The Texas A&M softball team will take a break from its grueling SEC schedule to take on the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks in their 37th game of the year — 28 of which have been non-conference contests. The No. 10 Aggies come in at 30-6 (5-4 SEC) after a series sweep of Arkansas in which they run-ruled the Razorbacks in all three games.
The Ladyjacks are 16-18 (6-5 Southland) coming off a series win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Ladyjacks are led by pitcher Callee Guffey, who has a 2.82 earned run average, and infielder Brittany Lewis, who is hitting .347 with six home runs and 33 RBIs. All three of Lewis’ numbers lead the Ladyjacks in those categories.
“Stephen F. Austin has a really good ball club and have played a tough schedule,” said head coach Jo Evans to 12thman.com. “Every time I turned around in preseason, they were playing a ranked team, and I love that about coach [Gay] McNutt. She isn’t afraid to play anybody in the country. They come here and play us and they play the game with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. It is fun to have an Aggie come back. We have a lot of respect for her and what she did here. It will be fun to have her come back.”
Stephen F. Austin head coach Gay McNutt played catcher for Texas A&M from 1982-1985 and helped lead the Aggies to two of their three national championships in 1982 and 1983.
Freshman outfielder Keeli Milligan, sophomore first baseman Tori Vidales and sophomore shortstop Kristen Cuyos lead the Aggies’ high-powered offense that is statistically one of the best in the nation.
Milligan leads the country in steals with 42, with the next highest total coming in at 37. What makes that even more impressive is that she is the only freshman in the top 30 in that department. Kristen Cuyos has hit 11 home runs this year, which leads the team and is also good for second in the SEC and just one back from the leader. Cuyos also boasts a .348 batting average and 41 RBIs. Tori Vidales is hitting at a team-leading .406 clip and has also added eight home runs and 35 RBIs on the year.
First pitch against Stephen F. Austin is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Aggie Softball Complex.
