After traveling to play the University of Texas at Arlington only to have its game rained out, the No. 21 Texas A&M softball team will visit the Sunshine State to compete in the Tallahassee Democrat Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. This will be the fourth tournament the Aggies have played in in as many weekends.
A&M is shooting for its fourth tournament championship in a row. The Aggies will start off the tournament facing the Georgia State Panthers and the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday night. On Saturday, they will face the Florida A&M Rattlerettes before heading into bracket play Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. National powers Florida State University and University of Michigan may face the Aggies in bracket play.
For Aggie Head Coach Jo Evans, the tournament will present the Aggies with a number of opportunities to improve their play against talented competition.
“I am really looking forward to playing in this tournament,” she said. “I know we play Iowa, who’s ranked and who has a great program. They’ve been to the World Series many times, and facing them should provide for a really competitive atmosphere.”
The Aggies will face a veteran team in the Hawkeyes (6-5), led by junior first baseman Amanda Hentges. Hentges has hit an impressive .556 with runners on base.
The Aggies should come into this tournament with momentum, having beaten some talented teams in the Stanford Classic last weekend. The Aggies put away host team No. 11 Stanford University and No. 12 University of Georgia.
A&Mjunior pitcher Lindsay Wilhelmson led A&M to the tournament victory and was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. Wilhelmson was the winning pitcher in three of the Aggies’ four wins last weekend and knocked in the winning runs in the championship game of the Stanford Classic to notch her third win.
“I’ve just been trying to go out there and trust my defense because I’m not a strikeout pitcher,” Wilhelmson said. “I know as long as I’m relaxed and having fun, it will all work out. We should play some great games this weekend and hopefully come back with a few more wins under our belts.”
After finishing the tournament in Tallahassee, the Aggies will get to spend their spring break in south Florida, taking on the likes of Florida International, the University of Massachusetts, Florida Atlantic University and Syracuse University in the Florida International Tournament in Miami.