No. 4 Texas A&M softball heads to Knoxville, Tennessee, to take on No. 2 Tennessee for its second top-five matchup in Southeastern Conference play this season. The Aggies are 2-3 in their last five games and 1-3 in their last four conference games.
The Maroon and White have struggled to get runs across the board in their most recent losses, which is something that hasn’t been a problem for this intense offense all season. They have been outscored 23-12 in their last four SEC games, a telltale sign something needs to change before heading into No. 2 Tennessee.
“I was not in a great space of where we were trending the first two games,” coach Trisha Ford said after Sunday’s win over then-No. 9 Arkansas. “Our energy was off. … That’s what concerned me a little bit.”
Heading into its final conference series of the regular season, A&M will look to keep up the momentum coming off a 2-0 shutout win against Arkansas.
Ford made a couple of lineup changes in the series finale against the Razorbacks, putting graduate Mac Barbara behind the plate, allowing freshman right fielder Frankie Vrazel to enter the lineup and give the Aggies more offense.
Barbara has been a key player to this Aggie offense, with five home runs in conference play and a team-high 25 RBIs. Barbara is not the only one who has been trending up, as freshman second baseman KK Dement has been phenomenal for the Aggies in conference play, with four homeruns and 21 RBIs for the rookie.
Heading into a battle with the No. 2 team in the country, the Aggies need to be prepared to handle a dynamic offense from the Volunteers. The Vols are led by redshirt sophomore third baseman Taylor Pannell, who currently ranks top 10 in the SEC this season in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, home runs and RBIs.
Tennessee is coming off a series win against No. 16 Ole Miss in Oxford as it heads back home to host its last conference matchup. The Vols are 14-7 in conference play with series wins over then-No. 13 Georgia, then-No. 2 Oklahoma, then-No. 17 Mississippi State and then-No. 1 Texas.
The Aggies have been great on the road with a 10-1 record, with their only conference road loss being at Missouri in a series they had already clinched.
When it comes to pitching, both A&M and Tennessee have star pitchers that will likely be seen more than once this weekend. For the Aggies, senior left-handed pitcher Emiley Kennedy is 17-4 on the season with a 2.71 ERA. The Vols bullpen is led by junior pitcher Karlyn Pickens who is 11-3 with an impressive 1.25 ERA.
It will be a dogfight to the end in all three games. Tennessee has been trending upwards recently with a massive series win over then-No. 1 Texas while the Aggies have struggled recently in their last series against the Razorbacks.
The first game is set for Thursday, May 1, at 5 p.m.
