With a 9-7 win over No. 1 Texas on March 29, No. 15 Texas A&M softball avoided the sweep against its top-ranked rival. The Aggies went 1-2 in Austin over the weekend, falling to the Longhorns in Games 1 and 2, pushing their record to 6-3 in Southeastern Conference play. Led by head coach Trisha Ford, A&M will continue through its SEC gauntlet with eyes set on No. 11 Georgia. 

“Offensively, we’ll hang with anybody in the country,” Ford said after Sunday’s game. “But, I also think we need to get better in the circle. If we would have done a couple of things differently at the critical moments, the games would have ended differently. It’s really a game of inches.”

The Maroon and White have put their offensive firepower on display this season, recording 52 home runs and outscoring their opponents 262-127 through 35 games. Senior first baseman Micaela Wark leads A&M’s offense with 15 home runs on the season, followed by junior designated player Mya Perez with 13. The Aggies’ batting lineup presents five straight batters with an on-base percentage of .450 or higher, including senior third baseman Kennedy Powell, sophomore catcher Ariel Kowalewski, senior second baseman Tallen Edwards, Perez and Wark. 

In the circle, A&M has relied on the right-handed pitching duo of sophomore Sydney Lessentine and junior Sidne Peters. Throughout the Aggies’ 35 games, the pair has accounted for 25 starts in the circle, compared to the rest of the pitching staff’s 10 starts combined. Lessentine started Friday, surrendering five hits and five runs, but she only allowed three runs in Saturday’s affair. Though falling to the Longhorns by only a single run in both of the weekend’s losses, the Aggies’ lack of depth in the circle continues to serve as a major hurdle to the season’s success. 

“We’ve had a quick start every game,” Wark said after Sunday’s win over Texas. “It’s about taking the punches and punching back as hard as we can. We could have won those other games, but we’re going to learn from our mistakes and grow from this.”

Georgia will travel to Aggieland in the midst of a five-game win streak after sweeping Kentucky on the road over the weekend. The Bulldogs are led by the powerful hitting duo of graduate student 2B Keirstin Roose and senior right fielder Sarah Gordon, who lead the team in long balls with a combined 19 homers and 75 runs. Senior DP Tyler Ellison leads Georgia with 35 RBIs and a .544 on-base percentage, offering little relief to any A&M pitcher who steps into the circle this weekend. 

“They can swing it,” Ford said in Tuesday’s press conference. “If you look at them stats-wise, they’re very similar to us; home runs, doubles and pitching. It’s going to come down to the team who can execute.”

Georgia’s pitching staff faces similar challenges as A&M’s, with junior left-handed pitcher Randi Roelling and sophomore RHP Addisen Fisher accounting for 24 of the team’s 36 starts in the circle. The Bulldogs’ bullpen is equipped with a combined ERA of 3.15, giving them a slight edge over the Aggies’ combined 3.41 ERA. 

“Randi has started and thrown in most of their games, kind of like Lessentine has for us,” Ford said. “The last time Georgia was here, we didn’t win. My hope is for us to come out and play our game. Instead of worrying about what could happen, let’s focus on what should happen.”

The intraconference foes each secured a series victory over Kentucky this season, with the Aggies sweeping the Wildcats at home, while the Bulldogs got the job done on the road. Both A&M and Georgia’s offenses plated 26 total runs against Kentucky in its respective series. The Bulldogs’ pitching staff held the Wildcats to three total runs through three games, while the Aggies’ defense allowed nine.

Both A&M and Georgia will enter the Easter weekend series opener with a conference record of 6-3 and only a single SEC series loss. While the Aggies hold a losing, 3-4 record on the road, the Bulldogs have shown themselves to be comfortable away from home, holding a 4-2 away record. 

Hoping to avoid a rubber match on Easter Sunday, The Maroon and White will welcome the Bulldogs to Davis Diamond on Thursday, April 2, at 6 p.m. for their second home series of conference play.