A&M is finding ways to win games. They are very close to securing a home regional, which would be a major advantage, as the Aggies have an impressive 23-2 record at Davis Diamond.

Coach Trisha Ford does not settle for just good; she wants her players to be great on the field and in life. It appears her squad has fully bought in and will leave with no regrets once this season finally ends.

Following their sweep of Ole Miss, all major softball polls have moved the Aggies up a few spots in the newest polls.

The 2024 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Records reflect games played through April 21. The poll is released on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. ET during the regular season.

RANKINGS

Rank Team Record Points Previous
1 Texas (28) 38-6 791 1
2 Oklahoma 42-4 772 2
3 Tennessee 34-8 720 4
4 Oklahoma State 39-8 666 6
5 Duke 39-6 652 3
6 LSU 35-10 592 7
7 Stanford 36-10 590 5
8 Washington 30-8 566 8
9 UCLA 27-9 554 12
10 Texas A&M 37-9 536 11
11 Georgia 36-11 516 9
12 Florida 37-10 466 10
13 Virginia Tech 35-9-1 403 15
14 Missouri 35-13 377 13
15 Arkansas 32-12 360 16
16 Florida State 36-10 294 18
17 Alabama 31-12 291 14
18 Mississippi State 30-13 240 17
19 Arizona 31-13-1 235 19
20 California 31-14 163 20
21 Kentucky 29-15 120 24
22 Clemson 31-15 117 21
23 Boston University 40-4 110 23
24 Oregon 26-16 100 22
25 Louisiana 33-15 74 25

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Northwestern (25), South Carolina (21), Texas State (19), Virginia (9), Miami (6), Auburn (4), Grand Canyon (3), Baylor (2), Eastern Kentucky (1).

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The Texas A&M softball team enters the top ten in the power rankings

Texas A&M is one of the breakout teams this year winning six of the seven SEC series for a total of 15 conference wins

One of the better hires we’ve seen before the departure of former Texas A&M Ross Bjork was bringing in softball coach Trisha Ford from Arizona State. In year one under Ford, she led the Aggies to their most overall and conference wins in five seasons. In year two she is starting to flex her muscles and now that her identity has become law on the softball field.

Her no-nonsense approach has brought a sense of accountability and an understanding that just being good won’t cut it at this level. Her team has taken this to heart and has leaped to the next level. While I believe they are a few dominant players short of being among the elite, they are a team you do not want to see when they are clicking.

As we wait for the new polls to drop it’s likely the Aggies will have finally cracked the top ten in most polls. They still have one top-ten team to face in Florida, but right now they sit at No. 7 in the power rankings and are on track to host a regional if they can pick up another SEC win or two.

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The No. 12 Texas A&M Aggie softball team takes game one in series with against Ole Miss

Texas A&M softball take Game 1 vs. Ole Miss

Sometimes, winning games is all about taking advantage of your opponent’s miscues throughout the match-up. That’s exactly what propelled Texas A&M (35-9, 13-6 SEC) to a 5-2 victory in game one of the series against Ole Miss (25-20, 3-13 SEC).

In the final home series in conference play, the Aggies played a close game in front of a packed crowd at Davis Diamond against a competitive adversary in Ole Miss. Every single score from A&M on the day came in the form of an unearned run and some heads-up base running. Even though the Aggies had six hits, none of them led to an RBI, but they did run on the bases.

Senior Trinity Cannon hit a single after matching goose eggs through the first three innings, and Rylan Wiggins walked, giving them two on the bases. Coach Ford had a speedster, Hailey Golden, for Cannon, and it paid off a few batters later—a passed ball allowed Golden and Wiggins to score.

After a home run in the fifth inning pushed two across for Ole Miss to tie the game, the Maroon & White got both those two back in the bottom of the frame. With Amari Harper and Kramer Eschete on base, a wild pitch and then a throwing error by the catcher plated both Harper and Eschete.

