Fresh off of a series sweep to its SEC-rival South Carolina Gamecocks, the Texas A&M Softball team will look to rebound against another SEC Opponent. The Aggies will face off against the Ole Miss Rebels’ from Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23. The maroon and white will look to invade the Rebels home turf when it comes to Oxford, Mississippi. All three games are taking place at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Although the Aggies are coming off three tough losses to the Gamecocks, before that series the Aggies had a good amount of momentum. A&M had strung together four solid wins, three against SEC foe Mississippi Bulldogs, and one versus the No. 25 Louisiana Ragin Cajuns.
The maroon and white will look to turn the tide with their upcoming SEC series against the Rebels. A&M holds a steep advantage when it comes to the history of the two teams, with 20 total games starting back in 1998. A&M defeated Ole Miss 16 total times, falling to the Rebels just a mere four times.
The maroon and white finds itself with a conference record with eight wins to 10 losses. The Rebels are three games behind the Aggies in conference play with a record of only five wins and 10 losses. Both teams will look to improve their less than stellar SEC records. However, it is the Aggies who will be defending their No. 21 ranking.
Coach Trisha Ford have yet to come out with any of its starters for the upcoming series against the Rebels. The Aggies should not be worried as they have been batting extremely well so far this season, as five regular starters currently hitting over .300.
Junior C Julia Cottrill has been absolutely electric with the bat in her hands this season. She is batting .357 with a team-high 112 AB this season. Continuing her dominance at the plate with an on base percentage of .400 and a slugging precentage of .598. With five home runs this season, Cottrill will look to keep her bat hot when the Aggies arrive in Oxford, Mississippi.
Another member of the Fightin’ Farmers who has been just mashing at the plate this season is junior INF Trinity Cannon. Cannon is hitting .330 so far and does not look to slow down when she comes up to bat versus the Rebels. Her OBP of .479 means that Cannon find herself on base more than any other Aggie. When you combine that with a SLG of .594 Cannon has a team high 1.073 on base plus slugging percentage.
If A&M wants to defeat their SEC rivals then they will certainly need to keep up their level of high play from the pitching mound. The Aggies’ three main starters, senior Shaylee Ackerman and sophomores Emiley Kennedy and Emily Leavitt have looked amazing so far this season. They have combine for an average ERA of 2.66, putting them in the upper echelon of softball pitching.
For the maroon and white to leave Oxford, Mississippi with all three wins it will need to perform on all levels. Ford has had her players in excellent form in just her first season in Aggieland. If they can keep up this high level of play and improve week by week then they could certainly look to make noise later in the season. First they will have to focus on defeating the Rebels.
