Let the real games begin.
The Texas A&M softball team will enter the SEC tournament at 4 p.m. Wednesday as a No. 8 seed against the No. 9 seed South Carolina Gamecocks in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The No. 25 Aggies (38-17, 12-12 SEC) are coming off a needed sweep of Ole Miss in their final home series this past weekend. The Aggies have been led on offense by hot hitting freshman Tori Vidales, who leads the club and ranks second in the SEC this season with 18 home runs. Adding to her accomplishments, Vidales was named to the All-SEC second team and joined fellow freshman Ashley Walters on the SEC All-Freshman team.
The Gamecocks (36-19, 10-14 SEC) are coming off of a convincing 9-1 midweek victory against Mississippi State, which elevated them to a 9-seed and dropped the Bulldogs to the 10-seed spot. A player to watch for is junior left fielder Alaynie Page. As the club leader with 15 homers, 45 RBI and a .445 batting average, Page is a player the Aggies must keep an eye on every time she steps to the plate.
Senior Rachel Fox is projected to see action in the circle against the Gamecocks. Fox has been the spearhead of the Aggie pitching staff this season, leading the club with a 22-12 record and logging over 200 innings at the circle.
Head coach Jo Evans will depend on the upperclassmen, mainly the seniors to provide the necessary leadership to help the Aggies win. Evans praised the senior class during senior day, outlining the character of the class.
“It’s a very unselfish group,” Evans said. “They continue to continue to contribute to our program in so many ways. Since this class isn’t all everyday starters, a lot of people don’t understand what they bring to our team but they’re all such great leaders. They always put the team first and everything they do is selfless, all four of them. Today it was great to see Rachel and Brittany have great days on senior day. It’s fun for me to coach a group that is selfless and cares about the program like they go. They want to leave a legacy here and they take it very seriously.”
If the Aggies win their matchup against the Gamecocks, they will have a date with the No. 1 seed Florida Gators on Thursday.