After being swept at Tennessee, No. 16 Texas A&M softball (31-9, 5-7 SEC) looks to right the ship as it hosts No. 8 Alabama (36-7, 8-4 SEC). 
The Crimson Tide has won 10 of their last 12 games, including series wins against No. 11 Missouri, on the road at No. 1 Florida and a dominating sweep of Mississippi State. 
Last weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Aggies had one of their worst series of the year, if not the worst. A&M gave up 30 runs to the Lady Volunteers and suffered their first run-rule loss of the season in an 11-0 shutout on Saturday. 
“Obviously we’re really disappointed in how we played against Tennessee,” Coach Jo Evans said. “We definitely underachieved and that’s frustrating, but now we have another series, so all we have to think about is how do we beat Alabama, so it’s important to have a short memory and move on to the next series.”
Though the Aggie lineup has been a little cold lately, sophomore catcher Ashley Walters is hitting at a .528 clip in SEC play, adding a team-leading 18 RBIs in conference as well.
“Last weekend wasn’t really a great weekend for us,” Walters said. “We have to recognize it and know what we need to change and know what we need to do better and just come out with a lot of intensity Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Alabama is a really great team, so we know we’re going to have to play with a lot of fire to beat them.”
Alabama’s high-powered offense is led by a pair of seniors in outfielder Haylie McCleney and infielder Leona Lafaele. McCleney has a .459 batting average this year and a .704 slugging percentage. Both of McCleney’s numbers lead her team, and her batting average is best in the SEC. Lafaele is hitting .348 with five home runs and a team-leading 38 RBIs. 
Freshman outfielder Keeli Milligan is two steals away from tying the school record for steals in a season. She currently has 46 and is chasing former Aggie great Sharonda McDonald, who set the record with 48. Milligan’s 46 steals lead the country and what might be more impressive is that she has only been caught stealing twice this year, giving her a 96 percent success rate when she attempts to snag a base.
The first game between No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 8 Alabama will be on Friday at the Aggie Softball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.