A&M's season ends in Austin Regional final after falling to Texas

Press conference video courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

An incredible season comes to a close. 

After an impressive run in the Austin Regional, Texas A&M softball finished its season with a loss to rival Texas, 11-5. 

The game started off in an unfamiliar way, with the Aggies immediately losing control in the top of the first inning at the hands of their pitching staff.

Shaylee Ackerman made her way through four batters, allowing all of them on base before she was relieved by Madison Preston, who was then replaced by Emiley Kennedy after five batters. 

Ackerman allowed four runs, giving up two walks and only two hits. Preston was responsible for one hit and walked two batters as well.

The disastrous first put the Aggies behind a 4-0 deficit almost instantly, one they were not able to make up for. 

Although initially struggling, Kennedy was a breath of fresh air once she was able to find her footing in the circle. After sitting down her last batter in the first, Kennedy allowed two runs in the second, putting the score at 6-1.

The third and fourth innings were finally quiet on both sides of the field, which was music to A&M’s ears. Kennedy retired six straight and showed no signs of slowing down. 

That was until errors riddled the Aggie defense, allowing four more runs for the Longhorns in the top of the fifth. 

The Aggies were down to their final out and were hoping to avoid being run-ruled. 

But Riley Valentine answered the call. 

Valentine smoked a ball over the left-field wall, plating Trinity Cannon and Bre Warren to give the Aggies another opportunity in a 10-5 game. 

“At that point we had nothing to lose, I was just taking a hack,” Valentine said. “Whatever happens, happens is what I was telling myself.”

Chris Swann, TexAgs

In her first year in Aggieland, Trisha Ford led her squad to a 35-21 finish, the most wins by the program since 2018.

Unfortunately, the offense was unable to produce after the freshman slammed life back into the team. The Longhorns put one more run on the board in the seventh and ultimately ended A&M’s season.

“I was proud of our effort, I was proud of our fight,” A&M head coach Trisha Ford said. “We controlled the things we could control.”

Although the ladies in Maroon & White went out in a disappointing way, the season was anything but that. In Ford's first year in College Station, the Aggies secured their most wins in five years as they finished 35-21 overall. 

The A&M pitching staff went from underwhelming to carrying the defense on their back throughout the majority of the season.

Offensive-minded players were brought onto the roster thanks to Ford’s recruiting, giving the Aggies the advantage at the plate more times than not this season. 

The 2023 softball season revived what had previously seemed like a declining program.

There are, without a doubt, exciting times to come in the next several years for Texas A&M softball.