Texas A&M softball kicked off the 2021 season last weekend by hosting the Texas A&M Invitational tournament at Davis Diamond.
Last weekend, the maroon and white took the field for the first time in almost a year and saw action against Colorado State, Texas Tech and Central Arkansas. The Aggies recorded a 3-2 record and are set to host Tulsa this weekend. First pitch is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. followed by games on Saturday and Sunday.
At the conclusion of last weekend’s tournament, A&M coach Jo Evans acknowledged that the team had missed several days of hitting practice due to last week’s inclement weather. Evans said the inability to practice hurt the team’s preparation and said she expects the maroon and white to be more aggressive offensively in the future.
“I’d just like to see us be a little more consistent,” Evans said. “You know, just get up there and compete a little bit better. I think we could have done a little bit better making adjustments from at-bat to at-bat. But you know, it’s early. Typically, the pitchers are a little ahead of the hitters this time of year, so it’s not a huge concern of mine. I just want to see some consistency out of our lineup.”
In addition to acknowledging areas that need improvement, Evans said she is proud of the way A&M played and is encouraged by what she saw in the first five games of the season. The pitching staff was one area she said she was pleased with.
Pitchers Makinzy Herzog, Grace Uribe, Kelsey Broadus and Kayla Poynter combined for a total of 40 strikeouts and collectively only allowed 24 hits throughout the weekend. Uribe’s performance was especially impressive, as it was her first time to take the mound in maroon and white — the same is true for Broadus, a graduate transfer student.
“[In the] first tournament I saw some really good things, and I saw some things we can do a little bit better,” Evans said. “I felt like we had two innings in that last tournament that got away from us and when you’re playing five games in the first tournament, I feel really good about that.”
Many players on A&M’s roster, including junior Haley Lee and Poynter, said the nerves and anticipation were present leading up to last weekend. Evans agreed and said she had to calm the team down instead of hype them up throughout the opening weekend.
A&M has won its last two matchups against Tulsa, its most recent loss being at home in 2014.
Looking ahead to this weekend, Evans said she’s not familiar with a lot of their opponent’s faces since the teams haven’t met in a few years.
“[I’ve been] going through the charts and making a new card on almost every kid because it’s been a while since we’ve played them,” Evans said. “But what I know about them is that they really compete. I know them to be a team that really competes and knows how to win, so I think it’s going to be a challenging weekend for us.”
Evans said while she expects the Aggies to be successful this weekend, smaller schools such as Tulsa should not be disregarded or underestimated.
“As an SEC team, we expect to beat anybody outside of the SEC,” Evans said. “You always expect to win those games, and then you recognize that early in the season everybody’s trying to get their feet wet and figure out who they are. Those teams have nothing to lose, and your team has everything to lose.”
First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Davis Diamond. Saturday’s game will begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday’s at 11 a.m. Attendance will be limited and tickets will be sold in pods of two.