No. 21 Texas A&M softball battling to host in year one of the Ford era
Progress.
In year one under Trisha Ford, Texas A&M softball has shown real signs of future success.
Following a sweep of Mississippi State over Easter weekend, the Aggies are now above .500 in the Southeastern Conference at 8-7.
A&M is 25-13 overall, and after beginning the year unranked, the Ags are ranked No. 21 by ESPN.com and USA Softball.
A&M has not won more than eight SEC games since going 13-11 in 2018, which just so happens to be the last time the Aggies hosted an NCAA regional.
With three SEC weekends remaining, Ford & Co. finds themselves with a chance to host once again.
“I won’t even touch it,” Ford said on Tuesday. “I won’t even talk about it with the team.
“If we come out and play Aggie softball, we’re in every single game, and I’ll put my money on us every single time.”
The Aggies travel to South Carolina this weekend to begin a stretch run that includes three of the SEC’s bottom four.
The Gamecocks are 10th in the conference at 4-8. Ole Miss (3-9) is second-to-last. They’ll finish SEC regular season play vs. cellar-dweller Missouri (3-12) at home.
Needless to say, resume boosters are ripe for the taking.
“If we can get something and get a little bit better through each one of these games, it’s really going to help us at the end of the year,” Ford said.
Also, A&M already boasts road series victories over then-No. 7 Arkansas and then-No. 11 Kentucky.
Should the Ags win each of their final SEC sets and reach 14-10 or better in the league, the NCAA selection committee might be hard-pressed to keep an NCAA regional away from Davis Diamond, which is undoubtedly one of the premier facilities in the country.
Hosting has long been a goal of this particular A&M team.
“We want to host,” infielder Trinity Cannon said before Opening Day. “We sat down with coach and wrote down our long-term goals, game goals and stuff like that. Hosting a regional and a super regional were definitely toward the top of our list. We’re looking forward to that.”
With a month to go, that goal appears attainable.
Ford promised a gritty style of offense when she was hired in June. Under the direction of Jeff Harger, these Ags have delivered.
A&M's team batting average is up five points from last year to .286.
However, their slugging percentage has dropped eight points to .467, and they're hitting significantly fewer home runs.
That should have been expected following All-American Haley Lee's decision to transfer to perennial powerhouse Oklahoma after hitting .405 and slugging .762 with 15 homers a year ago.
Oklahoma State transfer Julia Cottrill replaced Lee behind the plate. She leads the club in average, slugging and OPS at .364, .626 and 1.026, respectively.
Cottrill, Cannon and freshman Riley Valentine have five homers each. Freshmen Keely Williams and Aiyana Coleman have three.
“We give them hitting books for them to write in whenever they want,” Ford explained. “It’s really to write in when things are going well so when things aren’t going well, you can kind of refer back.
“Guess who was the only one who has written in it every single series? Keely Williams. It’s a really good example of somebody putting in the work, not necessarily physically but from a mental standpoint.”
Williams and fellow speed threat Koko Wooley just earned SEC Player of the Week honors. Junior Rylen Wiggins has proven to be a complete player. Morgan Smith adds a clutch factor.
“We have a very good team chemistry,” Wiggins said in February. “We are all like best friends on the field, and it’s really nice to finally be on the team where everybody gets along, and there are no issues.”
These Aggies can score in a multitude of ways. They can also win in a multitude of ways.
However, A&M would not be here without its pitching.
“We’re pitching the way we’re capable of,” Ford said. “We talked about it before the season started and said our pitching is going to have to carry us, and it did… We’ve been in every ballgame.”
In the circle, Ford has assembled a unit of unique arms that have given opposing hitters fits throughout the year.
“It’s great compared to last year,” left-hander Emiley Kennedy said. “I know if I’m off, someone else is on. When they’re off, I have their back.
“We know each other, and we have each other’s backs.”
A&M’s team ERA is down nearly a run and a half from last year's 3.71 mark to 2.35. Opponents are hitting 32 points lower.
A rising star, Kennedy is 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA. A year ago, she was 13-11.
“I hit a little rocky part in the beginning of the season, but I think I’m back to normal now,” Kennedy said. “I just go out there every pitch and tell myself that I’m better than them and make her beat me. It seems to be working.
“I just had to see the positive outcomes. I knew personally I was getting better.”
Kennedy appears poised to take the next step in her progression.
“She is somebody that is working really hard on her outlook in life and in the game,” Ford said of Kennedy. “It’s directly correlated.”
Minnesota transfer Emily Leavitt leads the way with a 2.10 ERA in 66.2 innings pitched. She's 8-4.
Senior right-hander Shaylee Ackerman — who threw just 31.2 innings last year — has a 2.33 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 63 innings this spring.
Even Arizona State transfer Madison Preston frustrated then-No. 3 Tennessee two weeks ago in a 3-1 victory.
More of the same will be required down the stretch.
Regardless of whether the NCAA Tournament returns to Aggieland this May, Ford's program has exhibited much-need progress this spring.
“It’s the consistency of the level and the standard and the tenacity of our program that’s going to keep us in the top 10 year in and year out,” Ford said.
By finding that consistency, a true return to prominence could be on the horizon.