To close out the scoring, Wiggins was able to score the lone run all on her own after multiple throwing errors, which allowed her to score from second base for what would eventually be the final score of 5-2.

Game one:

Texas A&M vs Ole Miss / 5-2

  • Total offense:  6 hits, 5 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy W (18-7): 7.0 innings, 7 Ks, 129 pitches.

Texas A&M will be back in action in game two against Ole Miss on April 20 at 1 p.m. at Davis Diamond.

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The Texas A&M softball team is flirting with a top ten ranking in the Week 10 rankings

The Aggie softball team jumps a few spots in the rankings after going 2-1 against Alabama

Texas A&M (33-9, 12-6 SEC) is back rolling after winning their second consecutive SEC series, beating Alabama (30-10, 7-8 SEC) two games to one this past week. They did a little bit of it all from solid pitching, double plays, clutch hitting, and home runs.

However, if they want to reach that next level they will have to get more out of the pitchers behind Emiley Kennedy. Too many times head coach Trisha Ford has needed to pitch her all three games just so ensure a win.

Following being swept by LSU, all major softball polls have moved the Aggies down a few spots in the newest polls.

 

The 2024 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Records reflect games played through April 14. The poll is released on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. ET during the regular season.

RANKINGS

Rank Team Record Points Previous
1 Texas (24) 35-6 791 2
2 Oklahoma (8) 38-4 766 1
3 Duke 37-4 734 3
4 Tennessee 32-7 700 4
5 Stanford 34-7 655 8
6 Oklahoma State 35-8 597 5
7 LSU 33-7 564 6
8 Washington 28-7 549 10
9 Georgia 33-10 540 7
10 Florida 35-9 495 9
11 Texas A&M 32-9 480 11
12 UCLA 24-9 442 13
13 Missouri 33-11 432 14
14 Alabama 30-9 407 12
15 Virginia Tech 31-9-1 382 15
16 Arkansas 30-11 302 17
17 Mississippi State 29-12 300 16
18 Florida State 31-10 295 18
19 Arizona 28-13-1 200 21
20 California 29-12 152 20
21 Clemson 28-14 134 19
22 Oregon 24-15 117 22
23 Boston University 35-4 93 24
24 Kentucky 26-15 61
25 Louisiana 29-14 57

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

South Carolina (55), Northwestern (35), Miami (31), Texas State (16), Auburn (15), Kansas (1), FAU (1), Grand Canyon (1)

DROPPED OUT:

No. 23 South Carolina, No. 25 Texas State

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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.

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Texas A&M outfielder Jazmine Hill named SEC Player of the Week

Texas A&M outfielder Jazmine Hill earned SEC Player of the Week after playing lights out through four games

Junior Jazmine Hill transferred to Texas A&M to be back around familiar faces, Coach Trisha Ford. Since being in Aggieland, she’s been one of the most consistent bats on the team, with a strong .392 batting average, eight home runs, 32 RBI, and a .725 slugging percentage.

Below is the excerpt from the SEC press release naming Hill as the SEC Player of the Week.

Texas A&M’s Jazmine Hill, a graduate student outfielder from Norwalk, Calif., went 6-for-9 at the plate this past week, including 5-for-8 in the series win over Kentucky. Over the four games, Hill tallied six hits (including a double and a triple), five walks, four runs scored and three RBI. Defensively, she recorded three putouts and two assists, including a game-ending 8-2-6 putout in game two to clinch the series against the Wildcats.

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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.

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After being swept by LSU, Aggie softball drops a few spots in the Week 8 rankings

Texas A&M softball took a step back after a rough outing against LSU on the road

It was a rough weekend in the office for the Texas A&M (28-7, 8-4 SEC) softball team in Baton Rouge. They entered the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the SEC but left as one of the coolest. The Aggies’ had way too many missed opportunities, and a few calls did go their way leading to Coach Trisha Ford’s team being swept by a solid LSU team. They will need to take their midweek game seriously to work on a few things before they are back to SEC play on April 2.

