Trisha Ford's Aggies remaining focused as SEC stretch run begins

Fresh off a sweep of Mississippi State this weekend, Trisha Ford and No. 19 Texas A&M are preparing for a big-time Wednesday night meeting with Louisiana. On Tuesday morning, Ford spoke to TexAgs Radio about the importance of remaining focused down the stretch.

Key notes from Trisah Ford interview

• Yesterday was pretty tight early on in the game.
   
• Julia Cottrill is a huge piece of where we are right now. She is a player that has been there and played at a high level. When you have someone like that, consistently you can see and live the impact she is having on the program.
   
• Trinity Cannon’s growth has been instrumental. We were talking to her saying how can you win for the program. Sometimes she tries to do too much, but she has been an unselfish player and understands the goal of the game and her team, not just her stats.
   
• We have to clean up some mechanics. We really need to minimize the walks and control the zone, meaning we have to control both sides of the plate. I’m an inner-half-of-the-plate coach, and that is what I wanted to work hard on. You've seen the emergence of that with Emiley Kennedy this season.
   
• Koko Wooley brings a lot of different things to the table. She slaps, she hits, and she steals some bases. She can read timing and defense. Defensively, she had a really good weekend too.
   
• Georgia and Tennessee have put themselves in a race between the two of them. The Georgia series, we were in it. Same with the Tennessee series. But this is what we have prepared for all year. These games are getting us ready for, hopefully, a late-season run. In these last four weeks, we want to push the gas pedal down and really go for it.
   
• The Ragin’ Cajuns’ RPI is in the top 15. They have power and two really good arms. It's going to be a tough game, and I'm hoping the 12th Man comes out this week and makes some noise. But they are going to be tough.
   
• With three SEC series left, the message right now is to clean up and tidy up things. Come out and play our game, attacking early on and taking advantage of miscues. Be able to get our short game and bunting better. Pitching, we need to work both sides of the plate. To be efficient in the way we play this game, I don’t care who is on the other side of the dugout. We need to play our game and not lose our focus. Nose to the ground, and let's go to work.
   
• It's convincing the 18-22-year-olds that we have done well this season and to continue to play our game. It's getting them to play that same way for 56 games. I’m making sure our focus is in the right spot.