The Texas A&M softball team will take its show on the road to Tuscaloosa for the first time ever to face Alabama this weekend.
The No. 23 Aggies (24-7, 6-3 SEC) are coming off a three game sweep of the South Carolina Gamecocks last weekend. The Aggies had to overcome a grueling ten inning affair on Friday and a doubleheader on Sunday because of a rainout on Saturday. Head coach Jo Evans was pleased with the resilience her club showed against the Gamecocks.
“I thought we did a nice job this weekend,” Evans said. “We weren’t perfect by any means, but once again our pitchers were outstanding. All of our pitchers gave us a chance to win, and I thought they looked really sharp. Also, I liked our fight. We had a couple of games where we fell behind and we bounced right back. That showed a lot of toughness.”
The Aggie offense has supplied extremely timely hitting during their SEC schedule, with junior Breanna Dozier spearheading the attack. Dozier has been tearing the cover off of the ball in past two weeks, going yard four times in the last four outings for the Aggies to move into second on team with five home runs. Dozier spoke about her mentality when she steps up to the plate in a pressure-packed situation.
“My biggest thing is being confident and being aggressive,” Dozier said. “Pitchers are throwing strikes that are there so I try to get the pitch that I like.”
The No. 5 Crimson Tide (23-7, 6-3 SEC) are led by pitching and great base running. Leadoff hitter Haylie McCleney leads the club in stolen bases with 21 and boasts a batting average of .488. Freshman Demi Turner is also a speedster with a 10-12 conversion rate on the base paths. The Alabama pitchers have been dominant all year, with their top two pitchers Sydney Littlejohn and Alexis Osorio posting ERAs of 1.06 and 1.76, respectively.
The Aggies are projected to send senior Rachel Fox and junior Katie Marks to the circle this weekend. Fox has been pitching lights out this season with a 13-4 record and a team-high 12 complete games. Marks has been an excellent complement to Fox, posting an 8-1 record of her own with a team-leading 2.32 ERA.
Sophomore Abby Donnell has been great in relief out of the bullpen, earning her second win of the season against South Carolina. Fox spoke about what the staff needs to do to beat a team like Alabama.
“Alabama is a very momentum-type team so I think it’s going to be good for us to try to get the first out each inning,” Fox said. “We need to make sure that we keep the top part of their lineup off the bases.”
First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