Following being swept by LSU, all major softball polls have moved the Aggies down a few spots in the newest polls.

The 2024 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Records reflect games played through March 31. Poll is released on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. ET during the regular season.

RANKINGS

Rank Team Record Points Previous
1 Oklahoma (32) 34-1 800 1
2 Duke 29-3 727 5
3 Georgia 29-5 707 3
4 Texas 29-5 678 2
5 LSU 29-4 658 6
6 Tennessee 28-5 652 4
7 Oklahoma State 29-6 642 8
8 Stanford 27-6 599 7
9 Washington 25-5 560 9
10 Florida 31-5 524 10
11 Missouri 29-7 453 12
12 UCLA 20-8 14
13 Texas A&M 28-7 397 11
14 Alabama 26-8 348 13
15 Virginia Tech 25-8-1 318 15
16 Mississippi State 25-9 297 17
17 Clemson 24-10 275 16
18 Florida State 24-9 265 19
19 Arkansas 22-11-1 143 20
20 California 26-10 209 18
21 Arizona 22-11-1 143 21
22 South Carolina 26-10 139 22
23 Boston University 27-3 95 25
24 Oregon 20-12 69 24
25 Baylor 19-12 46 23

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Texas State (38), Kentucky (17), Louisiana (12), Nevada (10), Kansas (9), FAU (8), Miami (8), Virginia (3), Auburn (2).

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No. 12 Texas A&M softball team drops first SEC series of season to No. 7 LSU

Texas A&M drops their first SEC series lose dropping the first two games in Baton Rouge against LSU

The No. 12 Texas A&M softball team (28-6, 8-3 SEC) has lost its series to No. 7 LSU (28-4, 7-4 SEC), dropping the first two games of the weekend, only scoring two total runs while amassing 13 hits but stranding 17 runners on base.

These two games were almost exact copies of each other until late in game two. Both games started with Julia Cottrill hitting a single to score Amari Harper then a pitching duel before LSU tied the in the bottom of the fifth inning. However, in game one they went into extra innings with LSU hitting a walk-off home run for the victory.

Game two ended in the bottom of the sixth when the Tiger got a few runners on  base and were aided by three free passes. The final score was 5-1 with the Aggies being blanked in the top of the seventh to end the game.

Game one:

Texas A&M vs LSU/ Loss / 2-1

  • Total offense:  5 hits, 5 runs
  • Pitching: Emiley Kennedy L (14-4): 7.1 innings, 4 Ks, 101 pitches.

Game two:

Texas A&M vs LSU / Loss / 5-1

  • Total offense:  6 hits, 1 run
  • Pitching: Emily Leavitt L (6-1): 1.0 innings, 0 Ks, 26 pitches. Shaylee Ackerman: 4.0 innings, 2 Ks, 74 pitches. Emiley Kennedy: 1.0 innings, 0 Ks, 47 pitches.

Texas A&M will wrap up the series at Tiger Park on Sunday at 2 p.m. CST.

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Texas A&M head softball coach Trisha Ford previews LSU series

Texas A&M head softball coach Trisha Ford previews the LSU series

No. 11 Texas A&M (28-4, 8-1 SEC) will face off against No. 6 LSU in a three-game series in Baton Rouge on March 28 at 6 p.m.

Head coach Trisha Ford has the Aggies off to one of their best starts in program history and they will have another chance to show how much they have improved over last year. This is probably the series of the weekend to watch and could move A&M into the Top 10 if they can take the series over the Tigers. Coach Ford and her team are ready for the challenge and the Tigers and the atmosphere will bring.

“I’ve heard that their fans are rambunctious, let’s say, and on the on the field, but that’s all good for us like all of that is you can either look at it as like oh this is going to be hard or you can look at this as a great opportunity for us to go into an environment that’s um, pretty Rowdy and make it quiet.”

Below, you can watch the full presser Q&A with Coach Trisha Ford.

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