The Texas A&M softball team learned Sunday via the NCAA Selection Show that it will commence its 2015 postseason Thursday in the Norman Regional hosted by the 11th-seeded Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.
The No. 21 Aggies are one of 64 teams, and one of 11 Southeastern Conference teams, selected to continue their 2015 regular season campaign into the NCAA Regionals. Thirty-two teams earned automatic bids while the other 32, including A&M, received at-large bids.
“I’m excited,” head coach Jo Evans said. “It was a huge possibility and it’s a familiar place for us. We’re used to playing OU and most of our players have played on that field.”
There are 16 regionals across the country in double elimination format, starting Thursday. Each Regional consists of four teams, with a top sixteen seeded team as a host, and one team from each Regional will advance on to NCAA Super Regionals.
A&M and Oklahoma are joined by Lehigh and Central Arkansas.
A&M’s first matchup will be versus Lehigh (39-7) on Friday at 12:30 pm televised on the SEC Network.
“Lehigh is a great program,” Evans said. “A lot of people don’t know about Lehigh but they’re the team that ended our season in 2006, sending the likes of Megan Gibson and Amanda Scarborough home early. They’re a team we respect and we saw them again in 2011. They do a great job and they’ll be a formidable opponent for sure.”
The Aggies are coming off a disappointing 6-3 loss to South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Championship, which ousted them from the tournament.
A&M still carries with it a 38-18 record into postseason play. They defended their home turf throughout the season, boasting a 27-6 record at the Aggie Softball Complex, but were 11-12 in games played away from College Station.
Further, A&M struggled in contests versus ranked opponents, going 6-12 on the season, including being swept by defending NCAA champion No. 1 Florida in their final road series on the year.
The Aggies will lean on the productiveness of two young freshmen, Tori Vidales and Ashley Walters, who were each named to the Southeastern Conference’s All-Freshman Team, in their pursuit of an NCAA Championship.
Vidales, the Aggie third baseman who was also named to the All-Southeastern Conference Second team, led her squad and was tied for No. 25 in the nation in regular season home runs with 18 while her batting average of .359 took second on the team behind Abby Donnell.
Walters, who played catcher for the Aggies, recorded 200 putouts from behind the plate in addition to logging a team-best, 13 doubles in the regular season.
The Norman Regional resides only 20 miles south of the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the site of the 2015 NCAA Women’s College World Series which follows NCAA Super Regionals and starts May 28.